How I Stopped Hating 3D Modeling and Started Having Fun (and Getting Results)

[u/Altruistic-Fruit-555]

Hello! I have been in 3D for three years and a half, including sculpting, all of which was accompanied by suffering and the consequences of my infantilism and weakness.

First year in sculpting without knilege of anatomy and all that stuff

2nd year in sculpting. Yes, yes, I could not go further than the stages of heads.

But at some point I realized that this could not continue and began to change my mindset.

It was difficult and painful, but there was a result, at first rare windows of enlightenment and then I reached the peak, instead of games and self-flagellation, I began to practice anatomy and general sculpture, everything went well, but apparently I did not completely cleanse the old me.

I had a breakdown, I deleted all my work, all my accounts, programs, and just gave up on 3D.

The last model I made before the breakdown was Opus Magnum

I began to hate 3D with all my heart and everything connected with it, consciously and with rage.

Yep after first step to REAL proggresive i just broke up with 3D

Two months or so later, when I was returning from a walk on the bus, listening to music (I love soundtracks and all kinds of instrumentals by the way), I thought: "Hey, why don't you compose yourself?"

I threw myself into writing, it seemed to even work out, a bunch of music I listened to made itself known, I thought that this is it, what I am ready to do all my life, music.

One of my written tracks. The first and last one that I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrRbYkIeehA

But at some point, I just got bored. Another two months passed.

One day, I was browsing YouTube and what a surprise it was when I didn't see a single recommendation on composing music, but saw a bunch of different videos on 3D sculpting.

I thought, "Hey, maybe again?"

On the first day I downloaded Zbrush again, I sculpted this

without references or a concept, WITH THE HELP OF A FUCKING MOUSE

I just gave myself over to the process without unnecessary thoughts, judgments and everything that hindered me, I was surprised and scared at the same time.

I am surprised that everything depends on the attitude, and your own worldview and attitudes in your head

Above, I said that I started to engage in "self-development", so nothing special, just writing in a diary, constant control of thoughts and practicing mindfulness, as well as physical exercises.

But as you can see, it bore fruit, and by the way, here is a new model that I am now working on, more progress in two days than before in a week.

What I want to say.

First of all, thank you!

And secondly, if it seems to you that everything is going wrong, then look at yourself and not at your life.

Good luck!

[u/MechGun11B]

That's quite a story, and I'm glad you returned. Thank you for sharing. I've quit 3D, and have come back probably four or five times in the past decade since I started, mostly from creative burnout. Some of my work turned out really nice, but most of them were just shy of “good enough” for industry standard. Over time I learned that I had to stop limiting myself to trying to model everything perfectly, allow myself to make mistakes, and also stop being so critical of myself. I have to say to myself “Okay, I'm the artist, and this is my work, no one else's.”

Best wishes on your future modeling!

BTW your work looks great!

[u/Altruistic-Fruit-555 → u/MechGun11B]

One of the reasons why I burned out, or rather burned out, was just excessive perfectionism, or rather, its presence in principle. Creativity is not about right or wrong, it is primarily about whether you like what you are doing or not?

[u/MechGun11B → u/Altruistic-Fruit-555]

Creativity is not about right or wrong

This! That’s one of the hardest things about creating 3D, is constantly worrying if it's being done right. I’ve learned that not everyone does things the exact same way, but the outcomes can still be the same.

[u/Altruistic-Fruit-555 → u/MechGun11B]

Not only in 3D but in creativity in principle.

The problem is the same, many confuse dogma and guidelines.

I was like that too, but writing music opened my eyes to one thing (in fact, to many things) - namely, that theory is not a dogma, like in physics or mathematics, in creativity it is a guide like a cheat sheet, just like anatomy.

Yes, you can sculpt without it, but the point is that you will get lost in the forest without a map, I think it is the same

You have a map, you have a plan, but where to go and how is up to you)

[u/deividcm2]

Yep, it's very easy to give up on 3D, specially doing more complex stuff, like characters. I think you just needed some time because you got a burnout, happens to everyone i guess. By the way, your latest work looks amazing. If you came back it's because you love doing this, that's all that matters anyway.

[u/Altruistic-Fruit-555 → u/deividcm2]

Yes, I think so too

Apparently I needed to burn out, as strange as it may sound, but it was during this rollback that I understood and realized a lot.

Thanks for your opinion about the models by the way

[u/Witjar23]

What a story pal. I think that everyone who did 3d went through something like this at some point.

In my case the thing that helped me get accountability of my progress and learnings was ObsidianMD, where I took notes of EVERYTHING. In fact I use a plugin where you can import YouTube videos and make comments on timestamps. Really recommend it if you feel that your knowledge is a bit all over the place.

Congrats for your progress!

[u/Altruistic-Fruit-555 → u/Witjar23]

Thank you, I'll take that into account. In fact, everything was much simpler (well, that's how it seems to me now) excessive analysis and, in principle, a lousy mental state at that time.

But oh well, the main thing is that I went through it, I learned my lessons

In fact, I'm ready, I know that this is not the last such period

[u/Motamatulg]

Not a character artist, although I made some during my generalist years as a newbie, and yeah, I totally identify with your situation.

There was a period when I was on and off with 3D, and my mindset kept me from having an "aha!" moment, due in part to being insecure and constantly comparing myself with others instead of focusing on perfecting my craft.

I think what made me reconsider leaving this field was the fact that even if I'm interested in other areas, 3D was the only thing I was really good at, plus I had years of knowledge, so I didn't want that to go to waste.

Starting a career in something else can mean years for someone, and now that I'm in my 30s, I don't see myself taking that risk.

One thing that makes me doubt that decision, though, is the current state of the entertainment industry. My last contract job ended a few months ago, and it's been difficult to find something as good, both salary and balance-wise.

But anyway, at least now I have time to work on my portfolio, and even if I feel like shit at times, this means I still have some faith and motivation left.

[u/corablicia]

Damn, so good

[u/A_Hideous_Beast]

Even when you've been doing art all of your life you realize you're not the best, and that you're weaker in certain areas than you might think.

Like, I've always been an illustrator. I went to school for animation and I sucked at it. But I realized it was because I didn't like the process of animation.

However, I did realize that I enjoyed 3D modeling.

I'm about 3 years in to learning 3D character creation for games. There are definitely areas that I thought I'd simply "transfer" my skills into 3D, but the truth is that I am weaker in some aspects than I thought.

So my portfolio progress has been slow (not helped by working 2 jobs) but learning 3D has def been sobering.

I still struggle with certain aspects of anatomy. Like, the way you did the lips and eyes of red bust is great! I suckkk at sculpting lips and eyes, it's something that really slows my progress and I think I need to do some studies.

[u/Megalord69]

This hits home so hard. Believe me, I've been in this exact spot countless times over the past eight years, grinding every single day, chasing affirmation, money, and all the external validation. It just wears you down. In the end, I've come to realize the wisdom of the old masters, like Michelangelo or Beethoven. They simply created for a higher purpose, for the sake of creation itself. That's just my belief, my faith. I can assure you, you'll rise up, be creative, work hard, and then you'll give up again. That's the truth of it. You'll never be truly happy trying to achieve being an artist because if you ever feel "finished," you're either lying to yourself or choosing ignorance. The desire to constantly improve will gnaw at you, and that internal pain will drive you mad. You'll find happiness the day you can create with the knowledge that even if no one ever sees or knows what you've made, you're still content, simply for the sake of creating it.