So I've been 3d modeling~ Yea~

I haven't been drawing much - I should, haha, It's not that I was particularly bad at it or annoyed by it - its just that I found modeling far more freeing for my creativity , being able to manipulate mater into any shape is amazing. So far so good too! I've been learning a lot - faces, edges, vectors - rigging , meshes, materials textures weight painting - its all starting to become super easy!

That said I do have some suggestions for anyone wanting to start animating because some of these tools are hella expensive. Great, but maybe not the best to start with. Of course if your goal is to be an industry professional - it doesn't hurt to learn Maya haha

So here what I use

Blender~ https://www.blender.org/ A fantastic ground up system that can handle sculpting, mesh editing, weight painting, texture, material posing and animation - Though do not be deterred- while there is ALOT in this UI, it's basic core is broken down into what appear to be "widget windows" That have about 7 or so different states - no more no less. Once you understand how all these windows can become any of the others - its starts to become a lot easier to utilize them.

That said, I recommend highly the Blender Exstention Sensei https://blendersensei.com/ an amazing extender that adds extra features and slims down Blender without detracting for a much smoother experience - this is my bread and butter.

Now I did find modeling from scratch in blender to be less intuitive than I wanted - with mesh issues and all and control is lacking. Luckily The creators of [b]Zbrush have a slimmed down version of their product for free called Sculptris![/b] http://pixologic.com/sculptris/ Now, this may not be as comprehensive as Maya or Zbrush but it packs a suite of auto mesh fixing tools that allow you to sculpt with ease - dare I say more ease than Zbrush itself.

I use Sculptris to make basic character models and objects - especially feet, hands, faces n diiicks. You can also texture and apply materials in Sculptris but I recommend other tools for that like Substance painter - https://www.allegorithmic.com/produ.....stance-painter - the only non free item I recommend here - although sculptrist and Blender could likely do what you want for free.

NOW Rigging and animation. You can do all these in blender - infact I recommend Sensei format and to watch his tutorials on his site for rigging - very very enlightening.

But what if I told you that you could take any Obj file, model, etc. Upload it into a program that auto rigs, weights and animates your characters, allowing you to download those models back into blender with rigs magically placed inside, keyframes already set for animating?

Well you can it's powered by adobe! https://www.mixamo.com/#/ - I dont even know where to start with this one - it is amazing what can be done with very little effort. Although I recommend if you're making porn, maybe dont upload it on this? Or maybe you can - I just assumed you shouldn't.

And of course it's fun to play with models that already exist out there - many are free - but making a profit off other people's property is - honestly - a lot more sketchy in modeling. We all draw porn of Yakko and wakko n Darnell but at the end of the day creating character assets and selling them - can be far more lucrative and far more fair and legal if they are yours. Don't steal and profit from protected models, the industry as a whole suffers when you do. Oddly enough, far more than illustration.

That's why I suggest Sculptris and the rest of these free tools. Let your creativity out and create whole new objects and characters you can sell on a thriving market place

Once you get a knack for model making you can freelance sell those models on sites like Turbosquid - however I am not expert on this part of the process and you may be breaking your balls in royalty splitting or exclusivity rights

Which I'll touch on quick here. Some sites can offer up to 80 - 90 % royalty for every sale on your models - some sites demand exclusivity meaning they expect you not to sell your work on any other website. Some times the royalty and exclusivity are balanced one way or the other but honestly when you start out dont be too picky. Money is money in your early practice years, you'll be making far more high quality models as you go and if you work hard you can make over 50,000 a year doing it - JUST SELLING ASSETS!

So thats all I had to say this week - hope everyone is doing alright out there :3