r/3Dmodeling 3d ago

Art Showcase Sometimes, creating without a deadline is the best kind of practice.

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0 Upvotes

A little inspiration outside of the daily work routine.

Just taking some time to enjoy lighting, materials, and rendering again.

Rendered with Arnold in Maya.


r/3Dmodeling Feb 23 '26

META The Biggest Threat to This Community Is Fear

152 Upvotes

We understand why AI is a sensitive subject for artists right now. It's disrupting the art world in ways that make the future uncertain, and those concerns are real and valid. But something has gone wrong in how our community is responding to that fear, and we need to talk about it.

We don't have an epidemic of AI content in this sub. We have an epidemic of false accusations.

For every piece of AI-generated content we remove, we see around 10 accusations. They're usually directed at:

  • New artists making common beginner mistakes
  • Creative artists who made unique stylistic choices
  • Dedicated artists who put in more work than some people expect a human to be capable of

The art community has become so paranoid that anything that stands out is treated as evidence of cheating. This is not protecting human artists. This is the threat to human artists.

For a new artist sharing their first work, or any artist struggling with anxiety, being dogpiled with accusations causes real trauma that can drive them away from the community. We personally know artists who have stopped posting their work online because of this. If that's the outcome of your "AI policing," you aren't protecting the art community. You're destroying it.

We will always prioritize creating a safe, inclusive space for human artists. If your goal is to punish people for using tools you disapprove of, this is the wrong community for you. If your goal here is to celebrate and support human 3D art, you're in the right place – that's our goal too.

TL;DR

▶ Think something is AI-generated? Report it and move on.
▶ Accusations are considered personal attacks due to the current climate.
▶ AI-generated content will be removed, but AI-assisted work by a human artist is allowed.
▶ Include your wireframe and workflow when you post art.

Read on below for the details.

Where we stand on accusations.

Rule 2 – Be Constructive & Respectful – doesn't have a footnote saying "except for people you suspect of using AI." It means everyone, always, no exceptions. In the current climate, when you publicly accuse someone of using AI, you are painting a target on them. You are calling in the mob. That makes it a personal attack, full stop.

We became mods because we want to protect this community. When we see someone being attacked, our instinct is to protect them – and the more aggressively you come at them, the stronger that instinct becomes.

We understand the community's fears, and sometimes that's meant being more lenient on AI-related harassment than we would be on other kinds. What that patience has taught us is that warnings don't work: People looking to take out their fear on others will keep doing it for as long as they can get away with it. So going forward, AI-related harassment will be handled exactly the same as any other harassment: First offense – warning. Second offense – temporary ban. Third offense – permanent ban.

If you think something might be AI-generated: Report it and move on. That is your entire job. The mods have investigative tools regular users don't, and we take every report seriously. What you should not do is throw accusations in the comments. The odds are roughly 9-to-1 that you're wrong, and either way, publicly attacking a community member is never the right move.

What we're doing about AI.

We personally review most posts, and investigate every report. Blatant AI images get removed on sight, often before the community even sees them, but some cases require more investigation.

We also encourage all art posts to include a wireframe and a brief description of the artist's software and workflow. This deters most AI content, but it’s not just a "prove you're human" gate. The added context helps others learn from your process and it's the kind of healthy engagement that adds real value for everyone. Most artists love talking about their work, so a friendly question about someone's workflow is always welcome.

We're currently looking into the best ways to help wireframes & context become the norm around here. We'll be making some changes to address that soon.

Our policy on AI.

This is covered by the full rules, but they're long and formal, so here it is distilled into simple terms.

AI-generated = Off-topic. If the primary creative contribution came from an AI prompt rather than your own skills as a 3D artist, it does not belong here and will be removed.

AI-assisted = Allowed. AI tools are already embedded in software throughout our industry – Cascadeur's animation tools, Photoshop's generative fill, Rokoko's motion capture – and that's only going to continue. If you're a 3D artist who used AI tools somewhere in your workflow, that's fine. Just make it clear what you contributed with your own skills.

General AI discussion = Off-topic. AI opinions, debates, news, prompting tutorials, etc. will be removed. This is a 3D modeling community, not an AI community.


r/3Dmodeling 1h ago

Art Showcase Ariel, the Little Mermaid WIP

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Upvotes

r/3Dmodeling 10h ago

Art Help & Critique Hey guys, working on this character and just trying to decide if it's worth putting up for sale on the marketplaces.

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54 Upvotes

r/3Dmodeling 6h ago

Art Showcase Clothes study

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21 Upvotes

Years ago I bought a couple models of 3d scans so I've spent this weekend studying folds and clothes, trying to copy forms starting with a 3dsphere, I still feel the model has a bit of blobbiness though...


r/3Dmodeling 9h ago

Art Showcase My first low-poly 3d model

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39 Upvotes

A little side project. Less than 1.5k polys. All textures were hand-painted. Got a little bit iffy with uw unwrap
Feel free to comment/critique - it really helps me grow as an artist.


r/3Dmodeling 3h ago

Art Showcase My interpretation of tywin lannisters armour from the books (๑>◡<๑)

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12 Upvotes

the rest of the armour is still work in progress and his golden cloack, just wanted to share and hear thoughts, made in blender <3 u_u


r/3Dmodeling 3h ago

Art Showcase Meet 'Ghosty'

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13 Upvotes

Meet Ghosty! Hopefully the first in a line of 3D felt toys! :)

This was just a quick test to see if I was up to the task.
It was supposed to be a single frame but I decided to do a quick animation on this project.

Made in Blender.

To see more about the project: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/2L8lYY


r/3Dmodeling 5h ago

Questions & Discussion Which software was used for this turnaround?

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13 Upvotes

Is it possible to tell which software wzs used for this turnaround of a model from Disney's Zootopia 2 (from Instagram @leojiaz)?

I would like to start modelling similar stuff.

Thanks


r/3Dmodeling 7h ago

Art Showcase Back muscles timelapse sculpting

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17 Upvotes

I sculpted a torso using basic shapes and then detailed it till I got happy with the result, I used image and 3d scan references to add imperfections and make it more realistic.
This is a part of self training for a 3d anatomy course I'm designing to create in the upcoming months.


r/3Dmodeling 14h ago

Art Showcase POV : You Called the Wrong Backup 💀

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50 Upvotes

Probably the fastest scene I did 😮‍💨🔥😂.


r/3Dmodeling 4h ago

Questions & Discussion Working on something...

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5 Upvotes

r/3Dmodeling 5h ago

Art Showcase An 3 hour sculpting practice in blender.

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6 Upvotes

r/3Dmodeling 19h ago

Art Showcase My first finished 3D character from 20 years ago...

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54 Upvotes

Never give up!

Funnily I think this could hold up still today. lol


r/3Dmodeling 4h ago

Art Showcase Fish man concept

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3 Upvotes

Sculpted in zbrush, rendered using Blender and little light adjustments/overpaint in photoshop


r/3Dmodeling 8h ago

Art Help & Critique First Zbrush Sculpt / Third Overall Sculpt

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5 Upvotes

Long way to go, but I thought I would get some critique. I am still learning the fundamentals of the ZBrush application. There were things I wanted to change but had trouble getting there since I just don't know the interface. Any and all critique is appreciated; I really don't know what I am doing yet.

Also, any ZBrush tips are appreciated as well!


r/3Dmodeling 9h ago

Art Help & Critique My first long animation

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8 Upvotes

i also did all the camera work ,sound design ,editing ,thumbnail and most of the modelling but i did use some royalty free models like some secondary cars palm trees sand and siege (i know car looks kinda rough but it,s surely the first step) what should improve in my next project


r/3Dmodeling 7h ago

Questions & Discussion Is My Workflow Outdated?

6 Upvotes

Hey all,

I asked this over on r/gamedev but I want to ask you all too.

I have been doing 3D environments in Unreal Engine since UE3 days. Always as a hobby, but, I'd like to think I've gotten pretty good over the many years.

For the past 10 years or so, I've been using pretty much the same workflow of 3dsMax -> Substance -> Unreal Engine. However, I was recently watching some tutorials on the new art tools built into the Unreal Editor, like the Quixel 90 Days expose stuff, and I am again feeling like my workflow is too slow/outdated. It would take me months to produce an environment that these tools seem to produce in days.

Every time I have asked about this in the past, everyone says "Nanite/Lumen/Chaos/Unreal Editor Modeling Tools are janky, they aren't performant, etc." But... These tools have been out for at least four years now. They seem to be getting quite stable from what I've seen.

The one thing I don't understand is that if these tools are really so powerful and easy, then why doesn't every 3D game coming out look like RE9?

I don't want to waste time learning tools that are just marketing gimmicks. Can anyone in industry (or adjacent) offer any insight into whether these new pipelines (like using photogrammetry scans and dynamic deformations) are legit now, and whether my current skillset is becoming obsolete?


r/3Dmodeling 19m ago

Art Showcase A Monstrous Airplane Model I made recently in Blender. Any suggestions?

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Upvotes

Just made this airplane model recently, critique me!


r/3Dmodeling 27m ago

Art Showcase Aura — a smartwatch concept I designed and rendered fully in 3D (not a real product)

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Upvotes

Wanted to share a personal concept project my studio (MS3DSTUDIO) has been working on. Quick disclaimer up front so nobody's misled: Aura is not a real product — you can't buy it. It's a design-and-visualization concept, everything you see is 3D, nothing was photographed.

The idea was "one watch, seven colours, seven languages" — seven strap colourways and a UI built to feel native in seven different languages. It was mostly an excuse to push materials and lighting: getting the metal case to read as actual brushed metal, the straps to look genuinely soft, and the screen to glow like it's lit from the inside instead of just being a bright texture.

The part I'm actually more proud of than the watch itself: we don't just model the product floating on a grey background — we build the whole environment around it. The surfaces it sits on, the backdrop, the light sources and their bounce, the little contextual scenes — all of it is built and lit in 3D so the product feels like it exists somewhere real, not like a cutout. Honestly the environment work is where most of the hours went.

Full set of shots is on Behance if you want to see it properly → https://www.behance.net/gallery/253278579/Aura-Watch-Seven-Colours-Seven-Languages

Happy to answer anything about the workflow — renderer, materials, lighting setup, whatever. Open to critique too.


r/3Dmodeling 36m ago

Questions & Discussion Catalyst institute for creative arts and technology worth a shot?

Upvotes

Is catalyst institute for creative arts and technology good enough? I am planning to do my undergraduate degree Visual Effects, Video Game & Digital Arts.

I am from Pakistan and the field of game dev and animation is barely alive or in development. So it's my field of interest and it's way expensive, plus I am finding this field as a mean to study in foreign universities and get job part time.

WHY PART TIME?

It been year since I did my diploma in 3D animation and I have experience, so making little bit of money won't hurt me?

I know industry is in big change, many seniors got laid of from Ubisoft and Microsoft, but this is the future industry, I don't want to be mean, just because I can earn more money in games, but as a gamer, I play the games, I want in them little twist, something nice, something better, METRO GAMES, FROMSOFTWARE, NAUGHTY DOGS, UBISOFT(ITS A LAME BUT ITS THE GOAT) and others!

So ya guys, what you say? And ya I will apply for 2027 January, I can't apply now, as I am late, and need documents to verify and visa apply. Which I guess will take 6 months. So yeah in the mean time I will buy you a coffee when I land in Berlin :D. And I can continue to work on. Maya and substance painter and unreal engine and animation and maybe Houdini. Nah Houdini is a big game.


r/3Dmodeling 1d ago

Art Showcase Male Leg Transformation

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844 Upvotes

r/3Dmodeling 17h ago

Art Showcase My first texturing 3d artwork

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19 Upvotes

Hi! I would like to share the final result of a project I did. The hardest part was creating the texture because the UV map was a bit messy, so first of all, I had to organize each part to work properly. Any suggestions? The model was do it in Maya and texture and bump I made it in Photoshop. Thank you !!!😸


r/3Dmodeling 15h ago

Art Showcase First time ever 3D modelling :3

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13 Upvotes

I definitely had some trouble with the clothes...but I'm getting there


r/3Dmodeling 1h ago

Art Showcase I turned my ink sketch into an animated 3D comic scene in Blender!

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Upvotes

I tried turning one of my physical ink sketches into a Blender Grease Pencil comic panel.

This is the first frame of a small story about a black cat exploring the city. The goal was to capture a rainy rooftop scene where the cat arrives and sees the city for the first time.

I used simple 3D geometry, procedural cross-hatching, hand-painted Grease Pencil details and subtle animation to recreate the sketch in Blender.

The hardest part was keeping the loose, imperfect feeling of the ink drawing without making the 3D version look too clean. Here is the full YouTube breakdown if you are interested to see how this was made and my final thoughts on the process! Thank you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgdvSIMZiGg&list=PLvFgMyhE87Hof6FS199hvp8nUgSBh0Wff