Hello people, I've been in the software industry, on a professional level, for about two and a half years now. I'm pretty satisfied at the moment with my job as a programmer, but for personal and a tiny bit professional reasons I would like to extend my skillset to the more artistic side. This is not something I decided overnight, but has been bugging me for quite a while now. The reason I never picked it up was because I never identified it as a need to "walk a different path". One other personal reason is that I like to work on myself and my future, also at home, and that my programming job is so intense for me that in the evening I have very little energy left to solve mind boggling complex problems. And staring at my screen like a zombie is not very "working on myself" in my book. So I thought of turning off the "logical" bit of my brain and turning on the "creative" part in the evening in order to make some personal. :-) My professional goal with this change of direction is to be able to find a job in the visual art business (very broad). But these are very long term plans. So, I want to know a few things. For one, I need to be a bit assured that this is feasible for a "pure technical" guy. As you probably already have guessed I have no art background whatsoever. The only art that I recognise at the moment are software design patterns. ;-) Secondly, I would like to know where to start. I would like to know which basic skills are required (things like skill in perception), and how/where I can develop these. Websites, articles, courses, tips and tricks, anything is welcome. More than a "just start", because I know I want too much too fast. And last but not least, I would like to know which visual art types (modelling, drawing, digital arts, etc etc) you do/use, and how you use them and what has been a basis for what. I know I wrote quite a bit of text now, and I am thinking now that I probably do not need more than that bit of assurance and a "just start" in order to get going. It's probably that programmer's habbit wanting to inventarise too many details before starting. Anyway, thanks in advance for your guidance, Johan

Anybody can do art because well, art is about expressing yourself.

Now that being said, a lot of people do a lot of really bad art, and I'm certainly not saying that I'm not one of them. The important thing is to realize that no matter what, you are going to suck ass at first, but then you just have to keep pressing forward and eventually you'll learn a thing or two.

Understanding perspectives is important, so I would recommend reading up on one, two, and three point perspective drawings and practice. Draw what you see in real life and just draw. I personally don't enjoy drawing, but I'd be lying if the drawing exercises I've had to do haven't helped me understand how things work. By practicing perspective drawing you'll be forced to look at things in a matter that will help with modeling. I can't give you the definitive reason why, but it will help considerably.

Most 3d modeling packages come with a variety of great tutorials. If you're just wanting to get your feet wet, try downloading the free editions of 3ds Max or Maya and give the tutorials a whirl and see if it is something that you'll dig. Believe me, it'll be frustrating as all hell at first, but everytime you figure out how to do something you'll feel a little sense of accomplishment. Kinda like in programming, which you're already familiar with.

There are a variety of great and bad books out there. One that I can recommend is Digital Lighting and Rendering, 2nd ed. by Jeremy Birn. If you want to understand well, the fundamentals of digital lighting and rendering, it is a great read. The Animator's Survival Kit is a phenomenal book as well, though I can't remember the author's name off the top of my head. He is a traditional hand drawing animator, but the techniques and methods he presents work equally well for the digital domain as well.

Well, hopefully that'll give you a good starting point of information. I'm sure more people will chime in as well.

I was looking for a post just like this before I would post my own, and luck was on my side! Thank you zer0wolf for giving a non-artist confidence, I truly hope that it is a matter of practicing, and not just a "either you can or can not" deal. Could you possibly give book recommendations for the actual usage of tools like Max and Maya? Book recommendations for paint programs such as Photoshop and fundamentals of texturing, etc would be much appreciated as well. I hope I haven't asked for too much. [smile] However as Structural said, I like to do research before embarking on a task.

Thanks!
-Dave

[EDIT]
Found a ton of material now, even video tutorials. But thanks anyhow! [smile]
[/EDIT]

[Edited by - dmreichard on December 11, 2006 10:42:22 PM]

Hey there. I'm currently an art major with an emphasis in graphic design, so this post caused my .02 alarm to go off. ;)

I believe I'm actually quite the opposite of yourself, Structural, in that I've more of less been involved with art (not on a professional level) for the majority of my life. Now I'm trying to move into the technical side of things with programming and such.

My advice for you is to begin creating artwork that you yourself enjoy. Don't limit your learning to forms that will only directly benefit your job. Art, in general, should be used as a release - in your case work. ;)

I agree with zer0wolf, in that you should begin by drawing or painting. Most historically famous artists began with a pencil or paintbrush. I would begin to look at other artists' works. If you want to break it down "logically", look at the structure and form of their works. The way they move the brush on the canvas, or their pencil strokes. They don't necessarily have to be classical artists, though their is a solid reason they're known as "classic." Once you begin actually transferring the ideas from your head to your hand you'll begin to get better. Art is like programming in that practice makes perfect.

Aside from physical art, I'd buy some 3D modeling and imaging software. A good beginner's ground in 3D modeling is Milkshape (which is also free!) or trueSpace. Both are low-polygon renders. As far as imaging software is concerned, the standard seems to be Adobe Photoshop, though Paint Shop Pro is also popular. Tutorials for these programs are splattered all over the internet.

As I once read in a biographic Mozart book, "Just when you think you've composed a really great piece of work, realize Mozart wrote one better at age six." How many Mozart's do you know? Don't give up. :P