Hello everyone! Here is a short introduction about, well, me :)

[Jan-Willem van Dronkelaar]

Hello everybody! I wanted to create a polybook but thought why not introduce myself first.

I am a 39 years old male living in the Netherlands, currently working as a software engineer.

I’ve always been creative though and used to love to dabble in 3D as a hobby.  At some point I did consider turning it into a profession but some sad life events and a lot of self doubt with perfectionism turned my pleasure into something that only reminded me of failure.

The last time I was really active with 3d (before recently joining cgcookie) was around seven years ago. You can find some of my (old) works on my website. Here is the link to the main gallery: http://www.3dioot.com Some of the work there would be hard to reproduce for me today actually, I really let things go.

Fortunately, I recently realized I still love this stuff, just as much as I used to do. It is not necessarily my goal to turn it into my profession (I feel old and the competition is intense in this field) but I do have the ambition to create a short. Or perhaps even a few. I get so much happiness from seeing the work others put online and I’d love, someday, for my work to touch a few people as well.

I think what I am pretty good at is sculpting (digitally). I also love to tinker with rigs and control schemes. I never turned that into actual movement though. At the moment I am very much enjoying Wayne’s animation course. When I am honest I joined CGcookie primarily for his course, at least initially. It’s like I am finally doing what I’ve been working towards all those years ago, its exciting and a little terrifying at the same time.

I also love to teach. I know that is pretty funny when I am here to learn but its the truth. I love sharing whatever I have learned myself. Perhaps some of you know Sculptris? The Quick start video’s and cheatsheet on the pixologic sculptris forum are mine.

They are by no means perfect but I am, to this day, immensely proud of how many people benefited from those. I also love Sculptris (still do even now Pixologic finally implemented its functionality into Zbrush). I saw it from its birth, shaped by Dr. Petter and the great Taron. It will forever remain one of my favorite sculpting apps. A lot of my work has been created in it. (the image I attached as well!)

So, in conclusion, I look forward to growing my skillset (and myself as a person) and look forward to taking on this journey together with you.

Feel free to share your hopes and dreams if you are so inclined so we can get to know each other a little better.

Jan-Willem

[smurfmier1985]

Hoi Jan-Willem! Welcome to the CG Cookie family, and welcome back in the world of 3D!

Already seen some of your animation excercises, you’re off to a good start. 

Looking forward to seeing your journey 😊

[Char Hunter]

Welcome Jan-Willem.  🙂 Can’t wait to see your stuff.  Don’t forget to 

RSVP to the live events streams that CG Cookie host.  You’ll get to 

chat with other members and Crew.   As always, have fun!  

[silentheart00]

Hi Jan-Willem, and welcome!  Looking forward to what you can do!  You may not be at the level you once were, but practicing a little every day will help to get you back into your groove.  Try to not be frustrated at where you once were years ago and focus on how you can get back to that level today.  You’ll be back to that level soon enough.

[Jan-Willem van Dronkelaar]

@smurfmier1985 

Thank you for the warm welcome Miranda. It feels good to be back! Its fun to see each other’s exercises right? I found it very interesting to browse through them and read Wayne’s comments. We all make similar mistakes after all.

And I was making good progress until I met the rolling ball exercise.. its kicking my ass! It’s a good thing Wayne emphasized its harder than it looks because that exercise has become a little frustrating (I am certain my perfectionism has nothing do with it /cough).

I allowed myself a little leeway, peeked at some future videos  and made this little guy to keep myself entertained but I really should get back to the ball exercises. I honestly love the structured way in which he approaches the process and already learned a lot. I just have to grind my teeth and work through them. I am certain I’ll have lots of fun when I get to the “character ball”. 🙂

I also read your goal for 2019: to create a micro short! I think I will have to steal that goal from you. I never brought my skills together to actually finish a little animation and this sounds perfect. I now christen you my microshort2019sharedgoal buddyartist. Aren’t you happy to have welcomed me here on CGcookie? 😀

Al jokes aside, I look forward to seeing your journey as well. Lets rock this! 🙂

[Jan-Willem van Dronkelaar]

@charmn-one 

Thank you for the welcome Char! I appreciate the tip on the live events. I will see whether any topics are planned that hold my interest. 🙂

[Jan-Willem van Dronkelaar]

@silentheart00 

Thankyou silentheart. That is some very valid advice. I appreciate it and the vote of confidence to boot. I really hope I can approach my art in a more enjoyable, constructive manner this time round. Only one way to find out. 😉

[smurfmier1985]

@3dioot Ha! Guess we really are on the same journey because I’m stuck on the rolling ball too! 😂 That’s why I did the acting for Animators course early, so I would at least keep doing something. Fun little fellow you made there by the way 😎

I’m getting back to the rolling ball this week and no matter what state it’s in I’m giving myself a deadline and will post it Sunday at the latest. As your new found micro-short buddy I’m gonna encourage you to do the same! We can always get back to it later when we’ve learned and practiced more 😊

So let’s get this ball rolling! 🏀😃

[Jan-Willem van Dronkelaar]

@smurfmier1985 Did.. Did you just accountabillybuddy me? This is awesome! I accept thy challenge to conquer the beast that is the rolling ball by coming Sunday. Progress and feelings of satisfaction shall be ours before this week is fully over!

This is great and I am glad I am not the only one who got scared by a rolling ball. I feel a little less embarrassed now so thanks for that. 😉 Good on you for keeping the momentum going though by doing another course temporarily! Its why I made the little guy too; achieve something (small), restore that confidence and go at it again 🙂

I am happy to hear you enjoyed the little fellow! While basic, I am quite pleased with the appeal he has for the effort I put into it. It was really satisfying to put it all together; a little modeling, some basic rigging and a squishy walk cycle. I already picked up a lot of things on presentation by browsing around CGcookie, can’t wait to put those into practice as well.

“We can always get back to it later when we’ve learned and practiced more”

Yes! I agree, lets not frustrate ourselves by trying to get it perfect, that’s not the goal of the exercise anyway! (I so wish I would take my own advice sometimes.. lol)

Lets work towards that micro-short, first goal; conquer that rolling ball!

[Jonathan Lampel]

Welcome @3dioot  , can’t wait to see what you make! You’ll get back to where you were (and beyond) in no time 😊

[smurfmier1985]

@3dioot Your username is totally funny by the way 😆 At least for us Dutch people 😉

[yukino hatake]

@3dioot
Hey there welcome to the community. glad to have you here 😀
you do got a lot of skill so i am sure that it will all return soon 🙂 . starting next year i will also join in on the animation course.
also wanna try to move forward as much as i can . i also wish you a lot of luck on the rolling ball . also wishing @smurfmier1985 the best of luck with it . so both go for it 😀 . I also have to agree its a funny name for dutch people xD the first time i even totally misreaded it xD

[Jan-Willem van Dronkelaar]

@jlampel Thank you Jonathan! I hope I’ll get back into the flow soon. With so many people wishing me well I got that side covered for sure! Really appreciate it.

[Jan-Willem van Dronkelaar]

@smurfmier1985 What can I say, I am nuts about 3D. 😉 

There was a time I thought this joke would also work for the English speaking population but I’ve had English speaking people actually ask me how to pronounce it and/or whether I knew it was awfully close to the word idiot. I don’t know if those people  were the exception but it certainly gave me a chuckle or two. XD

I have to confess this whole thread including my accountabillybudy (who would that be) kinda inspired me to tackle that demon ball of rolling right away. I found a way  to approach it in a somewhat structured manner. I still feel its weirdly hard, maybe because the “ground” is texture less, or because the spin happens in a short timeframe which messes with your perception. For example, I feel I experience the slippage very different when watching the animation full speed compared to when I play it slower (by scrubbing by hand).

 Anyway, I’ll make a polybook in a few minutes where I will post the exercise and my findings. They may provide you some weaponry to tackle this inflated demon with! Please pull through, fun animation exercises will await us both! 😉

[Jan-Willem van Dronkelaar]

@yukinoh1989 Hello Yukino, glad to be here. 🙂

Thank you for the kind compliment. We will see whether that skill will return. To be honest I hope the fun returns first, I am pretty confident the skill will follow in its wake.

I look forward to you joining in the fun next year. 🙂

[Author]

Posts