Tej Kohli's Free Tools for Creating 3D Characters

Tej Kohli animation career blog helps 3D beginners to learn the basics of 3D animation with the simple guides and tutorials by Tej Kohli. In this article Tej Kohli talks about some FREE tools for making 3D characters which animators can use.

In the recent times, movies like Dreamworks's 'Shrek' series and Pixar's 'Toy Story' films have motivated a lot of people to try to develop 3d characters of their own. However, the computer hardware and software required to make such characters are very expensive. Fortunately, a developing open source software clan and a reasonably priced, high end computer hardware has made it accessible for anyone willing to put in his time and effort.

• 
  
  Blender – A free, open source software, Blender offers a huge range of features that are enough to create an ideal 3-D character. The package includes modeling, sculpting, rigging and rendering features, including skeleton creation with polygon meshes, and UV maps. Blender also let artists to add animation effects to their characters. Furthermore, its compatibility with all leading OS makes Blender an attractive free choice amongst animators.


• 
  
  Anim8or – It is another popular open-source program which is also free. However, Amim8or doesn't have some of the more advanced features of blender. But, it has all the functionalities required to create a 3D characters including primitives for structure building, splines for curvature and texture effects. Images can be exported in various standard image formats like .JPG and .BMP. It also has animation options.


• 
  
  3D canvas – Created by Amabilis, 3D canvas is available in both a free version and two, more sophisticated pay versions. While the free version provides basic introduction to 3D modeling and animation. The features include 3D primitives, real-time rendering, background images and splines.


• 
  
  DAZ Studio 3 – Basically developed for 3D character modeling, DAZ Studio 3 also comes in free and paid versions. Aimed at beginners, the free version also features the drag and drop functionality. It also comes with photo realistic and cartoon rendering options, primitives and background images. The make the character creation simpler, the software also provides free pre-made 3D models and accessories

Tej Kohli is an expert in animation and likes to share his knowledge with those just begining their career in animation. Tej Kohli blog is a place to find all the latest information about 2D and 3D animation.

Tej Kohli Explains How to Create Animated 3D Models and 3D Movie Scenes

Tej Kohli animation career blog is back with another easy to understand tutorial on how to create animated 3D model and make 3D movie scenes. Read the complete guide below on Tej Kohli Blog.

Creating 3D movie scenes with animated models is something that artists make with design software like Blender or Maya. These programs come equipped with functions for making 3D scene's models and generating series of animated images embracing those models. The first thing than an artist must create when making a 3D movie is its model and environment. This may involve exhaustive research and groundwork into prior related artwork. With proper research artists are able to create authentic models, for example the Titanic Ship model in the movie Titanic. Advantages of creating 3D scenes with models are many but most important is the personal satisfaction of creating a world out of your own imagination.

1. To begin, open a 3D design & animation program on your computer. Then click the 'create' or 'draw' in the menu. This step starts a procedure that will bring out a 3D scene demonstrating a ball bouncing into a basket. It is a sample project which will introduce you to various concepts and procedures you can execute while making other animated scenes.

2. Under the 'create' menu, click the 'box' item. Then click and drag in the 'perspective' viewport to create the box's base. Once the box fills the view-port's screen, release the mouse and slightly drag upwards to form the box's height. After this click to finish the box. You have created a ground model on which the ball will bounce.

3. Start creating the ball by clicking on the 'sphere' item under the 'create' menu. Then click and drag anywhere atop the ground you created in the last step to create the ball. Release the mouse once the ball has reached its ideal size.

Tej Kohli has a keen interest in 3D animation, despite not taking it as a full time career.

4. Click the 'create' menu's 'cylinder' item. Click and drag on the ground model an a position opposite to that of the ball. This action will ascertain the cylinder's base. To grow the cylinder's height, release the mouse and drag upwards. Click again to complete the cylinder.

5. Next, select the 'animation' menu heading and then click the 'make keyframe' function under it. This action will generate a frame of the 3D movie. The software will automatically calculate the movie frames between your key-frames to complete the movie.

6. Keep dragging the animation time slider at the bottom of your screen until it frame counter reads '50'. Movie's current frame advances with this action and enables artist to create a new keyframe.

7. Select the ball and then click you 'Modify' menu's 'move' command. This command allows you to move 3D models. Then drag the ball in upward direction and little towards the cylinder. Then create another keyframe as instructed in step 5.

8. Drag the animation time slider to frame 100, then move the ball back down to the ground, and slightly closer to the basket. Make another keyframe.

9. Repeat this cycle of increasing the animation time slider by 50 frames, moving the ball toward the basket's top, then making a keyframe. Once the ball has reached the basket, continue to the next step.

10. Click the "Animation" menu's "Preview" command to view the ball bouncing into the basket.

11. Click the "Render" menu's "Render animation" command to produce a more realistically shaded version of the completed animated scene.

To read more informative articles by Tej Kohli, keep reading us.

Tej Kohli's Facts About 3D Animators

Tej Kohli blog for Animation Career help shares another informative article by Tej Kohli, stating some facts about 3D animation.

As the computer technology continues to advance by leaps and bounds, 3D animation has branched out into many sub-fields like gaming, cinema, advertising, engineering and education. To cope with the ever-increasing demand, several companies are innovating new 3D animation programs of various complexities and secondary educational institutes are offering courses in various niches related to this field.

History : its was in the 1980s when 3D computer animation picked up popularity with music videos like 'Money for nothing' by Dire Straits and movies like 'Tron'. The demand for 3D animators has only grown since then and has become the foundation of numerous companies and businesses.

Functions : Disney's “Toy Story”was the first ever feature film in 3D. Following the suit, many other companies also released a number of super-hit 3D animation features, movies and television shows. Apart from movies and television, 3D animation has become the backbone of gaming industry ever since the 32- bit gaming systems where introduced in the market. In addition to entertainment, professional industries like engineering, aerospace, mechanical engineering and architecture have come to rely heavily on the 3D animation for design and stimulation purposes.

Tej Kohli is an active blogger and a successful entrepreneur who is on a mission to hep those who wants to launch a succcessful career in the animation field. Tej Kohli blog is a repository of useful articles to help you shape your career path in animation industry.

Education: Most of the basicas most skills that a 3D animator must possess are almost same for both entertainment and other industries. In general parlance, 3D animation has become synonymous to the 'game design'. As most renowned universities tend to focus more on game design aspect of 3D, it is usually a wiser decision for an animator to opt for best game design programs over anything else.

Tools : Nowadays, there are plethora of 3D animation software available in the market vying for users at various skill levels. Some of the these programs emphasize on actual animation of people, animals, machine and other moving creatures, others focus on 3D illustration of backdrops.

Benefits : As 3D animators are still in a huge demand, if you complete your course from a reputed university chances are that you might fetch a high paying job ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 a year. Luckily, if your project becomes a hit, you can start making six figures per year.

For more tips by Tej Kohli on 2D and 3D animation trends and industry updates keep reading Tej Kohli blog.

Tej Kohli Tips on How To Draw a 3D animals

Tej Kohli blog brings some more useful tips to help you create those basic 3D layouts. Read more and learn more with Tej Kohli Animation Career Help Blog.

By adding 3D characteristics and elements to your design you can make them appear more realistic and jump off the page. Incorporating these elements is easy and even children can use these techniques to enhance their simple line drawings to add depth to the animals and make them stand out of the backdrops. The first rule of thumb in 3D drawings is always draw in pencil, as it makes it easier to add shading and rectify the mistakes. However, once the basic drawing is ready, it can be later enhanced with colors.

1. Shading in the portion of animals creates depth. Rendering with a light color makes an object look closer while a darker color makes it look distant. For example, because the nose of the dog protrudes out, if drawing illustrates a dog's face head on, his nose area would be lighter than its cheeks and forehead.

2. Adding shadows will make animal pop put from its background. After deciding what direction the light would fall from, make all the shadows uniform. Given that the sun were directly in front f the animal, the shadow would fall behind it. Alternatively, if the light is coming from the left, the shadow would be slanted towards the right.

3. Instead of rendering the flat lines, add views from the side and back angles. For example, you may add a slanted line alongside the outline of the animal's leg to create a rounded limb. By showing a slight view of the side of the leg other than the front makes the limb emerge from the plain and give drawing a 3D quality.

4. Use proportion to help the animal stand out. If the head of the horse is facing towards the front and body is extended behind it, the front legs should be slightly larger than the hind legs since they are father from the view.

Read More : Tej Kohli Guide | Tej Kohli Blog for Study Places in US | Tej Kohli Business Blog