3D & Animation

What is a Concept Artist?

Nacho Yagüe, art director for Gameloft, explains what a concept artist is Creating settings, scenes, and environments is an essential part of developing any game. Nacho Yagüe is an art director and concept artist who has worked on Ubisoft games such as Assassins Creed: Unity, Watch Dogs 2, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist. He is an expert in designing levels, textures, and animations for video game concept art. To help us to better understand what this profession entails, Nacho explains a concept artist’s role in the video game industry. He also shares some examples that will give you a better idea of the type of work they produce and where they fit in the production process for developing a new video game.

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21 3D Artists You Should Know in 2021

Meet some of Domestika's Instagram top 3D modelers and animators 3D modeling and animation are disciplines with a bright future ahead. Used in cinema, advertising, social networks, and even art galleries, these three-dimensional sculptures that come to life continue to leave us all in awe. Each artist has their own different techniques and style, but they all have one thing in common: they put countless hours (sometimes even days) into the smallest details in order to achieve perfection. Even the most minimalist work has a high level of complexity and requires focus and expertise in several creative areas. Do you want to discover the many faces of 3D and animation? This list of artists who stood out on Domestika's Instagram in 2020 is the place to start. They create characters and entire worlds using only software and incredible skills! Alex Z (@ghost3dee) Alex Z is a 3D animator who creates fantastic scenes with organic and natural movements, confusing even the most skeptical observer.

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Flash Ends: The Rise and Fall of The Internet’s Most Loved and Hated Software

The history of the multi-billion dollar software that transformed the internet and forged a gaming universe, only to become one of its most hated softwares In the late 90s, two tech entrepreneurs decided to turn their failed drawing software into an animation program for the internet. Charlie Jackson and Jonathan Gay had thought that PenPoint-technology, tablet and stylus drawing and writing technology, would be the next big thing. They were wrong. "I think we sold two copies", Jackson told Ars Technica. "And one was to the architect who was designing Bill Gates' house".

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What Is Photogrammetry?

Discover more about this 3D creation technique and how it is applied to video games, VFX, and more We are living in a technological era in which humans are able to generate 3D objects and environments that are difficult to distinguish from reality, demonstrated by the most cutting-edge video games and movies. This is done using different methods, and photogrammetry is one of the most common and most interesting of them. To help you get to grips with this technique, which is often used in the VFX and video games’ industries, here are the essential points you should know according to 3D artist David Chumilla (@amnoon), who has worked on projects like Forza Horizon 3, Need for Speed: Heat, and Call of Duty: Black Ops IV.

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5 Styles of Art Direction for Motion Graphics

Learn how to define the style of your audiovisual projects with Helio Vega

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Among Us and the Basics of Good Video Game Design

Get tips from a video game developer on how to create a successful project like Among Us If you’ve been on the Internet over the last few weeks, you may have heard about Among Us, a video game launched in 2018 that went viral in 2020 for being simple and extremely entertaining. Its logic is straightforward: you and your friends must complete small tasks onboard a spaceship while looking for an impostor: a killer trying to decimate the rest of the crew. Through this plot, the game becomes a social and narrative experience aiming to unmask the story’s villain, who is also one of the players. Its popularity turned Among Us into the most streamed game on Twitch in September 2020 and is still breaking audience and sales records.

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3D Art Inspiration You'll Love

Learn about some inspiring 3D artists with multidisciplinary designer Ali Sahba London-based multidisciplinary designer and photographer Ali Sahba (@alisahba) creates 3D animations, illustrations, and other projects for a wide range of digital and print media and has worked for clients such as Apple, Microsoft, Adidas, and Oreo, among others. In his Domestika course, Ali Sahba encourages you to explore the possibilities that exist when you blend different digital tools and software in a single project and teaches you to create photorealistic 3D illustrations. Experimentation is essential for telling stories differently. Ali combines different tools and software in his 3D projects to create realistic visual art that pushes contemporary storytelling limits. Various artists working in photography, graphic design, illustration, and film making from around the world have influenced and inspired him. Let’s get to know these artists and their work.

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5 Examples of Animation Combining 2D and 3D

Animator Andrea Gendusa shares work from his animation portfolio In animation, you can adjust different techniques and styles to suit each project. Whether you choose to use 2D or 3D animation will depend on your personal preferences and the type of project you’re working on. However, you can also use 2D and 3D animation in the same project, giving the piece a unique style. That's exactly what animator Andrea Gendusa (@andreagendusa) does, combining working in both Adobe After Effects and Cinema 4D.

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11 Basic Concepts to Get You Started in The 3D World

Learn about some areas of work and the possibilities of 3D in modeling, illustration, and animation If you are thinking of getting started in the world of 3D, or want to expand your field of work, we compiled this list for you. Learn about some of the main creative areas of 3D modeling and animation. To read each article with detailed information, just click on its red title.

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All the V-Ray Essential Keyboard Shortcuts You Need to Know

Improve your workflow using these shortcuts for the rendering engine V-Ray Widely used in movies—think Avatar, Robocop, Iron Man, and Tron Legacy, to name just a few—, the video game industry, and architectural visualizations, V-Ray is one of the favorite render engines for 3D professionals. Discover all the shortcuts you need to start working efficiently with this software and speed up your projects.

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What Is a Turnaround in Character Design and How To Draw One

A turnaround shows a character in different poses. Learn how to create one following these steps. If you work in illustration and animation, chances are that at some point, you'll be asked to create a turnaround. It is a vital tool for successfully modeling in 3D. As the name suggests, a turnaround is a 360-degree view of a character that gives us all the information we need to know. It can be tricky to do it correctly, but Laura Ewing Ferrer (@le_lauraewing) knows a lot about turnarounds. She is an illustrator and storyboarder who loves creating characters and has worked as a freelance artist for various documentaries, pilot series, and publishing houses. Today she will share with you the steps and tricks you should use when making a turnaround.

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What Is Voxel Art?

Learn about the creative possibilities of voxel art, a technique connected to but different from pixel art To understand what voxel art is, we must first understand what a pixel is. In 2D graphics, a pixel is the smallest visible part of an image. If you zoom all the way into an image, you will notice a grid formed by hundreds of small squares. Each of these squares, all of them in a single blocked color, is what we call a pixel. A voxel is the equivalent of a pixel but in 3D. Think of the pixel as a square and the voxel as a cube. It's as simple as that, and the reason why many artists start their modeling and 3D animation careers by working in voxels. It represents, after all, a fun process for experimenting and creating.

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Spark AR Tutorial: basic tips to start from scratch

Discover the basic tools to manage the Spark AR software and create your first animated filters for social media, with Ayo Vega

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Meet Game Designer Zach Soares

Step into the Voxel art universe with Zach Soares and create a fantasy character made entirely of 3D cubes Zach Soares (@voxels) is a French Canadian self-taught Voxel artist now living in the UK. He has worked on freelance projects for clients such as Hipster Whale for almost a decade and is the creative director of his studio, Bunnyhug. Before concentrating on 3D animation and the game industry, Zach, who studied urban design, created 3D designs for cities. Zach started exploring game design on the side, which inspired him to look into game development through Voxel art. In his Domestika course, he teaches how to model, rig, and animate a character from scratch, using Voxel Art design.

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Pioneers of Animation: Before Mickey Mouse

The magic lantern and the first inventions Animation arose from a seventeenth-century invention nicknamed ‘the magic lantern’, attributed to the scientist Christiaan Huygens. This invention allowed the achievement of an illusion of movement, alternating between various images or projecting two at the same time, one fixed and the other moving. Huygens regretted her invention immediately: he thought that it was a frivolous and absurd invention, and he even began to worry that he might damage the reputation of his family. This idea was so terrifying to him that he tried to sabotage it before his father could show it to King Louis XIV of France. But it was already too late, and the magic lantern had awoken an unstoppable movement: giving life to drawings was now possible.

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The Importance of Storyboarding in Animation

Designer Roberto Puig talks about the importance of using storyboards and animatics in animation projects Storyboarding is an integral process in the development of animation. It includes all the planned details of the piece, and it is a clear and detailed document of the ultimate result. Despite its importance, many professionals and animation studios jump this step of the process. Roberto Puig (@rpuig)—graphic designer and director of Don Porfirio studio—highlights how this step is fundamental and gives us some tips on how to execute it best. Why is storyboarding important? The main reason all animation projects must include a storyboard is to help us achieve exceptional outcomes. It also ensures that everyone involved in the production has a vision of the product from the start, including the client. It is also useful for organizing all the individuals' jobs and tasks within the animation project pipeline. These tasks can be assigned from the beginning, even before the project is in development. Furthermore, during the storyboard stage, our client can suggest any changes that can be easily applied. This would be more complex at a later stage.

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5 Free Apps for Video Game Creators (Who Can’t Program)

Is it possible to create a video game without previous knowledge of programming? Video games are not limited to one discipline: they need illustration, narrative, design, 3D modeling, and, of course, programming. If you want to create your own interactive game, you may well find it a complex and daunting task. There are often two main obstacles: the price of certain development programs and a lack of programming knowledge. Fortunately, there are a number of free programs that can help you enter this world with, believe it or not, no prior knowledge of programming. We present you the following list of 5 video game design apps of different complexity so that you can find the one that best suits your level and needs. 1. Quest A good story is the basis of many video games, so perhaps you should start with the basics. If you are a fan of complex and flexible narratives but have never had to design an interactive story, Quest will allow you to develop text-based games in the style of the legendary Zork (1977). You won't need any programming, design, or illustration skills for this kind of "Choose Your Own Adventure” game and you will exercise your brain to start thinking like a narrative designer.

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5 Loop Animation Styles That Will Inspire You

Animator Pablo Cuello shares the work of 5 incredible creatives When you think about animation, you might imagine feature films from the big film studios. However, you don't need to create such complex or lengthy animations to inspire a deep emotional response in your viewers. Pablo Cuello (@pablocuello) is an Argentine graphic designer and animator who works with After Effects to create short and straightforward pieces that overflow with appeal:

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Studio Ghibli Releases Free Images From All Its Movies

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Squash and Stretch in Animation

Learn how to use this animation technique to add expression to your characters

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What Is Stop Motion Animation?

Learn about the origin of animation in its purest form: the stop motion technique

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The Education and Frustration of an Artist: Interview With Szymon Biernacki

Discover how an animation specialist, with an Oscar nomination, manages both sides of the same career

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Kultnation: Influences That Forged His Professional Style

Learn about the illustrators, painters, and animators who inspired his artwork

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Domestika Diary: Caroline Kjellberg

2D animator and motion designer Caroline Kjellberg talks us through her creative routine and life as a freelancer based in Bali Being far away from home during a global pandemic is a complicated situation to find oneself in. Danish animator and motion designer Caroline Kjellberg had to lengthen her stay in Bali as a result of lockdown measures, and she’s been working from there ever since. The multifaceted artist welcomes us into her house in Bali to talk us through her day-to-day routine working as a freelancer during unprecedented times. She also speaks about the advantages and disadvantages of working as a freelance creative, and shares advice for preventing professional exhaustion, which can set in if we don’t stick to a good routine. Discover more below:

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Learn to Draw Animations in 20 Hours

Get to know Numecaniq’s secret to improve your drawing skills and gain fluidity in film animation

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How to Create Memorable Characters

Five tips for designing unique protagonists for your stories Sociedad Fantasma (@sociedadfantasma) is an animation and illustration studio, comprising Carlos Rupit, Gabriel Pichardo and Lizeth Rodríguez. They create wonderful stories through illustration and animation and have worked with clients such as Netflix, Gatorade, Google, and Nike. Their characters are one of the main pillars in each of their stories; they bring great substance to the plots and make the worlds they create all the more magical. While they’ve designed so many different characters, they all share characteristics that make them stand out. Here, Sociedad Fantasma shares their secret to creating memorable characters.

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Motion Graphics: What Is It and What’s It For?

Learn what differentiates motion graphics from animation, and why it is such an effective branch of design Today, motion graphics is a branch of design that is becoming increasingly popular. It’s now known that people pay more attention to videos than still images, even if those videos are just simple GIFs that move very little. If you’re a graphic designer, sooner or later you will come across a client who will ask you to create a piece that requires motion graphics. Learning to do so is sure to help you stand out among the competition. Find out more about this branch of design below. What is motion graphics? Motion graphics is essentially a type of animation. However, it has a different purpose. The term “animation” can refer to all sorts of techniques used to make images move, such as those seen in animated films and series. In this sense, animation is a basic component of narration and storytelling. Instead, motion graphics is a particular type of design, which applies movement to certain elements in a composition in order to capture the viewer’s attention. In this video, you can see some examples of motion graphics created by Guillermo Zapiola (@guillermo_zapiola):

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What is 3D Printing?

Designer and maker Agustín ‘Flowalistik’ Arroyo explains how FDM 3D printing works and the different types of 3D printing that exist

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Get Inspired by 7 3D Artists and CG Illustrators

Discover the work of these creatives and their spectacular compositions Computer-generated images can bring life to shapes, movements, colors, and creatures that only exist in their creator's imagination. Meet 7 talented illustrators and animators from different countries who give life to fantastic characters and beautiful 3D worlds: Frank J. Guzzone Frank is a multidisciplinary artist and art director based in New York who specializes in CG animations. He has worked with numerous international brands, and in his projects, he plays with impossible physics in vibrant colored universes.

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How to Create an Animated Web Series

Sociedad Fantasma shows us the process behind the creation of R.T., an alien that tries to sympathize with humanity Sociedad Fantasma (@sociedadfantasma) is a storytelling studio founded by Carlos Rupit, Gabriel Pichardo, and Lizeth Rodríguez, devoted to telling great stories through illustration and animation. This path has led them to work with brands like Netflix, Gatorade, Google, and Nike, but also to develop their projects, such as their web series UFUCK_U, where a curious alien tries to fit into daily human life. This project demonstrates this Mexican studio's experience in crafting stories, characters, illustration, color management, and animation–the foundations of their work. These are the main steps Sociedad Fantasma takes to make an episode of its series.

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