Image source: Digitalartsonline.co.uk

The folks over at Digital Arts put together 3D art advice from some big names in the design industry. The advice was so good that we thought we’d take a much more in-depth look at these artistic pointers. So, get out your notebooks, boys and girls, because you’re about to learn some invaluable art advice.

1. Go Geometric

Artist Jorfe of Spain recommends that you go with simple geometric shapes like squares and triangles. “Squares are good for a strong and bold character, while triangles are perfect if you need it to be scary,” he explains. “It’s also a good idea to exaggerate the expressions. Use any part of the face to give life to your character, such as dishevelled hair or teeth with gaps between them.”

Image source: Spiritofautism.org

Geometric shapes are perfectly suited for children’s shows because geometric shapes are so easy for children to draw. Look at Bloo from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. This blue monstrosity is essentially just a big blue thumb. A kid could literally trace his thumb with a blue crayon and he’d be well on his way to drawing one of his favorite cartoons characters. And let’s not forget Spongebob Squarepants — the shape is right there in his name.

2. Eyes First, Everything Else Second

Artists Anima Boutique of Finland and Motomichi Nakamura from the States both argue that a character’s eyes are its most important features. “The eyes are the windows to the soul, and how they are drawn expresses any number of emotions,” said Boutique. “Their size and position conveys something about your character: bigger eyes tend to give a sense of childishness or childlike wonder, smaller ones a sense of seriousness and depth, wide-set eyes gives a sense of oddity, while close-set eyes are often comic.”

Image source: Hubpages.com

This isn’t just an artistic trick. Studies have shown that humans are hardwired to read emotions out of other’s eyes. Eyebrows and eyes can show a person’s emotional state and they can also indicate what a person is focusing on. In fact, you can often read a person’s emotion simply by looking at his eyes. So, you might want to start each art piece by focusing on the eyes. It can fundamentally alter the anatomy of the entire art piece.

3. Stick to Your Strengths

Gavin Strange from the UK recommends that you figure out what you’re good at and stick to it. He said, “Play to your strengths. Personally, I can’t illustrate characters in mid-motion; I will never be a designer that can draw an elaborate set of characters to express movement, so for me the key is to keep it simple.”

Image source: Digitalartsonline.co.uk

This is excellent advice, both in the world of art and in anything else you do. Researchers and corporate leaders generally recommend that people should play to their strengths in the business world. Some skills can be learned, but a lot of what makes a person great boils down to personality. If you give two people equal amounts of training in 3D animation, the one who likes it will almost assuredly become a better 3D animator than the one who hates it. Your passion about an activity will help you develop your skills in that field, so it’s important that you figure out what type of 3D art speaks to you and then pursue that style wholeheartedly.