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and what are you doing oh you know
um just drawing a bit just found out
about these 3d models and
they seem pretty useful for what i have
in mind
wait 3d models we out here cheating to
mass produce art now i see what are you
talking about others practice for years
and years and you just copy those
puppets that's cheating just my opinion
tracing 3d models will not help you grow
as an artist and what about your
artistic integrity no wonder so much
modern comic art is stiff and boring if
you all are tracing rubbery 3d models
learn to sketch do you call yourself an
artist or a tracer
i'm calling you a tracer
that's not how it works actually is it
of course it is
see
if i knew that being an artist nowadays
is as easy as just drawing over some 3d
models
i would be a professional in my first
half a year
but
if it's that easy
why isn't everyone using them
well is it that easy
3d figures and objects can be incredibly
useful
but they also have a let's say mixed
reputation
for some people they seem to come along
a certain feeling of guilt with using
them
when i did my webcomic video about 2
years ago i addressed the models that
are included in clip studio and in the
comments there were quite a few people
who had this sentiment
that using 3d figures was cheating
it seems that some view them as a
shortcut that magically enables
beginners to become pros having every
pose and even every complicated
perspective just a few mouse clicks away
without spending years practicing and
learning the basics
and sure if you want to put it like that
it sounds pretty unfair but at the same
time it blows the advantages of using
these models way out of proportion
does the simple use of a calculator make
the average student suddenly a
world-renowned mathematician
i mean sure you could cheat your way
through a test in elementary school but
no one would advocate against the use of
calculators in general
because sooner or later most will learn
when the use of a calculator is actually
beneficial for them and when it's not
so i think that there is a bit of a
misunderstanding about these figures
and i want to talk about that when and
how to use these models and what to
watch out for to actually make good use
of them what do these figures really
bring to the table
are there still skills required by the
artist or is it the most powerful cheat
in art history
but before we get into it i want to
quickly thank celtus the makers of clip
studio for sponsoring this video as in
this video i will focus on the 3d models
in clip studio i think it's a perfect
match so without further ado let's begin
shall we
part 1 the setup first i want to do a
little recap of how to set these figures
up so we know what we are dealing with
to get started first we need to create
our figure in clip studio you first open
up the materials here we have a lot of
different things to choose from like
objects and backgrounds but we want to
focus on the characters so i select the
figure and drag it onto the canvas it
appears with a standard post by default
if the lighting looks irritating you can
go down here to edit the light source by
playing around with the light on this
little ball
also the size and body type of the
figure are set to default to change
these parameters we can go to the
settings menu and select body shape
here we can switch between a skinny or
thick character and also decide how
muscular they should look other options
are the general size and how the head
size relates to the body in case we want
to draw a younger character with the
mouse we can choose different camera
angles
and for micro adjustments we can also
use the buttons here we can zoom rotate
and flip them or move the model around
so far so good but the default pose
seems pretty boring
we can create a new pose from scratch by
clicking on the parts we want to move
and then dragging the angle that appears
into the position we have in mind
different body parts have different ways
of articulation
the lower arm for example can only be
moved in two directions while the upper
arm has more options same goes for the
legs so it can be a bit tricky and time
consuming to build a pose from scratch
that is why i usually like to work with
pre-registered poses that are already
similar to what i want
you can find them in the materials under
3d and then pose
there are a bunch of presets that are
called according to what the pose is
supposed to be so we have clean the
cupboard or uppercut for example
just drag the post that resembles your
needs the most onto the character and it
will assume that selected post there are
also individual hand poses select the
hand you want to change on the figure
and then drag the hand pose onto it so
it assumes the gesture often though you
have to be lucky to find the pre-made
pose that exactly fits your needs
but usually you can at least find
something fairly similar which can serve
as a base and will only require a little
tweaking
this way we can save some time because
building the pose can become exhausting
really quickly to move the limbs around
you have to click on whatever you need
to change and move it across the given
axis if you double click these circles
appear they give you a more chorus
option where you can push and pull whole
limbs move the torso or change where the
head is looking for example
i can also recommend looking through the
assets section where you can find
additional poses made by the community
if the pose is done you can also save it
and use it for later even on different
character models as an early step to
make things a bit more dynamic we can
also use the function manga perspective
that is activated by checking this
little box here it exaggerates the
perspective and enhances the
foreshortening effect hands arms the
head and feet appear bigger towards the
viewer the higher you set the function
up when you have it turned on and rotate
your drawing around you can see where
and how the effect is applied it has its
flaws though in certain angles the
anatomy sometimes looks a bit strange so
we have to keep an eye on that
all this managing of limbs and poses can
take a lot of effort and at some point
it becomes quite tedious
and even more so if you don't already
have a clear image in mind of where you
want to go with your model
you can end up with a great reference
for your drawing as a reward but on the
way there you will constantly need to
adjust limbs and camera angle with every
change of the model as well as watch out
for their perspective and gravity you
will need to decide the pose the gesture
and choose the composition and framing
after all these are things those models
won't do for you
so you will have to make deliberate
decisions on the basis of your
experience and vision and i think on
that end it's almost like when you would
do an ordinary sketch before a painting
sure you don't have to worry that much
about the anatomy anymore but anatomy
isn't the only thing that makes a
drawing work speaking of the sketch
let's continue
part two sketching
tracing a carbon copy of these figures
is rarely the best option
i know it sounds a bit counterproductive
to put all this time and effort into
setting up your model just to then
diverge from that reference
and if you want to stick to the model
that is still fine of course i wouldn't
think of it as cheating because it's
usually not that hard to tell that it's
traced
but to create a convincing artwork it
will only get us so far if we do it
mindlessly the drawing tends to look
stiff and also anatomy wise it might
still look a bit weird
so what can we do
depending on the picture i'm working on
i usually shift between two methods
either i do the sketch more freely or i
change up the figure before i start
sketching
for option number one we first need to
lower the opacity of the model layer set
the display setting from fast to normal
and then just lower the opacity
now we can create a new layer on top and
start to roughly outline the anatomy i
recommend using a medium sized brush for
this step because we don't want to
create a flash outline art yet but
rather we want to approximate the rough
shape and proportions of our drawing
i personally like to use a lot of
quickly swung lines to create more
dynamic shapes that are more pleasant to
look at and let the character appear
more natural so don't be afraid to draw
over the lines that the model defines i
can't stress this enough there needs to
be a certain flow in your drawing to
prevent your drawing from looking stiff
that hardly works when you solely rely
on that model alone
you want to have that flexible handmade
feel to your drawing that contrary to
the cheating allegations requires you to
put effort and thought into your drawing
the first option does require a bit of
experience and also a somewhat clear
vision of where you want to go with your
drawing
to explain where i diverge from the
model is a bit tricky there are
reoccurring critical spots to watch out
for like fingers shoulders neck the head
shape etc
that often are very likely to be need of
adjustments but it's hard to go any
deeper than that because a lot depends
on the pose which makes each case unique
it is also a matter of style and taste
of course but with more practice you
will develop a feel when to add curves
where to exaggerate features and when to
stick to just the model
when i am done with the rough shape i
want to put my focus on improving the
sketch and shape them more towards what
i have in mind i can turn the models off
at this point so i can see my drawing
independently from the figures
and from now on it's not as different as
doing any other sketch drawing the face
and hair adding and removing lines and
adjusting whatever seems off
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now to our next option
for the second method i change and
transform the proportions of the model
itself before i do the sketch
in this example the manga perspective
looks great around the legs and feet but
it looks a little off around the arm and
hand in the foreground
so to get the best from both worlds we
will have to puzzle them together
make a copy of the 3d model layer and
then use the perspective function on1
and leave the other one untouched
then we rasterize both layers by
right-clicking the layer and choosing
rasterize this converts the 3d models
into regular 2d layers now erase the
part of the top layer that we don't want
keep in mind though that once we have
rasterized the model we can't go back
and move the figure around once more so
if you don't feel 100 unsure about
making that step yet make sure to have
another copy of the layer left or have
the pose saved that way you can go back
and make some more adjustments now we
can use the lasso tool and adjust
strange looking areas depending on your
experience this task might be easier
said than done
after all you still have to have
developed a field for where things can
be improved but still i think this
option might be a little easier compared
to the first option
as you are not drawing into the blue on
top of your model
rather you are working with something
that you can change directly what would
the hand look like if it was bigger
circle it with the laser tool and try it
undo if you don't like it
if the manga perspective messes things
up for example or if you just want to
add even more foreshortening all we need
to do is select that area and change it
to your liking resizing warping and
stuff like that
when you are satisfied with your
adjustments it's time again to sketch
over your improved model
following the lines of the model now
will work a bit better because we
already put our efforts into creating a
more natural posture
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but i usually still end up also
adjusting things with my sketch again
in general i can recommend thinking of
these models as something that still can
be optimized whether you work on the
models themselves or on your sketch the
anatomy might be correct but that
doesn't benefit your work if it looks
weird
so don't be afraid to fix things if you
feel something isn't right
conclusion
i hope i was able to show you that these
models have their advantages and can be
a really helpful tool in case you need
references and orientation for
complicated perspectives or if you want
to check whether the idea you have in
mind would work on paper there are a lot
of occasions where 3d models can simply
save time
when you work on comics for example you
can use them as placeholders and play
around with angles and gestures also
they are amazing for figuring out
different scales and proportions for
example when you draw two and more
characters or when you want to know
whether the perspective of a background
works
in general they can help to build a
convincing perspective in your drawings
and it can definitely make the process
simpler and faster if you use this tool
to your advantage but there is a catch
creating the pose you need can take a
good chunk of time even if you decide to
go along with a pre-registered pose
especially if it is your first time
using them but also if you are
experienced accidentally slipping the
camera around figuring out what angles
you need to change to make your pose
work
if it works at all
there are a lot of obstacles that can
make creating the reference quite
daunting
so it is a double edged sword where you
have to figure out whether you want to
invest time in setting the model up
or give it a try hoping it will be
quicker to draw without them
personally i only use them occasionally
for portraits and simple poses i'm much
quicker on my own sometimes it's also
easier to just take a reference photo
when you want to draw a hand for example
but even when you have pushed through
and created the pose the work is not
done yet
as we have seen simply tracing over the
character doesn't really look that good
most of the time
so you will need to fix things and as i
said figuring out what parts you want to
keep and what you need to change to
create a convincing artwork requires at
least some experience with anatomy and
drawing in general the model doesn't
tell us what to correct or how certain
muscles interact with each other so
it depends on the artist which makes the
whole deal pretty useless as a cheat if
you ask me as with drawing in general
the result will be better the more
experience you have developed as an
artist by practicing anatomy perspective
and all those other things
and you still can't forget that after
setting all things up you will still
need to draw the hair the face the
clothes and other accessories without
the help of a 3d model
so to address the questions from the
beginning
no you won't automatically become a pro
artist that is able to cheat their way
to the top using 3d models as some in
the comments from the beginning seem to
believe
and i feel the criticism that using
these models is bad because it would
make the characters look stiff and
lifeless
should be more nuanced
it's not the use of these models per se
but rather how you choose to use them
that decides what your drawing ends up
looking like
if you just trace them without adjusting
anything that will be visible
but as i try to show you this is by far
not the only way that you can work with
them
and to be honest i rarely even see them
getting used like that because all this
work that goes into creating the perfect
reference isn't really worth it when the
end result doesn't show it
i believe these figures are not meant as
a cheat or substitute for learning
anatomy but rather as a tool just like
any other two
there are times where calculator saves
time and there are times where getting
that thing out of the pocket and typing
the numbers takes longer than just
adding oneplus 2 in your head
what you do with the result though is up
to you
so i hope i was able to clear things up
a bit and deliver my opinion on this
topic what is your experience with 3d
models and references do you agree or
disagree do you use 3d models yourself
or do you think they are cheating let me
know in the comments if you like this
video please give it a thumbs up thanks
so much for watching and i hope to see
you again with the next video goodbye
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