Traditional illustration versus Computer Illustration?
What are 3D Computer Graphics?
How are 3D Computer graphic created?

 

Traditional illustration versus Computer Illustration?

Design and illustration has changed dramatically over the last ten years. Gone are the days of traditional and conventional artwork using pen and ink, paint and airbrush techniques to produce a technical illustration. Commissioning an artist or design studio had to be done months in advance as these techniques were time consuming and quite often impractical. Enter the age of computer 3d!

Here at 3di we have experienced both the conventional and digital illustration ages. Needless to say, with the introduction of quality computer packages, we have been able to create technical illustrations, animations and 3d graphics to a standard far greater than before.

We now have the ability to produce photo-realistic illustrations and animations within hours or days rather than weeks or months allowing our clients to cut down turn around times for presentations and proposals.

To see some examples of the work we have produced here at 3Di, take a look at our gallery section.

 

What are 3D Computer Graphics?

3D computer graphics are works of graphic art that were created with the aid of digital computers and specialized software. In general, the term may also refer to the process of creating such graphics, or the field of study of 3D computer graphic techniques and its related technology.

3D computer graphics are different from 2D computer graphics in that a three-dimensional representation of geometric data is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. Sometimes these images are later displayed in a pre-rendered form, and sometimes they are rendered in real-time.

In general, the art of modeling, which prepares geometric data for 3D computer graphics is akin to sculpting or photography, while the art of 2D graphics is analogous to painting. However, 3D computer graphics rely on many of the same algorithms as 2D computer graphics.

In computer graphics software, this distinction is occasionally blurred; some 2D applications use 3D techniques to achieve certain effects such as lighting, while some primarily 3D applications make use of 2D visual techniques.

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How are 3D Computer graphics created?

The process of creating 3D computer graphics can be sequentially divided into three basic phases:

• Content creation (modeling, texturing, animation)
• Scene layout setup
• Rendering

Modeling:

The modeling stage could be described as shaping individual objects that are later used in the scene.

Modeling processes may also include editing object surface or material properties (e.g., color, luminosity, diffuse and specular shading components — more commonly called roughness and shininess, reflection characteristics, transparency or opacity, or index of refraction), adding textures, bump-maps and other features.

Modeling may also include various activities related to preparing a 3D model for animation (although in a complex character model this will become a stage of its own, known as rigging). Objects may be fitted with a skeleton, a central framework of an object with the capability of affecting the shape or movements of that object. This aids in the process of animation, in that the movement of the skeleton will automatically affect the corresponding portions of the model. See also Forward kinematic animation and Inverse kinematic animation. At the rigging stage, the model can also be given specific controls to make animation easier and more intuitive, such as facial expression controls and mouth shapes (phonemes) for lipsyncing.

Modeling can be performed by means of a dedicated program (e.g., Lightwave Modeler, Rhinoceros 3D, Moray), an application component (Shaper, Lofter in 3D Studio) or some scene description language (as in POV-Ray). In some cases, there is no strict distinction between these phases; in such cases modelling is just part of the scene creation process (this is the case, for example, with Caligari trueSpace and Realsoft 3D).

Scene layout setup:

Scene setup involves arranging virtual objects, lights, cameras and other entities on a scene which will later be used to produce a still image or an animation. If used for animation, this phase usually makes use of a technique called "keyframing", which facilitates creation of complicated movement in the scene. With the aid of keyframing, instead of having to fix an object's position, rotation, or scaling for each frame in an animation, one needs only to set up some key frames between which states in every frame are interpolated.

Lighting is an important aspect of scene setup. As is the case in real-world scene arrangement, lighting is a significant contributing factor to the resulting aesthetic and visual quality of the finished work. As such, it can be a difficult art to master. Lighting effects can contribute greatly to the mood and emotional response effected by a scene, a fact which is well-known to photographers and theatrical lighting technicians.

Rendering:

Rendering is the final process of creating the actual 2D image or animation from the prepared scene. This can be compared to taking a photo or filming the scene after the setup is finished in real life.

The above information was provided by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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Useful Links

ITProfessionals.co.uk - Professional 3D Modelling Companies in the UK