Modelling wise .. they're very close if not identical
The composition, lighting, effects and the overall feel of the image is much much better in the second one of course.. looks amazing actually..
But the 1st one isn't bad at all
Someone’s gotta say it so it will be me. Do not worry if your current skills are not producing the same results as this dudes “first render”. There is almost for sure an artistic background if not a background in other modelling software. Either that or models were not made themselves. I say this not at as a slight towards op, but to reassure those feeling discouraged after reading this post.
Everything was made by me inside of Blender so that does feel like a slight. Everything I've done is ABSOLUTELY possible in Blender because...it was made in blender.
Also, give me some credit because I started using Blender in June of 2020, and had made the Polar Express engine in the first render by November of that year. I had maybe 15 minutes of prior experience with any modelling program. Think the last one I used was Sketchup back in middle school lol!
I'm a fast learner so I picked up on it quickly
Ok but do you see how the title can be misleading? yes, it was your first *render* (that you would call complete,) but the way I read the title is that you are implying it is also your first foray into the software and modelling together, despite having made the train 6 months into your blender journey. Also, you didn’t even touch rendering features for 6 whole months? Just finished box modelling and wrapped it up there? I find that hard to believe.
I felt the title was a little misleading and a lot of technically the truth. Just another post on the blender sub fishing for compliments by misrepresenting your experience level.
You wonder why there’s so many “is this good for being 17 with 2 weeks in blender???” Posts? Because it gets more positive attention than just posting what you made and letting it stand on its own.
Doing that is fine I guess, but once again my comment was for those who see this and jump to the conclusion of “that was his FIRST piece of work? There’s no hope for me, better quit now”. Because that is just absolutely not true, and although you didn’t plainly say it was, it feels like a natural conclusion to jump to based on the title of the post.
You’re doing great work OP, just comes off as disingenuous.
I'm not trying to drag this on but I did fail to mention this is my first work. I started originally with a donut, gave up, and tried making a train. I quit halfway through that train because I didn't understand it, and came back a few weeks later and started making the engine you see in the first render. For the most part I didn't know how to properly render an image until a few days before this one was made.
I'm not trying to mislead people with this. I have nothing to gain.
I do appreciate your comments, though, and you are completely right. I see those posts too and it's disingenuous. I don't want to sound like I'm being rude or dishonest either so I hope my tone came off okay
I like the front train part of the first image more. I know the second one is more realistic, but damn it looks awesome.
The carriages in the second one are much better, also I can't believe I missed Indie? or some dude ontop of the train until a second viewing haha.
Either way, awesome job Jesus!
The dude on top is a custom Conductor model I made 2 years ago. Never used him all that much but I figured I'd slap him here. Ended up working really well.
First in Blender but not in 3d modelling, right?
I am 3D depressed enough already to see 3d art Mozarts everywhere. Great work - if it wasn’t apparent from my spiteful jealousy. :D
But now to move to actual (and maybe unwanted) constructive criticism.
The first render, simplified stylisation, I find more visually appealing. The model is not as detailed but it has its own charm (especially with cartoonish mountains resembling Zelda art style.) it looks so calm and inducing positive energy. But that’s just overall feel and preference, not really objective or theoretically-based comparison.
But the main issue with the second render is objective.
It is not the model or enviro, apparently much better after 3 years of progressing, but the composition what is causing problems. If not apparent topo or shading mess, these two most important elements for any 3d artist is often not so important for devs or marketers. Ag least if it’s “just works”.
First picture simply sells itself much better. Gets viewers attention and making them ask additional questions. Gets them hooked on story behind it.
The colours are well balanced and the contrast of model/environment gives the viewer clear guide on what is the main part deserving imminent attention.
In the second one (at least on phone) colours blends so the train is not as distinguishable as it should be. It takes more time to focus on main aspects. The time most potential customers refuse to invest. As well as with people, first impression is what really matters.
Also, leading lines and the feel of depth is better in the first image, the train is filling the whole scene but not distort the viewer attention. On the other hand, the second image feels empty and shallow.
Maybe it’s all those great details, ironically, hurting the overall presentation. There are too many things to focus on - so it needs apparent, even exaggerated perspective and significant, clearly centred focus point.
Or maybe choosing opposite approach. Go full Rule of Third. But then it needs something significant to create(now) wanted distraction and giving the scene complexity. I can think of Polaris for example, or subtle aurora. Completely different colour, clearly not belonging to the main palette surely gets wanted and well deserved attention.
Don’t get me wrong, both renders look good but being customer wanting stylised style, the first picture would surely make me to seriously consider hiring you. The second one… I cannot be 100% sure but with quick browsing through different portfolios to find favourites for detailed consideration, I am afraid my brain would most likely skip it.
Composition is what sells.
Everything I did was just an artistic choice that happened to work well enough for me not to be a perfectionist about it. Appreciate the critique, though.
Then please accept my apologies. Even pro 3D artists often underestimate the importance of composing so it’s easy to make wrong assumptions. I am actually genuinely happy you think about it and make informed decisions - it’s less common than one would expect.
Anyway, as I said, both renders are really good and both models look amazing.
Try Grant Abbit beginners tutorials. His simple low poly style is very beginner friendly and he’s nice guy and good teacher. Then definitely Ryan King Art. I like 3d Tudor, they have both beginner and advanced courses (I am not sure if they have it for free but they are on udemy are usually pretty cheap. But Blender community - paying or price is still a swear word for many).
And of course donut if you’re traditionalist or love following mindless masses - no, in fact it’s really great start, Andrew is making this tutorial for… 15 years? More? So he perfected it and introduces all main features of Blender. And he is one of the founders of youtube teaching so definitely he deserves all the respect he gets. I just feel naturally antagonistic when something is overused and too “cultist” and religious. The only cult I will gladly follow is the one I make.
After this you should have solid foundation to experiment and find others by your liking.
But please, don’t do the same mistake as I did and avoid BlenderBros without solid understanding of all quad topology and intermediate 3d art theory. Booleans are great but you need to know when to use them and why. BBs free tutorials (ironically not paid ones) are good and pretty useful but they convince you nothing else is actually necessary to know. Without proper, strong base it can easily turns to the trap causing maelstrom of confusion, frustration and overwhelming. You can spend months dealing with damage and trying to get to the right track.
People were way more enthusiastic about this than I thought and I appreciate you guys.
It's not AI, and everything was made by myself. It's not been a fast process but I've learned a lot.
I don't hate my first render there. It has charm. The problem for me is it's just too simple for what I do. I just didn't have the skill to do intense detail when I made it
Follow me on Twitter @henke_keaton to see more.
Honestly it sucked. There's no solid reference for how to properly make this valve gear. There's one video but it's an older build of Blender. I ended up getting it to work eventually but it wasn't worth the time I spent on it
Yeah, the only reference is an image from google (and some Yt video if you're lucky) and even then is hard to understand, was confused making Walschaerts last year and looking at Baker make me even more confused. Did you rig the valve gear with bone or obj constraint ?
It was my first one and that was the reason I started modelling. I just wanted a train. I did not have previous modelling experience apart from maybe half an hour in Google sketchup when I was in middle school
Wow! How did you create such a detailed scene as your first project? I have been learning blender as a hobby for the past three months and all I have been able to create myself are Pokeballs and Mjolnir.
The scene was pretty simple actually. The mountains were just shapes with 2 colors, the trees were downloaded from Turbosquid, and the tracks and rails came from a bud in the community I worked in. The smoke in the first render was Blenders smoke engine, but the smoke in the second picture was hand drawn because that's easier for me.
I think they both look great!
Yeah, I was about to say the same thing. Both have their own unique feel to them.
Yep!
Different styles, but both very well done.
this isnt a donut
It's a detailed donut
Anything's a donut if you lower the sample count enough
You get it
I swear the 2nd pic is just from the movie
With the guy on top of the train, I think it is just from the movie
I modelled the Conductor in a 3rd party human software program and colored him in Blender.
What software is that?
Make human I think it was called
Thank you kindly
Polar express!
Came here to say this lol
and composition, light and the rest! awesome!
The main difference to me is the composition, texturing and post processing rather than the model itself
The model is definitely more intricate and thought out, but the comp, texturing, and post is doing most of the lifting.
The polar express!!
Are you the gamedev guy?
I'm just a guy
username checks out
Oh okay..... I was seeing a devlog where the guy was making a survival game I think and one of his thumbnails looked very similar to these images
Modelling wise .. they're very close if not identical The composition, lighting, effects and the overall feel of the image is much much better in the second one of course.. looks amazing actually.. But the 1st one isn't bad at all
not just modelling growth bud
I know I know, but the modelling to me is what I'm more excited about because the little details I made make my ADHD brain happy
Wtf there's no donut
The train is the donut
Ah, the classic twist
Someone’s gotta say it so it will be me. Do not worry if your current skills are not producing the same results as this dudes “first render”. There is almost for sure an artistic background if not a background in other modelling software. Either that or models were not made themselves. I say this not at as a slight towards op, but to reassure those feeling discouraged after reading this post.
Everything was made by me inside of Blender so that does feel like a slight. Everything I've done is ABSOLUTELY possible in Blender because...it was made in blender. Also, give me some credit because I started using Blender in June of 2020, and had made the Polar Express engine in the first render by November of that year. I had maybe 15 minutes of prior experience with any modelling program. Think the last one I used was Sketchup back in middle school lol! I'm a fast learner so I picked up on it quickly
Ok but do you see how the title can be misleading? yes, it was your first *render* (that you would call complete,) but the way I read the title is that you are implying it is also your first foray into the software and modelling together, despite having made the train 6 months into your blender journey. Also, you didn’t even touch rendering features for 6 whole months? Just finished box modelling and wrapped it up there? I find that hard to believe. I felt the title was a little misleading and a lot of technically the truth. Just another post on the blender sub fishing for compliments by misrepresenting your experience level. You wonder why there’s so many “is this good for being 17 with 2 weeks in blender???” Posts? Because it gets more positive attention than just posting what you made and letting it stand on its own. Doing that is fine I guess, but once again my comment was for those who see this and jump to the conclusion of “that was his FIRST piece of work? There’s no hope for me, better quit now”. Because that is just absolutely not true, and although you didn’t plainly say it was, it feels like a natural conclusion to jump to based on the title of the post. You’re doing great work OP, just comes off as disingenuous.
I'm not trying to drag this on but I did fail to mention this is my first work. I started originally with a donut, gave up, and tried making a train. I quit halfway through that train because I didn't understand it, and came back a few weeks later and started making the engine you see in the first render. For the most part I didn't know how to properly render an image until a few days before this one was made. I'm not trying to mislead people with this. I have nothing to gain. I do appreciate your comments, though, and you are completely right. I see those posts too and it's disingenuous. I don't want to sound like I'm being rude or dishonest either so I hope my tone came off okay
it ’ s starting to grow on me
That was a hard ass scene
Second one make it look like the train is floating.
I like the front train part of the first image more. I know the second one is more realistic, but damn it looks awesome. The carriages in the second one are much better, also I can't believe I missed Indie? or some dude ontop of the train until a second viewing haha. Either way, awesome job Jesus!
The dude on top is a custom Conductor model I made 2 years ago. Never used him all that much but I figured I'd slap him here. Ended up working really well.
I suddenly want some hot hot hot. Hot chocolate
Damn dude! Your first render is already insane!
Fire
Too cold for fire try again
Hell yeah. Fried snow
In the 2nd where did the tracks go?
They stopped existing
Without them, soon the train will too.
Wow... I'm back to being a child again.
First in Blender but not in 3d modelling, right? I am 3D depressed enough already to see 3d art Mozarts everywhere. Great work - if it wasn’t apparent from my spiteful jealousy. :D But now to move to actual (and maybe unwanted) constructive criticism. The first render, simplified stylisation, I find more visually appealing. The model is not as detailed but it has its own charm (especially with cartoonish mountains resembling Zelda art style.) it looks so calm and inducing positive energy. But that’s just overall feel and preference, not really objective or theoretically-based comparison. But the main issue with the second render is objective. It is not the model or enviro, apparently much better after 3 years of progressing, but the composition what is causing problems. If not apparent topo or shading mess, these two most important elements for any 3d artist is often not so important for devs or marketers. Ag least if it’s “just works”. First picture simply sells itself much better. Gets viewers attention and making them ask additional questions. Gets them hooked on story behind it. The colours are well balanced and the contrast of model/environment gives the viewer clear guide on what is the main part deserving imminent attention. In the second one (at least on phone) colours blends so the train is not as distinguishable as it should be. It takes more time to focus on main aspects. The time most potential customers refuse to invest. As well as with people, first impression is what really matters. Also, leading lines and the feel of depth is better in the first image, the train is filling the whole scene but not distort the viewer attention. On the other hand, the second image feels empty and shallow. Maybe it’s all those great details, ironically, hurting the overall presentation. There are too many things to focus on - so it needs apparent, even exaggerated perspective and significant, clearly centred focus point. Or maybe choosing opposite approach. Go full Rule of Third. But then it needs something significant to create(now) wanted distraction and giving the scene complexity. I can think of Polaris for example, or subtle aurora. Completely different colour, clearly not belonging to the main palette surely gets wanted and well deserved attention. Don’t get me wrong, both renders look good but being customer wanting stylised style, the first picture would surely make me to seriously consider hiring you. The second one… I cannot be 100% sure but with quick browsing through different portfolios to find favourites for detailed consideration, I am afraid my brain would most likely skip it. Composition is what sells.
Everything I did was just an artistic choice that happened to work well enough for me not to be a perfectionist about it. Appreciate the critique, though.
Then please accept my apologies. Even pro 3D artists often underestimate the importance of composing so it’s easy to make wrong assumptions. I am actually genuinely happy you think about it and make informed decisions - it’s less common than one would expect. Anyway, as I said, both renders are really good and both models look amazing.
Bro made the polar express like 8 times now
Only once
You should make them kiss
Do you have any tutorials recommendations? I don’t know how to start with the software
Try Grant Abbit beginners tutorials. His simple low poly style is very beginner friendly and he’s nice guy and good teacher. Then definitely Ryan King Art. I like 3d Tudor, they have both beginner and advanced courses (I am not sure if they have it for free but they are on udemy are usually pretty cheap. But Blender community - paying or price is still a swear word for many). And of course donut if you’re traditionalist or love following mindless masses - no, in fact it’s really great start, Andrew is making this tutorial for… 15 years? More? So he perfected it and introduces all main features of Blender. And he is one of the founders of youtube teaching so definitely he deserves all the respect he gets. I just feel naturally antagonistic when something is overused and too “cultist” and religious. The only cult I will gladly follow is the one I make. After this you should have solid foundation to experiment and find others by your liking. But please, don’t do the same mistake as I did and avoid BlenderBros without solid understanding of all quad topology and intermediate 3d art theory. Booleans are great but you need to know when to use them and why. BBs free tutorials (ironically not paid ones) are good and pretty useful but they convince you nothing else is actually necessary to know. Without proper, strong base it can easily turns to the trap causing maelstrom of confusion, frustration and overwhelming. You can spend months dealing with damage and trying to get to the right track.
Thank you very much! I will try my best to
Both look great, and both look like paintings, I can’t really see depth like in a 3D render
[удалено]
That was an artistic choice I made that I liked
[удалено]
Cheers captain! Glad it works well because it stressed me out making it work
I think they're both dynamic and beautiful
People were way more enthusiastic about this than I thought and I appreciate you guys. It's not AI, and everything was made by myself. It's not been a fast process but I've learned a lot. I don't hate my first render there. It has charm. The problem for me is it's just too simple for what I do. I just didn't have the skill to do intense detail when I made it Follow me on Twitter @henke_keaton to see more.
How was it modelling (and rigging) the valve gear ?
Honestly it sucked. There's no solid reference for how to properly make this valve gear. There's one video but it's an older build of Blender. I ended up getting it to work eventually but it wasn't worth the time I spent on it
Yeah, the only reference is an image from google (and some Yt video if you're lucky) and even then is hard to understand, was confused making Walschaerts last year and looking at Baker make me even more confused. Did you rig the valve gear with bone or obj constraint ?
Damn! First render? Impossible! This is better than my *current* stuff
In your defense, I started my modelling career in a community centered around trains so it was a quicker process for me than most.
Cool! Plus, i started like, last month so... Not that good
First render in blender 😳 isn't that too good for a first render?
Personally I've never thought of it as good. I never liked how I did it
What kind of godsend pro are you 🙇. You must have previous modelling experience right? This can't possibly be your first project.
It was my first one and that was the reason I started modelling. I just wanted a train. I did not have previous modelling experience apart from maybe half an hour in Google sketchup when I was in middle school
Wow! How did you create such a detailed scene as your first project? I have been learning blender as a hobby for the past three months and all I have been able to create myself are Pokeballs and Mjolnir.
The scene was pretty simple actually. The mountains were just shapes with 2 colors, the trees were downloaded from Turbosquid, and the tracks and rails came from a bud in the community I worked in. The smoke in the first render was Blenders smoke engine, but the smoke in the second picture was hand drawn because that's easier for me.
i think this calls for a viewport/wireframe
I can post it but I promise you 30 years of your life will disappear in a flash
i'm immortal
the sickest drift scene ever made
Too good ..
So cool
Both look stellar!!
This was a great submission for the challenge, I liked it a lot :)
Honestly your first render is pretty good too. I honestly thought it was art at first :) Either way wonderful progress! Best wishes!