New to 3D completely

DrawingCake

I’m a new member and this is my first post.
I currently use an iPad Pro (2018, 1TB 12.9”) and I use Forger App. I’m planning to get a PC and learn with blender at first (or zbrush depending on my funds). But I’m a 2D artist and I’m wanting to learn 3D for fun, for my own personal work more so. 

What kind of tips could people give me on this subject? It feels like I’m at a disadvantage doing 3D coming from a 2D background, since some people I know who do 3D don’t do 2D or don’t draw at a (for lack of a better word) decent level; think stick figures or what some would draw at elementary or middle school.
I mostly watch youtubers who work with blender or zbrush or a combination of those programs but my iPad is what I have currently since my only computer is a 2013 MacBook Pro 13” (i7 3.3GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, intel 4000 graphics)
My goals for 3D are mostly to just make attractive faces and busts of characters/my characters 

So my question is do you have any tips on how I could improve my skill? Is there a way to kind to “sketch” before hopping into a sphere? Is there anything noticeable from my work that is a red flag for what I shouldn’t do?

I don’t understand much of the technical stuff about 3D or what rendering is or any technical terms so if you could use plain language or commonly used language so I could google the definitions it’d be appreciated.

images: the sketch is an OC of mine; the more filled out model is my first attempt at sculpting a face from February; the last image is my most recent attempt (I thought trying to make an anime girl would be easier than going for something more realistic)

I 

Brian "Panda" Choi

Reproduce the Asaro Head.

That'd be a simple project that should teach you everything you need to technically know.

Your human anatomy skills, we need more examples, since you only posted a manga portrait that's head on.

DrawingCake

I’m a NSFW artist but hopefully I can upload this for reference please tell me if this is not what you meant though.
what is the Asaro head?

DrawingCake

Ok so a question about the Asaro head would be, what tool would I use to make planes? Would it be just the standard sort of brushes available or is it more in the settings and making planes via a different method?
I imagine that I still start with a sphere and the only method I know to make a human head is to use the Move brush to pull out the chin. Is this an inefficient method for that kind of project?

Brian "Panda" Choi

In Zbrush, we use the trimDynamic brush to do flatten out the surface into planes.

Do you have something similar with the iPad app?

DrawingCake

Yes I’ve got these two tools I’m not quite sure of the difference in them. Judging by their icons I think it has to do with the initial geometry you apply the tool to.

DrawingCake

Unfortunately this app has good reviews and works decently well and I’ve seen good sculpts come from its users but the support, information, and tutorials on it aren’t the most robust. 

But I need to try to practice with what I have before I can decide to buy a PC purely for 3D

kanga

Couldnt you download and install Blender right now? It doesnt take up that much space and is available for the mac. If your mac book is full you can get an external HD for around 30 euros. You can drop stuff you want to keep on that to free up some room. I dont know how Blender is on a 13 inch screen but the interface is pretty flexible. Im not familiar with the app you are using but Blender's sculpt tools are pretty developed and there is a load of info (tutorials) on youtube.

DrawingCake

I have blender right now on my MacBook yeah, but I can’t save anything, it’s 2,8 or 2.79 I forget. But it will show the loading color wheel thing that macs do and then crash, it’s the only program that does that. It does it on my Toshiba satellite 17” AMD A6 as well.

DrawingCake

And without a tablet or a mouse it’s a big bother to try to do anything with only the touchpad.
i have special living conditions to where I can’t exactly order things online or go to shops, I’m a truck driver. And in this pandemic even Walmart is closing its electronics section so I can’t even get a cheap Bamboo tablet. 

carvuliero

Actually you are ahead of the curve knowing how to draw and already knowing how human body looks like is big advantage .The thing you have to do change the way you think covert 2d shape to 3d form its the same as shading your drawing or explaining surface form of what you drawing

I dont see why you think your pc wont work parameters looks fine to me you only need powerful PC if you plan to do multimillion polygon model with double digit subtools . For learning and sketching you are fine I suggest to download bunch of software that have sculpting capabilities[program usually have trail or student version which is free ] and try them out see which fit you best [zbrush mudbox blender sculptris 3dcoat and so ]

What do you mean by "sketching" exactly I might have something for you I have been experimenting recently with new technique

Your work look like typical beginners work blobby with weird forms ,keep it simple use primitives as building blocks work from big to small

You are already able to draw complex scene so your brain understand how to handle shape/form now  just have to learn new media and tools [you really need just a few brushes ] I expect you to be able to do amazing stuff in 3d in a short time

I wont worry about Asaro head right now it more of a advance topic ,try to create basic head neck and shoulder no details no feature only big shapes/form [only exception been ears head without ears doent look like head again very simple you are not making master pieces here you are learning basic building blocks ]

https://www.parkablogs.com/sites/default/files/figure-sculpting-vol-one-05.jpg

How do you drawing without tablet ? if you cant order one yourself ask someone to do it for you

DrawingCake

Oh well I use an iPad Pro for all of my art right now because it’s super portable. I do not have a house so I can only buy what I see in at a store (usually Walmart or big lots since I deliver to those places). I have no idea why my computers don’t like blender but the Mac is from 2013 and the toshiba is from 2015 but they’re both garbage with blender. 
what I mean by sketching is sort of like how do I decide where to put my facial features like the position of the eyes and nose and ears and mouth without a usual cross-hair type sketch on a head.
right now my process is just to start with a sphere and then I pull the jaw shape out of the sphere and attach a neck at the base of the head. I’m trying to figure out how to make that kind of indent on the side of the head but that’s just for me to experiment with the tools on the iPad. 

kanga

Blender crashing on both computers eh. Sounds strange. carvaliero is correct. depending on what you want from 3D there are a lot of alternatives. Just for Blender, deep uninstall what you have now. Go to blender.org, choose downloads and pick the operating system you want. Download the installer and install the new copy. I would use the Toshiba for its larger screen. If you are still experiencing crashes go to blenderartists.org and start up a thread in their tech section.

Again, depending on what you want to do, I would recommend zBrush. You can't really use it with a touchpad or mouse, I would order a small wacom like the design or art pad. They are freely available and not too expensive. Doesn't take long to get use to it.

Have fun!

carvuliero

Thats pretty simple you could use knife like tool to draw over your basic forms in a sense making a map

If blender doesnt work try sculptris is the super simple zbrush you have few brushes and a sphere more then you need

kanga

carvuliero said:

...try sculptris is the super simple zbrush ...

Yep, that'll do it

sacboi

Briefly afaik, regarding stability issues. Put simply, if for example sculpts are dense with detail, then occasionally Blender will pause in a loop (crash) because as a memory intensive app alongside using all available RAM it's really the operating system's job to allocate sufficient resources as efficiently (quickly) as possible when requested, otherwise an 'out of memory exception' occurs.