Before anything else let me tell you a few things about me because some of you have no idea who you're trashing. I've had my first contact with the 3d world more than 20 years ago. I've been a noob for a long long time because of the lack of tutorials and resources on the internet. I've got my first 3d job 15 years ago and my first game industry one 11 years ago.  In this 15 years that I've worked in the industry I've always tried to help people grow. I've mentored artists all my adult life and most of them are doing very well in the industry. Last year I've ended a very well paid contract with Warner Bros Games because of some health issues and decided to put a bit more effort into helping people. I've started streaming daily and I made a target to help people grow. I have a few tutorials on the internet for a few bucks that I gave away for free a lot of times for the artists that couldn't afford them. I've refused a job at GAI because I wanted to share my knowledge for free....to help this community grow. I've never considered myself a good artist but I've always been a hard working guy and this is exactly what I've always said to everyone who ever reached out for any kind of guidance. Putting the effort is the most important aspect of being a 3d artist. 

The previous post appeared as a reaction of the fact that one of the guys who is constantly on my twitch and who grew a lot in the last year posted his latest character (which btw is a really nice character) but because he doesn't have a lot of followers was stuck with 14 likes in latest in between a sea of "10 minutes artworks". He had no chance to make it to trending and actually have an opportunity for the right people to see his work. But you all don't consider this a problem. Right?

Some of you reacted badly to my previous post and even took it and rant about it in social media without even reading the whole thing and I urge you to go and reread it(or read it) until  you understand what I was saying there. I was not referring to artworks that lack skill. I was referring to artworks that have 0 amount of work put into it. You remember your first tutorials when you were learning a new software? Those ones. The 3 brushes in Zbrush, the simple cup in 3ds max or Maya, the torus in Blender and so on.....Hell even artwork is art+work...you know...actual work.  But then again you took one phrase out of the context and started trashing me for no fucking reason. Have you actually read what I said in that blog? Did you even spent 10 seconds to understand what I was trying to say?

You're all offended and shit like we're not aiming for the same thing....seeing ART on Artstation. Are you mad at me for what? For being honest? I've showed in that post the fact that I did the same kind of crap when I was young but I never even thought about posting it on any kind of 3d site and even if I would I would have went for the forums where I could get some help to improve my skills because you need to put actual effort into your art...the less skill you have the more time you need to spend working and trying to understand how to create something.

You called me jerk, rude and arrogant because I pinpointed what all of you know....Artstation is turning slowly into Devianart by being overwhelmed by beginners that think that every single thing they can make in 10 minutes is called art (see the amount of DAZ3D posts that get here every day). I've said my point of view and you considered that it's easier to trash me rather than think a bit. Your comments won't help anyone grow. For growing you need feedback and that's not something you will get on Artstation nor from people who believe that every single thing you make in 3d needs to be on Artstation.

I've never insinuated that people without skills should not post on Artstation nor did I denied anyone the right of sharing whatever they think it's art. I just said that art takes time and passion....2 strokes in zbrush is as much art as a simple box made in 3ds max and even people that have no clue about 3d can make one of those.  There is a big difference between lack of skills and lack of work and you all know it. I've always said that if you put the effort you'll be rewarded but if you're making a torus and call it art then maybe Artstation is not the place where you should image host your stuff. If you really wanna grow as an artist there are multiple places where you can post your WIPs and actually get some feedback and guidance....some of them linked in my previous post. But who cares, right? We're all reading between the lines here and taking things out of the context.

I wasn't talking about this because I'm fucking amazing and they're not......I'm a fucking mediocre artist and I've been a noob just like everyone else...most likely for more years than they will ever be...no one is born with experience....I was raising this problem because I want them to understand how much effort it takes to make 3d stuff...to make them understand that Artstation is not the place where you can throw all your trials and 10 minute artworks....no one will give you feedback here....no one will appreciate your effort if there is no effort. This is a site where you should post your best work so you can present a portfolio to whoever want to hire you or want to see what a great artist you are.
But of course....I'm arrogant right? Trying to push people to work harder and get better is arrogance... Right?

As many of you seen I've posted yesterday one of my first sculpts in zbrush from 13 years ago as a "joke". Well...it was not really a joke...it was a cry for moderation on Artstation or at least for junior artists to understand that this is not the place where you post your WIPs and first sculpts. Every single artist in this world was at your level at some point(and as you've seen, me included) but 99.9% of them never posted these first steps over the internet, or if they posted it they did it on the forums where you can actually get some feedback. Unless you have a blog on Artstation these "artworks" should never be here. The level of feedback you get in your artwork comments it's basically non existent. Go to zbrushcentral.com , polycount.com  or whatever social media site where you can find a group dedicated to feedback, make a sketchbook and ask for guidance. That will work.

Artstation is your businesses card...it's the place where you show off your amazing artwork so that people in the industry can see you and reach up to you with job offers. By posting this kind of stuff you're just making things worse...for you and everyone else since we all have to navigate all this junk posts to actually find some proper artworks. Some will come and say that sure...you can stay on trending or picks so you won't have to deal with this....you can, but for sure you will loose a lot of nice works just because those people don't have enough followers and exposure....so they will never make it to trending, not to mention picks. In the end you come to Artstation to see ART not potatoes (well most of you come for boobs but that's another discussion that we will have to have). 

My advice, and I've said it many times on my streams, is to work hard, improve your skills, post all over the internet when you actually have something that took you more than 10 minutes to make and that actually would inspire people or show a real progress on your skills. Don't get fooled by those 5 friends of yours that hit the like button to support you....if your work is trash it should not be on the internet. Doing 3d is not something that you learn overnight and you're not gonna create masterpieces in 20 minutes in Zbrush. You need to grow, you need to learn how to build volumes and shapes, you need to learn how to make your things look good. You can show those early tests to your friends or family but here on Artstation you have to post artworks that will land you a job. This is your portfolio man, not your junkyard. I have a full folder with old stuff that never been posted anywhere on the internet and that's because I knew how much I suck. I understood that I have a lot of work to do before asking for any kind of feedback or hunting for likes. If you've been on my stream lately(especially last night) you've seen some of my old stuff....you know I was just like you.

Now go and delete all that junk from your portfolio and start working on some proper models. You will thank me later. 

Btw Happy Valentines! I love you all even if sometimes is rough love. 

PS: I'll show you some amazing stuff from my past just to understand what you should never ever post on Artstation

I've worked a bit more today. 

Made a subsurface scattering map, added a bit more detail on the microskin and made some jewelry. Slowly getting closer to call the high poly done.

Cheers.

I've worked a lot on the body in the past few days. I had the head and the body separated in the high poly so I've made the low poly for the whole thing and re projected all the details. I've also worked on the skin microdetails using texturing.xyz displacement maps and a poly paint as a base for my texture. 

Don't forget I'm streaming when I'm working on it.

https://www.twitch.tv/nimlot26

Cheers

I've been working on a WoW inspired orc in the past few weeks. Here's the high poly progress so far. Cheers!

Use code "summer" at checkout for any of my tutorials and models on Gumroad for a hefty 35% discount.
Cheers!
https://gumroad.com/nimlot26

Yesterday I was lurking in some creative streams on twitch and talked a bit with a few artists who were sculpting some human anatomy. After seeing their struggle I've made a quick sculpt just to show them my approach to sculpting faces from a sphere. 

Around 1h 30min sculpting. This is the result. 

Since tomorrow is my birthday I've decided to give you all a small gift and add a discount offer for all my tutorials and models that I have on Gumroad. Just use the code bday at checkout.

Cheers!

 https://gumroad.com/nimlot26

So I've finished with the low poly and now I've worked a bit on the textures. Here's how it looks so far. Still long way to go. 

Don't forget that I'm always streaming while working on my personal projects so don't be shy and drop by and say a hi when I'm on. 

https://www.twitch.tv/nimlot26

I was not happy with the previous clothes I've made for this character and in my spare time I've worked on a new jacket.

As always I've streamed the whole process on my twitch https://www.twitch.tv/nimlot26

I hope I'll have time to finish this character. Next stop pants. See you on Twitch!

Cheers!