The Cauldron Room Witchy 3D Illustration
The Cauldron Room is the Second 3D Illustration I have created. The first was the ice cream shop from my last post. This Illustration was challenging. I gave myself a hard deadline for this one. I wanted it to be done by Halloween. There was no budging on this deadline. That was it. Pencils down!
The Idea for the Witchy Cauldron Room 3D Illustration
The idea for this model came from the fact Halloween was coming. I had planned on doing some cute, fun models for some dtiys on Instagram, but this idea wouldn’t let go. So I said, okay, let’s see how far I can get.
Planning the Cauldron Room
I got to work building a mood board. I collected all kinds of magical images. Pinterest is where I created my mood board. The Magic mood board contained anything I thought could be cool in a magical room. It did not matter if it had something I wanted to add to my model. It is all about setting the tone. Even if it only had colors I liked for the room, I added them to my pins.
I created a rough sketch from my pins to get an idea of the room layout and the main elements I would like to have. For sketching an isometric room idea, I like to use the Procreate app on my iPad with the isometric gridlines.
Unexpected Inspiration
I noticed that I loved looking at miniatures while creating this mood board. Then I discovered we have a museum of miniatures here not too far from me. I had to check it out. It was so inspiring. The detail these artists put into creating these miniatures and doll houses is impressive. It made me feel like I could do this.
The Challenges 3D Modeling Process
- Because it was challenging, I kept putting it off. Procrastination! As my deadline approached, I barely had anything to fill my room. I ended up making the model a little smaller.
- I felt weird about not doing all my sculpting in Blender. I used Nomad for most of the sculpting. I think because Nomad is easier for me to use, I felt like I was cheating. But sculpting and painting in Nomad is much easier for me than Blender. I’ve been using Nomad a few months longer than Blender, so that’s probably why.
- I can only sculpt in Blender by using my iPad as a second screen. I have a nice big iPad, but even when I use it plugged into my iMac, it’s not always super smooth. The biggest challenge is that I don’t know the Blender sculpting tools well.
- I had grander ideas than my skillset would allow. It seemed like I didn’t know how to model anything. I think that is where we can get stuck when we’ve been following tutorials for so long. What can you do when nobody tells you what to do and how to do it?
Getting to the other side and Completing the 3D Cauldron Room
The weekend before Halloween, I worked a little on my model daily. I watched scary movies and sculpted plants and skulls on my iPad. I made a list of the elements I wanted to have and just started sculpting and checking them off. I had to remind myself that it is okay if these are created in different applications. The models still work whether they were made in Blender or Nomad. They will all work together to create one piece of work. It’s not a game-ready asset, but even if it needed to be, there is no reason I can’t use both programs. It’s my own weird hang-up.
I feel like sculpting is a little easier for me because it’s like drawing, and I have a little more control; however, by the end of this project, there are certain things I prefer to do in each program. I would never have learned those preferences without trying to do this alone. I feel more confident and have already started my next model.
My Takeaways From This 3D Illustration Project
First off, I love how this turned out. There are some other things I would like to have done, but procrastination is a bitch. She is not my friend. I really love my distractions: Resident Evil 4 remake and old episodes of Charmed. But if you want to get something done, at least do one thing daily. That is when my model started to come together.
I learned that I can push myself. I look at the work of others and feel like I’m never going to get there. Then, I must remind myself that we all feel that way at some point. You have to keep going. There will always be someone further along in their creative journey.
If you don’t try, then nope, you will never get there.
I hope you all had a Happy Halloween. I’m looking forward to the holidays coming up. I’ve got some cool stuff I’m working on, so stay tuned. If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter, sign up and don’t miss a post.