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Welcome back to my blog series featuring my stylized crab project! After finally completing the base model and feeling satisfied with the results, it was time to move on to texturing. As a reminder, here is the reference image I am using for this project: Illustration by by @ coralkate.art  on Instagram As I mentioned in previous posts, I had already attempted to bring my model into Substance Painter for texturing. However, I eventually decided to go back and make changes to

Welcome back to the blog! My goal for this update was to have my crab remodeled and ready for texturing. In my last post, I shared my struggles with the baking process in Substance Painter. To give you some context, here is the reference photo I’m using for this project Illustration by by @ coralkate.art on Instagram My previous posts involved a lot of research, so this week was more fixing and re-modeling. I realized I was dealing with strange shading issues, and the shell'

Welcome back to my blog! In my last post, I primarily focused on the logistics and criteria involved in creating a portfolio piece - "what should I include in a post? How do I optimize my model for sharing?" This week, my main focus was to apply all the research I had previously gathered and begin creating my first post asset: a stylized crab! In my previous post, I mentioned that I was struggling to choose between stylized and realistic art. After giving it some thought, I r

It’s time to move on to the monstrous task that has loomed over me since I started my 3D art journey: building my portfolio. ArtStation Logo This is something I’ve alluded to for a few reasons. This is my third year officially practicing 3D art, and during this entire time I’ve been working hard to learn new software and techniques to perfect my craft. That being said, the final results of my projects, in my opinion, aren’t post-worthy. My friends and family tend to disagree,

Thank you for following along so far with my 3D art learning journey! As I mentioned in my first post, this series of weekly posts detailing my efforts to improve as a 3D artist is an assignment for my seminar class at Clark University. We were given the option to choose any focus that interested us most and present our research findings each week through blog posts and presentations. I decided that my goal was to "teach myself industry-standard programs and techniques to bet

Welcome to blog post #10 where dive deeper into learning Blender, this week specifically about Grease Pencils! Only recently had I heard of, or even began to understand, Blender's Grease Pencil feature—a feature that allows you to stylize your geometry with outlines and hand-drawn lines, blending the use of both 3D and 2D art. Having a long background in both traditional and 2D illustration growing up, when I learned that this feature existed, I couldn't wait to get my hands

Welcome to blog post #9 of my independent research journey in Blender! This week, I continued my research in Blender and finally finished reviewing all the different “Add” options. I also went through most of the modifiers and learned more about their functions. It’s fascinating how many different things can be done in Blender. Before taking the time to dive deeper into this program, I never realized how much was possible. As I discovered one new trick after another, I couldn

Welcome to my 8th blog post, where I attempt to study and learn Blender thoroughly! But before we get to that, I would love to share updates on my trim sheet hallway I have worked on throughout my previous posts. Since my last post, I have since created a lateral-opening doorway for my modular hallway, texturing it using a smart material I created based off of my trim sheet, copying levels of roughness, metallic, and grunge to create consistent texture results throughout. Mod

Welcome to post #7 of my independent research journey! Before we get into some new topics for this week, I would like to give you an update on my trim sheet project and the creation of a Sci-Fi hallway using textures. This week I quickly created a floor texture following the same process as before—modeling unique details in Blender, exporting into Substance Painter, and using the same parameters and color palette that I used for my previous trim sheet by creating a smart mate

Welcome to my 6th post, and the final part of my Trim Sheet project! In the previous three posts, I have attempted to design, model, and texture my own trim sheet. In the last post, I addressed some issues I had when trying to begin that texturing process, and how it ultimately led to the reimagining of my entire trim sheet. Here is the finished 3D model that I posted in my last blog post: Finished Modeled Original Trim Sheet - Blender As a student at Clark University, one re

Welcome to week 5 of my independent research! For this progress report, I continued work on modeling my own trim sheet. Last we left off, I had modeled a detailed Sci-Fi themed trim sheet. I was quite satisfied with the design I had composed and felt ready to start the texturing process. Here is the design we left off with: Trim Sheet Design from Post #4 The texturing process begins with baking, which involves taking the high-poly details I modeled and "projecting" them onto

Welcome back to week 4 of my independent research! Last week, I shared my research on creating trim sheets and explored how I might...

Welcome to week 3 of my independent research! This week, I decided to study trim sheets—a powerful tool in the 3D modeling and texturing...

Welcome back! This week I continued studying texture creation in Adobe Substance Designer, focusing on getting more comfortable with...

Welcome to my first blog post!  My name is Rachel Molnar, and I am currently a senior at Clark University studying Interactive Media...