About

Hi! This is my corner of the internet where I document my journey using Blender and stumble through other 3D applications and workflows. I can't promise you'll find every answer here but I hope you'll find something fun or at the very least something useful.

Why does this site exist?

I have AuDHD and a huge issue I have found comes out of that is wanting to learn everything about a subject but getting distracted or frustrated when trying. The frustration usually landed with me switching to another subject, but 3D kept coming back to me.

A way I eventually found to combat the frustration was to learn what I can from tutorials, use the knowledge, fail miserably, and then write about the process I had taken and eventually the process of fixing it.

This site is essentially a product of that coping technique. Random tutorials, hints and tips that I've discovered and then promptly forgotten, which is why I'm probably the number 1 visitor to my own website.

Instead of keeping all the knowledge in a notebook, or Notion, etc I just decided to use markdown files. They are super easy to publish online via various tools or frameworks, and so now this website exists!

Are you a professional?

In 3D? No. I have absolutely no hired production experience. I have second-hand experience from other jobs and from people I know, which helps, but most everything I know is cobbled together from over 10 years of playing around with Blender, Daz 3D and in my earlier days 3DS Max and Cinema4D. Oh, and the occasional modding or extacting from games.

Is this AI?

This text? No. Do I use AI (LLMs)? Yes. I have been a developer for over 30 years, I am not stupid, using AI in coding and development IS probably going to be a normal thing going forward. The genie is out of the bottle and it is up to us to use it responsibly and not bow to c-suites trying to enshittify everything. I'm looking at you YouTube...

Do you use AI in renders?

No, I do not use generative diffusion models when making my images. I sit and wait for Blender to trace fake light paths like everyone else. I do occasionally find out that an image I used for reference is AI. Maybe it had a pose I liked, a theme, or a composition. There is simply not enough time in the day to make sure every source I use is 'human-made'.

Thoughts on AI & The future of 3D

I do not know. The arguments that Twitter (X) produces are usually lopsided, emotionally charged and shortsighted rants from people who have decided to post before allowing themselves to think or the worse alternative, from people who do not want to think. It simply doesn't have a good answer right now.

IF video generation technology continues to improve, I believe it is feasible we will see some sort of hybrid CGI/Diffusion workflow appear. I don't believe diffusion in its current state can replace CGI. However I also believe that CGI 'killing' practical VFX was an industry led mistake and the rise in filmakers and directors going back to using practical VFX for a plate that CGI works on top of is a good course correction, and the future we should have reached for in the first place.

AI tools are just that, tools. See Niko from Corridor Crew's amazing Green (and Blue) screen removal tool, and deepfake tools have already been used in the film industry (Luke Skywalker in recent a recent Star Wars episode). I'm sure there are probably more being developed or used behind the scenes that we don't know about. They are just tools. Some people will always want to use them maliciously, it is up to us to use them responsibly.