In this episode of the CG Talks Podcast (the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics) we are thrilled to interview Gordon Neil host of a podcast called Digital Artcast. He has interviewed top industry professionals from the game development industry and this time gladly sat on the other side of the mic to talk with us about his journey and experience. Neil is a 3d artist specializing in gamedev currently working for Fabricated Madness on an exciting new project - ‘The Chronicles of Dr. Zammsy ’ a new collectible card game using the NFT blockchain technology. Our audience can be sure that today’s episode will be full of crispy stories straight from Gordon’s pouch!

In the first part of the conversation, Neil tells us his story of how he became a digital artist starting from a totally different career (literally ‘working on the railway’) and giving a courageous leap of faith to pursue his dreams of making games he loved to play as a kid. Neill describes a memorable turning point story when he got back home from a wrecking shift fixing the railway stuff outside. Scotland’s rough weather has taken its toll and it was just enough to help Neil realize this was not how he wanted his life to go on and he made the decision to change. Along the way, he started the Digital Artcast - which gradually became a fast train to industry networking as well as his personal and professional landmark. All this story came to fruition with numerous ups and downs. Neil openly talks about his struggles and how eventually they led to some unexpected success. Though many podcasts appear in space and quickly disappear, this was not the case with Digital Artcast. Relax and listen to Neil Gordon’s inspiring story. It clearly shows that devotion, humility, and true passion with a dose of persistence is a great recipe for success.

In this episode of our CG Talks Podcast, we are honored to interview Mathias Zamęcki, a high-end visuals creator for the gaming and animation industry. Mathias has worked for numerous well-established brands including Blizzard, Digital Domain, Riot Games, Blur Studio, CD Project Red, and many more. Despite his young age (Mathias has just entered his thirties), he has gathered massive experience in the CGI industry. Being a self-taught artist required a lot of drive, passion, and perseverance.

Like many adolescent guys of this millennium, Mathias was deep into MMORPG computer games. The world of internet forums (can you recall those ancient times !?) introduced an idea of an online avatar, a small icon image that represented a player/persona in the virtual space. This spurred Mathias’ interest in photoshop as he wanted to make those images for himself. It was the era of early YouTube, and stumbling upon a digital drawing/painting tutorial was another breakthrough moment in the young man’s journey to art.

He got himself a small Wacom tablet and started his digital artist’s career. With a lot of ups and downs along the way, Mathias jumped straight to work for a game development company. This experience proved to be the best academy for the artist, which required pushing the skills in all aspects of digital creation. The company was small so Mathias had to be a real generalist and go boldly into many tasks.

The common denominator throughout Mathias’ career is learning. Constantly trying to challenge and improve his art, through paid work as well as personal studies and projects. Mathias is also eagerly sharing his knowledge and discoveries online, and we discuss the benefits of teaching others for your own artistic awareness and growth.

How did Mathias get to do jobs for AAA games companies? What can help you receive job offers from animation studios? Why is it important not to get stuck with your ideas but turn them into actionable projects?

You might find answers to these kinds of questions in this episode. Mathias’ approach to CGI has proven to work extremely well and it would not be wise to ignore such valuable insights. So take your time, listen, enjoy and keep learning!

Mathias is very active on a lot of social media platforms so make sure you follow him to see what he’s up to (there’s always something inspiring going on) and to get valuable resources and tips that can help you on your digital artist’s journey:

➡️ https://linktr.ee/mathiaszamecki ⬅️

How can you build a company, find financing and make your big dream animated series project a reality?

Easy, peasy...

First take a part in a worldwide animated project like “Love, death + robots” that made a smashing success on Netflix. The next thing you do is find the perfect business match and team up with the best 3d artists you can find to establish a high-quality animation studio.

Sounds too cocky?

Our special guests in this episode have a lot to tell you on how it can be done (and actually is). Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Ilya Kuzyuk (CEO) and Ilya Mozzhukhin (Animation Director) from VIVIX studio.

They met together as a very unusual combination of artistic and business talents to break straight to the first class of ambitious animation projects.

Their dream was clear - to create high-end animation for adults (a whole new generation raised on animation and video games which they are a part of as well)

But why make something great, just for a few people to watch. Their plan was to hit big time from the get-go.

Long animation projects are no peanuts and require a lot of money to make. Ilya Kuzyuk as the business brains of the team based on his rich entrepreneurial experience knew exactly how crucial it is to secure proper financing.

First, they did some contract gigs to raise some money. Achieving some success in that field they quickly realized that doing client jobs takes away their focus and effort from the big goal - which was their own original animation project called Artificial Detective. They decided to search for an investor willing to bet on the project. They knew no one would buy the idea without any substantial pre-production work that could pitch the project.

With the funding they had, they’ve prepared a lot of high-quality concept work (which they agreed to show on-screen to our beloved podcast audience)

In the podcast episode, we also discuss the pros and cons of using Unreal Engine in animation productions and the future of offline rendering.

Digressing to topics like remote work and the pandemic, the crucial importance of storytelling or unusual merchandising ideas.

If you are interested in 3d animation, making business with art projects, or just a fan of sci-fi series on Netflix, Disney+, HBO, or other streaming platforms of your choice, you will find this episode insightful and interesting.

Enjoy!

https://vivix.us/

What is the best way to learn Blender and 3d graphics? Let's discover it in our latest CG Talks podcast episode, where we've hosted a special guest Michael Bridges - a Blender 3D tutor, indie game developer, founder of Canopy Games, and a co-host of the Blender Nest podcast.

This time we've discussed the experience of getting into 3d for the first time and various learning approaches. How to advance quickly and in a thorough manner? Is there a real value in taking structured paid courses? Is university any good for a 3d apprentice? If you’re interested in 3d graphics, learning Blender whether for game development or any other use case, listen to this episode to discover the tutor's point of view and get some inspiration to choose your learning course - You'll find the conversation interesting with a big dose of positive energy and humor!

Have a listen and enjoy!

Resources:

https://www.canopy.games/

https://www.youtube.com/c/MichaelBridgesTutorials

https://twitter.com/TechEdMike

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKEKVUDqEFLU8Frq8OEdvdA

Attention! There is a nice treat at the end of the podcast for our listeners who want to test out Animate 3D :)

In this episode of CG Talks - the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics we have very special guests - Mr. Kevin He (CEO and founder of Deepmotion Inc.) and their Product Director Mr. Ergin Dervisoglu together with DJ and Amiel they are going to talk about Deepmotion’s new AI-driven motion capture service and the technology behind it.

You will learn how working on World of Warcraft can inspire creative research on how to automate the animation creation process and lead to opening a cutting-edge tech startup.

What is the difference between AI and machine learning? Is AI going to kill us all (or at least take away our jobs)? Is automatic motion capture suitable for professional work? How fast does it develop and can it replace expensive equipment? Can physics simulation be automated? Why did Deepmotion receive an Epic Mega Grant? What about face tracking?

If any of those questions ever crossed your mind or at least seem interesting, have a listen to this episode and you just might find the answers.

Let’s dive into the future of motion capture that is happening now with video-based automatic mo-cap cloud service - Animate 3D by Deepmotion.

Resources:

Animate 3d - https://www.deepmotion.com/animate-3d

Face tracking - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGjqa3O6o1k

GarageFarm.NET's tutorial on using Deepmotion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku0zMs5sUew

Deepmotion's VR Body tracking gets Epic Megagrant - https://uploadvr.com/epic-megagrants-avatar-magnet/

About Deepmotion - https://www.deepmotion.com/company

In this episode of CG Talks DJ and Andrew interview Amiel, our GarageFarm.NET team Substance specialist, and content creator.

We learn about the simplicity and also the huge power of Substance, and get valuable tips on how to get started and create CG materials like a pro.

On top of that, we learn why you shouldn't keep your works on your

HDD even if you think they are not good enough and why Amiel considers himself rather a technical guy than an artist.

Resources:

Substance Painter - https://www.substance3d.com/products/substance-painter/

Substance Designer - https://www.substance3d.com/products/substance-designer/

Substance Alchemist - https://www.substance3d.com/products/substance-alchemist/

Substance Source - https://www.substance3d.com/products/substance-source/

Ambient occlusion - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambient_occlusion

Zbursh - https://pixologic.com/

Iray , 3d view Substance Painter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92ngIojcd5M

Sbar file and other formats - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwn89RgGr_A

Blender mask tools - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fk-6yKTzMU

Quixel mixer - https://quixel.com/mixer

ArmorPaint - https://armorpaint.org/

Wes McDermott - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoYBJMg934qT0NHLMU0tHrg

Smart materials - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xppOU2y10Cs

Substance baking maps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srUXsAjD2xs

WSD Gaming - https://acronym24.com/wsd-meaning-in-gaming/

Pbr validation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh2wROK7ceE

Voronoi texture - https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/shader_nodes/textures/voronoi.html

Photogrammetry - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogrammetry

Houdini - https://www.sidefx.com/

Daniel Thiger Marmoset tutorial – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZC6QkwxHRA

Corridor Crew Terminator 2 remake - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXehBx0Yc_w

Avid - https://www.avid.com/

Davinci resolve - https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/pl/products/davinciresolve/

Tablet and substance - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB-LzeT50pw

Tips for painter Amiel tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgquP-teXd0

Vertex painting decals blender - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzzRr-VVYps

Luxcore render seamless textures - https://luxcorerender.org/new-features-in-v2-5/

Corona seamless textures - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKK0Pzw3sjM

Substance animated textures - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weOAJVykMdg

Exporting maps in different resolutions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IgMJsMR74w

In this episode Marco, Amiel and DJ are discussing the ins and outs of latest Epic Games' acquisition of Artstation.

Is Epic the upcoming Big Brother of 3D Industry? What is their strategy? What's in it for a simple 3d artist? Should we rejoice or fear?

These questions along with numerous digressions about a healthy lifestyle in a digital world, monopolies, imperial and metric systems, and many others fill this entertaining episode.

What happened to Star Wars when Disney bought the franchise.

Is freebie giveaway enough to change people's habits?

If you are curious who the heck is Sherrif of Rotterdam go ahead and give this episode a listen! Share your thoughts about the latest moves from Epic in the comments below!

Resources:

Adobe acquires Substance - https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2019/01/23/adobe-acquires-allegorithmic-substance-3d-gaming.html

Epic vs Apple FAQ - https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/05/02/apple-epic-trial-faq/

https://magazine.artstation.com/2021/04/artstation-is-joining-the-epic-games-family/

https://cgpress.org/archives/epic-games-acquires-artstation.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_acquisitions_by_Disney

In this episode, DJ, Andrew, and Amiel talk about Unreal Engine 5, what it means for the industry, and answer one of the biggest questions for 3D artists: Is Unreal Engine 5's real-time ray tracing going to replace traditional renderers?

Resources:

Unreal 5 Early Access - https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/unreal-engine-5

Unreal 5 Early Access video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ZnM7CH-v4

Epic games - https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/

Lavina\vantage - https://www.chaosgroup.com/vantage

Quixel library - https://quixel.com/megascans/

Nanite - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMorJX3Nj6U

Lumen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMTq4xPvxfk

Jamal jubaev - http://jamajurabaev.com/

LOD - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_of_detail_(computer_graphics)

Texel density - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-mIY87314g

Andrew price, the future of modelling - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlgLxSLsYWQ

Nick Gordon - https://www.youtube.com/user/GameAudioAustralia

Doom sountrack - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmt9VA00Tv4

Sound creation tools in Unreal 5 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uleiEmLNyy8

Unreal 5 and Mandalorian -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpUI8uOsKTM

Ian Hubert Blender interview - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY8Ol2n4o4A

In this special episode, DJ introduces Amiel - our young and talented content creator, who does Substance Suite-related tutorials for Garagefarm.NET Academy. With Marco and Andrew taking a short break (no worries they’ll be back soon) we dive into the personal experiences of older and younger generations in the CG industry.

How was it back then when books were still a viable option for learning 3d?

Are the times easier for young artists nowadays? Can plenty be a curse?

With so many people jumping into Blender now, how does it compare to times when doing so was a renegade choice putting you on the outskirts of the mainstream?

Some digressions on where the industry is heading towards are also inevitable.

Will we finally get the ‘perfect’ render button or will the knowledge of how things work still be of high value?

Was PBR shading always a standard, and how to adopt the new when you are used to old ways of working?

Are technical constraints good for creatives or is it better when things happen at a click of a mouse?

Why care about the fundamentals and technical correctness or topology when computers can handle more and more? What does Cyberpunk have to do with all that?

Answers or perhaps even more inspiring questions to ask yourself can be found in this episode of CG Talks - the podcast where CG guys talk about Computer Graphics.

Resources:

Sketchup - https://www.sketchup.com/​

IOR Values - https://pixelandpoly.com/ior.html​

Principled BSDF - https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/la...​

GIMP - https://www.gimp.org/​

Substance Source - https://source.substance3d.com/​

Cyberpunk 2077 - https://www.cyberpunk.net/ph/en/​

Justice League vs. The Snyder Cut - Filmmaking Comparison by Thomas Flight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uemtK...​

How Animators Created the Spider-Verse | WIRED - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-wUK...​

new cinema 4d release - https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d/​ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G84u...​

old Blender versions to check how it evolved - https://download.blender.org/release/​

PBR workflow explained - https://academy.substance3d.com/cours...​

https://cgobsession.com/what-is-pbr-a...​

zx spectrum - the computer worse than your modern fridge but great for its time - https://worldofspectrum.org/​

In this episode of CG Talks DJ and Marco discuss the stuff they enjoy most in the whole 3d workflow. While everyone seems to hate UV unwrapping, it is not that obvious what actually is the most fun and satisfying thing to do in the vast 3d graphics world. Modeling, sculpting, scene layout or lighting, or just obsessively tweaking the render settings parameters - it is all up to one's tastes and preferences. Marco and DJ are giving their utterly biased and subjective opinions on that issue while digressing about lots of useful and interesting stuff for CG artists worth checking out. Starting off with comparing their experiences with different software like 3dsMax and Cinema4d and comparing them with their Blender fanboyism - struggling hard for staying objective with an inevitable blender cultist final conclusion that they just love Blender 3d. Non-Blender users do not get discouraged! - this can be a unique opportunity of understanding the mind of a blender head... After all 3d creation is software agnostic. Does look dev and lighting give you shivers as they do to DJ? Do you agree with Marco that physics simulations can drive you mad unless you are the zen master? Give a listen to the podcast and share your thoughts in the comments. Discussing favourite actions in 3d is a great reason to sidetrack into other topics such as how great it is to live today as a 3d artist with AI tech and other conveniences at hand.

Podcast resources:

3d Cursor Blender tool - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AqaKD0d5v0

Sculpting in Blender for Beginners - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG1IEpU5VAw

Workbench render engine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnDythbQCZM

Blender Cavity maps - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tyi03X9J8A4

Look development phase - https://conceptartempire.com/look-development/

Kitbashing with Meshmixer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1UUTBZRnE8

Smoke simulation in Blender beginners tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s-CvxH5-_M

Blender Schrinkwrap Modifier - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNLCJGtsU7M

Cloth Mesh Filter Blender - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5QUFo9XN0s

Rich Colburn – Modelling cloth tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNXBYI-WPU4

Arqui9 archviz channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBzPV2uSji-Z5-x_svnZV1w

Affinity software - https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/

Blender Rigify tool - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAhbO7U1ID8

Blender cleanup tools - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbv45vi4pbs

Nodevember 2020 results video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhLVzcCl1ug

Nodevember website - https://nodevember.io

Simon Thommes - https://www.artstation.com/simonthommes

PIFuHD - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxk-ijYY4n4

3d Printing library - www.thangs.com

Retopology - https://conceptartempire.com/retopology/#:~:text=Retopology%20is%20the%20process%20of,mesh%20polygon-by-polygon

Reallusion - https://www.reallusion.com

Character Creator - https://www.reallusion.com/character-creator/

Grease pencil to the tutorial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDorym2Jqrw

Blender Evee renderer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-9rYUwY47Y