I expect they bear a startling resemblance to my stick figures :).
Fear of conforming is often the root cause of statements like these; another reason can be mediocrity hiding under a thin veneer of self-delusional, brilliance.
And then there are just some that are either stubborn or want to be alone.
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That would stop it being art. 
http://skinnyartist.com/5-fears-that-can-destroy-an-artist/
“Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.” ~Salvador Dali
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Very helpful! Really nice explained, we can learn a lot from it!
On the first page there is work that has a last post date stamp from May this year how is that busy?..LOL.
Its the traditional forum so people could be posting drawings,digital painting, sculpy sculptures, oil paintings etc but they generally don’t its a desert out there man, I should know because I live in it. Other than myself, friedbrian, ben I don’t see too many people keeping their threads active. the start a thread post a few times and than disappear.
Yeah, I need to scan in some of the concepts I’ve been doing. One of the things is that if you want to get studio work, then learning to create, work from, or at least reference loosely some kind of imagery that conveys what you are creating is going to look like.
I was asked to allow this article to run in Blenderart Magazine so you’ll likely see this again if you keep up with that publication
Also… guys… please stop feeding the troll…
Yes, but there is activity up to this month - and additional work posted as well in many of the threads. That’s pretty-good for general statistics in forum activity considering the main theme here is 3d software package. Not to mention- summer hurts forums, generally speaking.
I insist this be stickified
Its on life support not active enough. even animation section sees more action, and I know the animators were complaining that the don’t see enough activity on their side of the pond. Which is a real pity because traditional art skills can teach you so much…
One thing I would like to comment on is the post photorealism…even if your work is not photoreal it needs to have appeal especially for character work that leans on the toon side. There is nothing I hate seeing more than toon work that has zero appeal, appeal doesn’t mean cute it means visually interesting like the evil fairy in sleeping beauty or madame Medusa not nice character but look at their design…
“I wasn’t trying to be photoreal” can often be used as an excuse to pass off weak work. Don’t be photoreal but lord don’t make unappealing stuff as well
I think this is why I like BBB so much appealing characters especially frankie, Sintel on the other hand was generic and boring nothing interesting about her silhouette. Valve is one company that really understand character design especially from a stylization angle just look at Team Fortress 2 or DOTA 2 concept art.
Kind-of makes you glad some big corporation hasn’t copyrighted the stick figure, eh? 
17: “Bump everything, it’s more realistic that way”
Hardly anything in this world is perfectly flat but putting random bumps on everything does not make it more realistic. Most of the time the bumps are not even visible on real objects unless you are doing extreme closeups and even then the bumps must make sense for realism to be archived. You can only get away with procedural bump maps if you put them on objects that are not so visible but you should always use textures as bumpmaps as a general practice, also the most important thing to remember is to never overdo it.
Great list! I agree with everyone that has asked this to be stickied. Consider it done!
Wow, thanks for the sticky!
I have plans for more beginner based stuff… My background is in training and simulation so hopefully that will come into play 
Numbers 5 and 6 are key points for me. Many shots in student movies are too long and I know that they were painstakingly rendered. (Wince!) “I only need one-and-a-half seconds of that.”
The “preview render” button is right there on the 3D window for a reason, and the “frame stamping” tools (which can put frame-counters and file-names and camera-names on the shot) are also there for a reason.
I suggest that you should rough-out your sets as quickly as possible (using simple geometric shapes of appropriate size and scale), put together a choice of camera-setups from which to film the action, “and-d-d-d… Action!” Crank it out in low-res and leave all of the different cameras in place. Now, take all that “footage” into a film-editing program of your choice (or use VSE…), and start cutting. Ruthlessly.
(Personally, I use an old version of Final Cut. Because I know it, and because it’s designed for the purpose. You absolutely can use the built-in VSE.)
Somewhere in “all that film,” a movie is waiting to get out. Most of the film is going to be left on the cutting-room floor, even though you had to film it in order to choose not to use it.
“Houston, we have ‘Script Lock.’ We have ‘Edit Lock.’”
Now go back and start refining it. Link to exactly the same camera setups and comparable lighting, substitute real versions of the props. Standardize on textures, node-groups, and lights, and link to these. Use the camera name, file name and frame-numbers to tell you what to do, and do nothing more than what is required. Constantly re-do the preview renders until everything is right. Each shot should literally “drop in” in place of its prototype, each time.
The entire project should be preview-rendered in finished detail first. You can do a tremendous amount of real decision-making with those animatics, because, unlike animatics, they are perfect stand-ins for the final version.
“Houston, we have ‘Version Lock.’ We are clear to go for Final.”
When you render, do it in stages. Do everything to MultiLayer files and plan from the start to do compositing. Pay more attention to the establishing shots, because once the viewer has gotten a good look at something he will see what he remembers, not what he sees. (Star Wars Episode One shipped to theaters with a podracer-crowd that consisted of colored Q-Tips™ cotton swabs. It was the second time you had seen that crowd from that angle.)
You want to give yourself opportunities to “tweak” without re-rendering, because you can’t afford to do that. You want to find ways to cut render-times while producing a shot that is good enough.
Even on a labor-of-love, keep track of your time and value your time identically to how much you would have earned “at work” in the same amount of time. That’s the (opportunity) cost of your movie. Pretend that the budget just got cut in half, or that the client needs it two months sooner than expected, and that you’ve still got to get it done. You’ll be confronted with things like, “once I spend the time=money rendering this the first time, I don’t have the time=money to do it over. But, I can still refine it.”
Sneak up on the final shot. Advance several shots closer toward completion instead of stopping to lavish your entire efforts on one single act of perfection. “I need something that I can show the investors by Friday morning. Happy Wednesday.”
Fine-render the shots in random sequence: don’t do them from beginning to end. Don’t do the longest ones or the hardest ones first. Visual problems and continuity problems will jump out at you much sooner.
Practice “locks.” Script-lock, edit-lock and so on. Even on a labor of love, you need scrupulous record-keeping and a project plan.
Do not throw away any file or any finished footage. Catalog it and keep it. You spent time on it; therefore, it has value. Want to re-do something? Save as… then do it. Enter both into the catalog, and never purge it. Removable disk drives are big, fast, and cheap. Remember to label them on the outside.
Great list, useful advice. Thanks!
On a different note, is this:
some kind of automated thing? If so, someone should really correct the spelling of Blender… 
I think you mean Bender 
Nah, I think the mods have simply been a bit more active over the last week or so, what with the Fanboy-ism and “What does Maya have…” threads. On yellow alert, if you know what I mean AFAIK these kinds of threads are often a possible cause for concern, considering their potential flammability.
Interesting thread and good conversation.
I am a visual artist since kindergarten (1970s) and been dabling in 3D rendering off and on the past decade. In the past year and a half I been a lot more aggressive at getting into 3D rendering.
The past few days I been thinking of starting a thread somewhere that addresses traditional artists and if they have an advantage or is even seen as relevant in the 3D world. I lurk in many CG forums to do as much research as I can and at the end of the day I come to the conclusion that some things that are stressed are overrated.
I can understand some basic points and what makes a result believable or easy on the eyes but some of this whole photo realism thing makes no sense to me. We are in an age where HD is pushed but the truth is that we all see the world differently and things are not so sharp as you look with the naked eye all the time. Seriously, look around in a room or outside with your eyes and then look at most 3D renders that are said to be photo realistic. To me there is too much bloom and ambient effects going on. What i think is important even in painting is lighting, shadow, color and texture and how they relate according to distance and environmental conditions when it comes to realism. I saw the sky do strange things that if rendered some would have all kinds of critical feedback against the result. I also saw cloud patterns in real life that would be said to not be random enough to be realistic. I see raw renders without post production that looks more realistic than some that got washed in Photoshop. Not bashing post pro as I use PS to do certain things to images too but there seems to be this “standard” that some want to push that is misleading to newcomers in my opinion.
Art is a personal expression. The appreciation of art can only be expressed by the one who develops a personal view of it whether it’s the artist or someone else. There was a time I made several paintings to sell at an event. One of them was done in a rush and I thought it was not so good to present to the public. I almost left it home. When I set up my table at the event, the painting I did that I thought was not so good was the first to go.
The points about using references is something I came to realize a long time ago. Trying to copy paintings done by others enriched me with many techniques and observations to look for. A complete thing can only come by way of a complete thing and you can’t get something from nothing. I love the fact that I can be served and not have to come up with everything on my own. One of the greatest challenges for many artists is to be humble and get over the ego trip; especially if they are used to getting so many compliments on their creativity.
Just my 2cents.
I do not know if I consider myself new. At the very least I am new to participating on this forum.
All I am concentrated on is reading the posts, commenting my opinions and evaluating any feedback, but most importantly I need to stay on target for my individual goals regarding what I want from the Blender 3D software program.
Mistakes are normal with anything. This is just art with no life threatening consequences whatsoever.
I myself am active in theater which is art and when it comes to set construction safety is an issue. So some mistakes are unforgivable.
But with Computer Graphics the only mistake I see is maybe hurting someone’s feelings I suppose. Outside of that even if I break the program by typing an error in the coding while experimenting with the source or performing a task that makes the computer freeze, well I can always reboot and start all over again.
As far as mistakes regarding the issue of artistic aethestics is concerned, such as issues of storytelling or character development, or even more CG specific issues such as character posing during the animation process for realism or lighting choices to portray the correct mood, I certainly believe those are issues that pertain to a more advanced study of CG artistry.
There are many ways to make mistakes. And artists of all makes have their temperaments. But persistence and the willingness to learn and listen is very important to crafting individual skills.
So as a new person on this forum I enjoy reading threads like this as a break from the mundane and tedious nature of preparing myself for reaching my individual artistic goals.