Open-source 3D for illustrators
Jumping into professional-level 3D illustration that will cost you… nothing!
The highlights of OSS tools
Today’s open-source software (OSS) isn’t your Dad’s. Many of today’s top open-source programs have caught up and are every bit as good as the commercial-ware they compete with. Their main cost is the time it takes to learn them, as they can sometimes be a bit more idiosyncratic than commercial tools. But even that’s getting better. Plus, all but one package discussed here is available on all major platforms, Mac, Windows and Linux.
As an illustrator, keeping costs down is important. OSS tools don’t have purchase or upgrade costs. They won’t hit you with monthly subscriptions, and their subscription won’t expire in the middle of a major project. Plus, you can load them onto as many computers as you like.
And OSS means you don’t have to worry quite as much about software choices. Even if your client’s in-house team works on Lightwave, you can still hand them your Blender projects knowing they can easily download Blender and have full access.
AN ILLUSTRATOR’S 3D WORKFLOW
Creating 3D art can be a hugely timeconsuming process, so the trick is to use each tool to its best advantage. Use your 2D paint program as much as possible, and limit 3D use to where its use will shine.
The first step in understanding 3D illustration is that you rarely need to get perfect renderings out of your 3D software. We all know how seductive the idea of the perfect rendering is, but let it go, trust us. Post-production is your friend, and you can fine-tune your images later in your paint program, often with little effort.
You also don’t need to get all of an image rendered in just one pass. Compositing the final illustration in your choice of 2D compositing software (i.e. your paint program) will save you hours and days of wasted time. Yes, breaking all the elements down into separate renderings will add a bit of extra work up-front, but it’s sure to save you time later on when changes and deadlines loom near.
In fact, once in your compositor/paint program of choice, you can even have elements coming from many different 3D programs. Why do this? Because while there are many general-purpose 3D applications available, there are also many specialised ones that are designed to let you produce something very specific easier, better or faster than you otherwise could do. More on this in a bit.
THE GORILLA IN THE ROOM
There are few programs that rise above the discussion of commercial vs. open source as well as Blender (blender.org) is able to. It has always been a great option, but in recent years it has become even more capable, rivaling most commercial applications. And with version 2.8’s improvements, its user interface is even more accessible.
Blender’s toolset includes the Grease Pencil, which allows you to draw in 3D space, its new Eevee renderer that allows real-time photorealistic rendering, a builtin compositor, and an endless offering of special visual effects tools – one would be hard-pressed to come up with a wish list of anything missing.
The only real complaint from an illustrator’s perspective would be that since it is really designed for animators, there is a huge amount there that needs to be ignored, and can make learning a steeper curve than you may want. But this is no different than using Maya or other top 3D programs for illustration. And unfortunately, it’s difficult to recommend a runner-up that comes anywhere close. But there are plenty of free learning tools and videos online, so basic functionality should not take long, and you can add more as you move forward.
GIMP VS. KRITA
Going open source means forgoing the wonderful world of Adobe. And for many, the hardest part would be the loss of Photoshop, which is certainly hard to replace. But the two programs that may come the closest are the venerable GIMP (gimp.org), and the younger player, Krita (krita.org).
GIMP has been around a long time now, and while it has always lagged behind Photoshop, it is a capable alternative. It’s often described as Photoshop, a few versions back. That’s fairly accurate, except for the interface. Its UI continues to drag it down, and takes some getting used to. Want your pressure-sensitive pen to work? You need to dig down three levels and find the settings. Working on a 4K monitor? Some of the UI is
still coughing a bit. Nonetheless, the toolsets are very strong.
By comparison, Krita has a lovely interface that anyone used to Photoshop will feel instantly at home with. Its toolsets are mostly self-explanatory, with one exception. As you click on various tools you may be looking for the deep settings you expect to find, but most are not there. Krita is a lot less deep than either Photoshop or GIMP.
Where Krita shines is in its ease of actually creating art. For example, a simple right-click on the canvas brings up a wonderful painting tool selector, complete with a smattering of other utilities. Oh, and your pressure-sensitive pen will work right out of the box!
SPECIALITY 3D PROGRAMS
There is little in the world of 3D that a program like Blender can’t do. But sometimes, there are other programs that can do speciality projects faster, easier or even better. For example, you could create an indoor architectural scene in most 3D software, but the open-source program Sweet Home 3D (sweethome3d.com) is a one-trick pony built for doing just that. Or, perhaps you need to create humans for an architectural previsual? Makehuman (makehumancommunity.org) is an open-source Poser-like program for the prototyping of photorealistic humanoids.
In both cases, these characters and interiors can be rendered and then brought
Right: Arguably the top two contenders for Photoshop replacement in the open-source arena. Of these two 2D paint programs, GIMP is far more dense. Krita however offers great interface features like its easy-access paint tool controls
into your paint program for compositing. Or in some cases, the 3D models can be exported and imported into your main 3D program and rendered there.
WRAP UP
While there are alternatives, the heavyhitters for open-source 3D illustration work are undeniably Blender for 3D work, and GIMP or Krita for 2D illustration, and compositing of the 3D rendered elements. Let’s give a mention to Affinity Photo (affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo) as well. While not free or OSS, it’s a very popular, capable and affordable alternative for Mac and Windows.
The speciality apps mentioned here are a couple of popular and project-specific
“ONE WOULD BE HARD-PRESSED TO COME UP WITH A WISH LIST OF ANYTHING MISSING [FROM BLENDER’S TOOLSET]”
standouts. But they are hardly the only options, as the list of alternatives is large, and always shifting. Which means just like commercial apps, OSS projects pop up, show promise, and sometimes evaporate. So it’s always safer to invest your learning curve hours into programs that have a long-term established development history.
The last item we have to mention is Ubuntu Studio (ubuntustudio.org). This is a Linux distribution based on the core Ubuntu release, but customised to include most software that an art and media studio would need to run a daily operation, all preinstalled with the OS. All of it OSS, and free, so you don’t even need to spend on MACOS or Windows, and it’s designed to be especially easy to use. Under the graphics category it automatically installs Blender, GIMP, and vector-based Inkscape.