Incorporating 3d into your videos and/or creative works brings an added dimension that really allows you to explore your creativity but it comes with its own set of challenges.
There are a variety of different ways you can incorporate 3D into your works. You can add three dimensional depth through traditional 2D processes we call this 2.5D.
A good example of this 2.5 D style that we use in many of our videos is the isometric style. We design 2D illustrations within an isometric perspective or isometric grid giving it the perception of 3D without actually being a three-dimensional object within 3D space.
We can also mix 3D objects into these 2.5D isometric illustrations.
In this examples we have a 3D arm which moves and rotates to point to various 2D graphics
As you can see from the example above you can incorporate some camera movement but the limitation with this isometric style is that you are stuck to holding that same camera angle, deviation will break the illustrations.
However this is not to say that that three-dimensional camera movement can't be used with two dimensional illustration. One of our favorite videos from this year uses a very interesting technique of layering 2D illustrations at at various depths to allow the camera to move through the scene creating the illusion of more dynamic 3D camera movement within a 2d illustrative Style.
This technique however require a lot of advanced planning and specific skill set to pull off. The specific camera movement needs to be planned and storyboarded well in advance. And the more complex the camera movement the more challenging the illustrations.
That planning is the biggest challenge as once you move forward and fully develop the illustrations changing the camera movement or angles drastically would require a complete redesign of the illustrations and would set you back to the storyboard where it needs to be planned out again.
A good case for when 3D objects are more preferable is when you require more advanced camera work in camera movement to really move around the object or move through a 3D space.
What is 3D animation
With every project you have to decide how much and what level of 3d you need for the project and also consider your capabilities.
There are 3 main categories of 3D
- Hard surface
- Organic
- Characters and creatures
Each of these require a different skill set
The steps that it takes
A good production pipeline is key,
Regardless of the type of 3D as mentioned above they all follow a somewhat similar process, starting with
- Storyboarding - here you block out the key visual ideas and concepts of the video which is even more critical in 3d as changes in the latter part of the process are more diffiluct and time consuming than they would be in 2d.
Here is where things start to differ
- 3D blocking - we block out the general movement of the scene in 3d using very simple shapes so we can get a sense for the movement of the scene(s) and foresee any challenges that may come along
- Modeling
- Animation - if you have a 3d character this will also include rigging and
- Texturing - involving not only colouring the model but unwrapping the UVs which is basically taking the surface of the model and cutting it up into pieces onto a 2d surface. Think taking a globe and trying to lay it out flat
- Lighting and look development
- Rendering
- Compositing
What makes it different from 2D?
3D is a whole other animal there are an uncountable amount of difference between it and 3d that I can mention diving into the history of 3d in film, tv, videos, etc.
2d is often also used in a vary many 3d computer generated scenes as they are fast to develop and prototype. Matte painting has been used in the film and tv industry for decades to create detailed background landscapes that are not only much faster to create but save time in 3d by reducing how many polygons have to be rendered.
In the 3d and 2d process we have a storyboarding phase where everything gets planned out, when working in 3D this phase is even more crucial as in 2d you can change the content of a scene within illustrations for example maybe changing a background table to a lamp, in 3D once you move past that storyboard phase and start to develop the models for everything, changing an item will require you to model something entirely new which include not only the model itself but the texturing of that model and look development of it to make it look right.
What makes it better?
3D is much better in many use cases through than 2d, it allows you to as I mentioned prior more easily change the camera angle in a scene and create complicated movements without having to rework the design of the character, object, etc. Also with the animation it is easier to tweak and adjust the movement or motion of objects.
In 2d even small tweaks like changing the design of a building will have a ripple affect needing you to adjust each frame [if it is a frame by frame animation]. In 3d those and more drastic changes can be made and re-rendered.
Photo realistic, better for real world products
- To achieve phot realism in 3D is actually much more difficult than 2D illustrations escaping that uncanny valley can be a challenging task especially for more complex 3d objects.
In this project we created for Eleappower our challenge was to find the right amount of realism to illustrate the features of the product without getting too bogged down in hyper realis and extreme detail that we lose the purpose of the video which is to highligh the product.
Here we focus our time and attention to creating more realistic vehicles to highlight Eleappower's wireless car charging technology, keeping other element of the scene simple to not distract the view from the message and to avoid plunging the each scene into the trench of the uncanny valley.
The challenges per category and how to approach it.
3d is a very laborious and time consuming process so depending on your budget you’ll have to weigh the costs of creating something in 3d or seeing if there is a simpliar maybe 2d solution. The more shots the more cost so you have to decide what are the key moments that require a full 3d solution.
Rendering is also a major factor depending on you processing power and the complexity of your 3d scene you may need multiple machines in order to render just one scene. You may also have to purchase time on a render farm which can be very costly and come with its own issues.
Rendering 3d is far more intensive than any 2d project and even after you render the 3d scene you’ll have to rendering it again in 2d once you’ve colour corrected the 3d render added your 2d effects, typography etc.
When is it more cost effective, when is it less?
3d is more cost effective when you have a hero object something which you need to see all or multiple angles of adding animations and movement around it. Or when you have a large scene or environment that you need to move through.
Its less cost effective for something more static for example an object you only see at one angle or scene that doesn’t have a tone of camera movement to it and is more reliant on the movement of the object in the scene.
How we blend it with 2D
covered a bit in one of the intro examples (Relocalize robotic arm)
There are a variety of techniques to blend 2d and 3d assets into one shot.
In the above example we used a direct integration.
Using 2D as a filler (typography, icons etc)
We can integrate 2d typography and icons with 3d to add a simple but effective pointer that helps inform the scene. Doing these in 2d is more beneficial as they are simple things which can be adjusted easily in 3d they are possible but it would mean re-rendering and entire scene for a small typo or text colour change for example.
Creating the models from scratch (high cost, but good for re-using)
There is a wealth of 3d resources out there that you can utilize with artists all over the world creating 3d models with textures for almost everything that you can imagine so often if you need and object that is pretty common purchasing those models will be much more cost effective than modeling it your self.
Large studios like Disney, Universal, etc. have a giant teams of modelers and giant library of existing models that the can pull from and will create all their models to make sure they retain the copyright. But for smaller studios like us or individual creators places like turbosquid are a fantastic resource that will save you time.
If you’re needing to create a hero product that doesn’t exist in 3d then you’ll have to model it.
Building on stock models can expedite the process...
But you do have to be careful there are many 3D models available and not all are ready to use right away. Quality of 3D models you buy are often better as they get more expensive but you may not need as much detail as those higher quality assets provide. That's one of the great things about 3D you can purchase, tweak and mash together assets to fit your purposes which can will really expedite the process.
Revisions … a bit of an issue (better to minimize them)
As mentioned previously with 3d projects its best to minimize revisions or try to remove them entirely. As I mentioned in the beginning stroybaording in 3d is etramely key to make sure your client buys into the concept before you move forward with anything.
Another key step is the look development making sure that aligns with your clients brand before you fully render a scene.
Keep these these things in mind when looking to your next project, ask yourself 'is 3D right for this?' or 'could it add to my project?'.
