Full Sail University

3D Arts Introduction

Here you will find the 3D Arts disciplines taught at Full Sail University.

If this work is appealing to you, our Computer Animation or Game Art bachelor’s degree may be the right program for you.

Explore FAQs about the bachelor’s art sample requirements.

Computer Animation Bachelor's
Game Art Bachelor's

3D Arts Examples

Curious what you’ll be able to do with an education in 3D Arts? See the student work below for a glimpse into what our programs cover.

 
MODELING
 
LOOK DEVELOPMENT
 
ANIMATION
 
COMPOSITING
 
RIGGING
 
MOTION CAPTURE – Part of campus programs only. Learn more here.

So what does it look like behind the scenes to make a 3D character?

Follow along in this video as one of our 3D Arts faculty shows you how to create a simple character in Autodesk Maya.

 

To see a complex character being fully built out into a 3D model, check out these timelapse videos from our graduate Shania. This project took 15 hours to complete.

BLOCKING AND FLESHING OUT

HAIR

FINAL TOUCH UPS

How can you prepare to become a 3D artist before starting your degree?

  • For current High School students, register for one of our 3D Modeling Virtual Workshops through Full Sail Labs where you can get a feel for making 3D art.
  • Follow along with Autodesk Maya tutorials yourself with a 30-day free trial.
  • Work on your drawing skills. Having a strong foundation in traditional art will help you to bring your 3D creations to life. Try practicing with the beginners’ drawing lessons below.

Beginning Drawing Workshop

You can learn to draw; a student with self-discipline and a genuine desire to draw can be successful. If this describes you and you practice every single day, you will be capable of drawing.

If you really want to learn to draw, you will have to do more than what we ask you to do in these activities and become self-motivated, interested and go above and beyond to get your desired outcome.

You will learn about the five perceptual skills of drawing:

  • The perception of edges
  • The perception of spaces
  • The perception of relationships
  • The perception of light and shadow
  • The perception of the whole


For the exercises, the following items will be needed; a set of graphite pencils, an eraser, sharpener, blender, ink well, set of pen tip and a sketchbook. These are all you need to begin this journey.

 
WORKSHOP ONE
 
WORKSHOP TWO
 
WORKSHOP THREE
 
WORKSHOP FOUR

Production Research

This industry has a variety of different career directions and possible locations in the world. So where do you start? How do you find out about jobs?

Take a look below.

Web Search

The simple start is to search a search engine for “3D Artist Jobs.”  To search for production studios and artists, you can choose a film and do a web search for “visual effects company worked on…” and add the name of film.

  • For example: search “visual effects companies worked on Kong Skull Island,” and a series of sites will be found
  • Articles from awn.com, artofvfx.com, The Area (area.autodesk.com), and imdb.com are all good
  • imdb.com provides a list of companies involved in the production; scroll down and look for company credits or production company
  • Company Credits: Production Co: Legendary Entertainment, Tencent Pictures, Warner Bros., etc.
  • Click “See More” from the Production Company list to find a list of all the studios that helped create the film
  • Note: Games are a little different - in most cases it is one studio working on the production; do a web search of the game title – For example: "Uncharted 5" will lead you to Naughty Dog Studios

Start Researching Production Studios

  • What other titles have these studios worked on?
  • Each studio will have a careers page, what are they looking for in an artist?
  • Which cities are their jobs based out of?
Other Workshops and Learning Opportunities

Web Research Suggestions

Epic Games Unreal Engine

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