Question about sci-fi concept art
polycounter lvl 9
Hey guys. Since childhood, i like sci-fi and all that related to it - robots, space ships, futuristic cars, and so on. That's why I became a hard surface modeler. I learned to model everything I like, figured out the tools, and even got my first job in game dev. But there is one thing that I can't handle with - and this is design.
I had many situations when I found a stunning concept, where I couldn't see some details (for example, the mech's back), and I couldn't finish the model, just because I was too afraid to spoil it with my poor additions. My shapes are too plain and simple, that's it.
I am amazed by people who can paint over a primitive like cube or cylinder, turning it into some kind of amazing device, without changing its overall shape. I tried to find tutorials that open the principles to me and teach me how to combine forms correctly to get a nice looking result.
But all I found was a video with pro's who paint or model a beautiful design directly on the go, without any specific explanations and details.
I tried to find books - and found only advice on the composition of landscapes and photographs.
I tried to go straight, and just copy and mix master's concept art - but every time I get my result,
I see just garbage, and this doesn't make me more optimistic.
And my question is - how to learn to make a good design? Are there any lessons or books that will help me? Or should I just draw\model on until my works get better? I'm pretty sure that I'm missing something obvious and important =(
The only useful stuff i found - http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/primary_secondary_and_tertiary_shapes/primary_secondary_and_tertiary_shapes.htm
The rest of the info - just different variations of the same idea. So should i just randomly place big, medium, and small forms until i get a good result?
Thanks for your attention, and sorry for my very imperfect English.
Replies
And I much more familiar with 3d software and was really inspired by guys like Vitaly Bulgarov or Tor Frick, who make their works directly in 3d space, so i'm not looking for perfect drawing technique, only design.
https://www.3dtotal.com/tutorial/2098-the-making-of-space-station-3ds-max-photoshop-v-ray-by-dmitriy-ten
"I can tell you, from experience and with confidence, that good references are 50% of a job well done. When you are starting any project, you should first understand how the objects you want to build work in real life. You don't need to be a specialist in that field, but you need to have at least some general ideas about them."
https://3dtotal.com/tutorial/2356-sci-fi-ships-in-3ds-max-by-victoria-passariello-scifi
https://www.3dtotal.com/tutorial/1858-the-making-of-dioptase-colony-power-diving-3ds-max-v-ray-by-tamas-medve-arch-viz-city-scene-sci-fi
"If I make an arch-viz image or any personal work, I never start without reference photos. I think this is a really important part of any project because it helps you to setup and direct the lighting, and also provides a good pallet reference when applying the final tweaks.
Generally, from the beginning I have an image in my head about a certain camera angle and mood, but of course this does not mean that I won't do any experimentation during the remainder of the process!"