Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Merging of Two Worlds | alucinarae

alucinarae is a 2D artist that works with Photoshop quite often and does a lot of digital painting. He also likes to discuss the less popular branded creative soft-wares and bring them to others attention as to what they can do. Please visit his blog if you are interested in his work or learning about other creative works.

There are many uses for 3D models in the creative industry. Most of the time, the world of three-dimensional modeling and rendering are considered separate from the realm of two-dimensional graphic design and illustration. But as the creative industry continues advancing with new developments to the tools and technology available in digital creative software, the boundaries that separate 3D and 2D work are slowly becoming irrelevant.

Most modelers are familiar with the concept of “texturing”, which is effectively the process of wrapping a specialized 2D image around a 3D model to complete the final product. 3D models by themselves are usually quite plain, a monotonous assemblage of uniform, muted gray constructions that appear to have been all carved out of the same material.

"plain, monotonous" 3D model

It is the textures of a model that usually lends to the complete look of any construction; the details and colors that work together with lighting lend to the believability of the created concept. To best understand what texturing is, the idea is similar to painting the colors onto the surface of a colorless sculpture in real life. In 3D rendering, the textures are much more detailed than just color; you also have other options such as normal maps that interact with lighting to simulate wrinkles in cloth, scars on flesh, or intricate engravings on smooth surfaces. Most texture maps are done in a 2D environment, such as Photoshop, and later applied onto the model itself. The result is a finished construction that, if done well enough, looks lifelike and believable.

Texturing seems to be the most well-known method of using both two-dimensional and three-dimensional workspaces; the process is basically applying 2D resources to enhance a 3D artwork. However, there are processes in which the workflow is reversed; using 3D resources to enhance 2D artwork. The concept isn’t as foreign as some might think it to be; it’s actually quite a common application that is sometimes not as recognized or respected due to the particular stigma of “using shortcuts” in the 2D creative industry community.

The negative opinion I’m referring to is not a universal opinion, so perhaps I need to explain.
In the 2D creative industry—especially in the painting and illustration community, which I am a part of—many individuals take great pride in the “do everything by hand” mentality; all concepts and artwork should be done entirely by the artist alone, and any non-traditional use of resources or aids are heavily discouraged, sometimes even being labeled as “cheating”. I personally find this kind of thinking to be limited and unconstructive, as it is counter-productive to the opportunities and potential innovations our industry could benefit from by bringing 2D and 3D work styles together.

Many graphic designers already implement 3D-rendered images into their 2D arrangements. In illustration, the same principle can be applied to help cut down the time spent doing tedious or time-consuming steps of composing an image, or just be used as an aid to further enhance a piece. One of the most classic examples are how some of the recent comics graphic novels use three-dimensional rendering to composite a background setting, saving artists from redrawing a background repeatedly over multiple panels and keeping the intricate details of the setting consistent.

A popular Korean webtoon, Noblesse, uses this method extensively. The artist, Lee Gwang Su, draws his characters in a clean and refined style. According to the Noblesse blog run by the webtoon’s author, he utilizes GoogleSketchUp to build a believable and consistent 3D environment, then takes screenshots from different angles as backgrounds for different panels. After the backgrounds are established from the 3D environment renderings, he draws the characters in separately; the result is a smooth blend of both 2D and 3D elements that create a completed scene which helps Lee Gwang Su tell his stories cleanly and efficiently.


Another artist noted for using such a method is Wenqing Yan, better known as Yuumei. Her most recent storytelling endeavor, Fisheye Placebo, is also a webtoon-styled graphic story set in a highly-detailed, meticulously-constructed world. In order to capture the feeling of the story she was aiming for, Yuumei adopted and practiced the methodology of constructing artistic, yet intricate and precise backgrounds using a combination of various 3D modeling software and 2D graphics software. In fact, Yuumei provided a quick tutorial on her deviantART account which overviewed her preferred methods when it came to constructing such 3D-based backgrounds for illustrations. Yuumei often uses SketchUp to build her scene, similar to Lee Gwang Su’s technique, but goes further in using V-Ray to flesh out the scene with high-quality rendering and effects. Other programs she has made use of include 3DSMax and ghostTown (for generating random cityscapes), so her array of resources is quite large. After building and rendering the 3D background, she takes the images and subjects them to further post-processing in 2D software, namely Photoshop and SAI. The entire process results in an image that blends almost seamlessly with organic art; working together to create a uniform illustration that has depth, yet did not require tedious work that consumed a lengthy amount of time.

A gif created by Yuumei to show off a 3D modeled background blended with 2D illustration.

Yuumei has answered to criticism from other illustrators and comic artists for employing this methodology of using 3D software to “speed up” her process, or using it as a “crutch”. This is the stigma of the graphic design and illustration community I mentioned earlier; some individuals condemn this strategy, considering it even worse than tracing. Yuumei herself has addressed these criticisms on her own blog, stating her reasoning and justification for employing this technique.

Whether this technique is loved or hated, it cannot be denied that the usage of three-dimensional imaging to supplement traditional two-dimensional illustrations is becoming increasingly common. The artists who wish to remain traditional may be adamant about using only self-made art, but the ever-growing creative industry itself has provided the means for progress through innovation, even if it is at the cost of traditional methods.

Either way, the bridges between the two worlds of our creative industry do exist; the distance between 3D modeling and 2D illustration is not quite as far as it used to be anymore.

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