If you’re an artist or illustrator, having some basic 3D skills opens a whole new world of possibilities. This class explores the ways in which 3D can add an extra dimension to your work.

As an animator, one of the first things that I wanted to do when I started to create illustrations was to find ways of adding motion to help bring them to life.

One of the easiest solutions is to add simple parallax moves to layers of artwork to give an illusion of depth. But, this doesn’t work for every image and, with the use of 3D animation software, we can go beyond those simple effects and actually project our illustrations onto 3D geometry. This gives us far more flexibility to add complex camera movement to our illustrations and even combine our illustrations with 3D elements or effects.

In this class I’ll be starting out with the basics for those who may never have touched 3D animation software before. We’ll then explore how to create multiplane, parallax camera moves using the provided artwork.

In the second part of the class, we’ll create a simple 3D scene based upon a sketch. This scene serves as a guide which you can use to create your own illustration or, alternatively, you can make use of the provided illustration for the next part of the class where I demonstrate how to project the illustration back onto the individual objects in the scene.

Finally, we’ll add a camera move and some 3D particles to add a little magic to our scene.

What you will learn:

You will start by learning the essential basics of the Blender application that you will need for the rest of the class.
You will then learn how to import images into Blender whilst maintaining the original aspect ratio and colour space.
With the artwork imported correctly, you will learn how to create simple parallax animation by animating both the camera and the layers of artwork.
The class then covers all of the modelling techniques required to build a simple 3D scene to project an illustration onto.
The entire image projection process is explained including how to handle many of the common issues you are likely to encounter.
You will also learn the basics of creating a particle effect within Blender.
Finally, you will learn how to render and save your animation as either an image sequence or an .mp4 file.

What you will create:

By following along with the class, you will create two variations of the simple multiplane camera animation.
You will then also be able to create an animation based around an illustration projected onto 3D geometry.

Good to know:

This is a beginner level class using the free 3D application, Blender.
The Blender application can be downloaded for free from: blender.org
Due to certain changes introduced in Blender 4.2, this class will be easiest to follow using Blender 4.1.1.
Instructions for downloading past versions of Blender can be found in the Class Updates lesson.
Since this class is focussed on providing you with the skills you need to be able to take your own illustrations into 3D, it doesn’t include any painting demonstrations, but I’ve provided my own illustrations which you’re free to use to try out any of the techniques in the class.

Whilst the world of 3D can seem daunting, by the end of this class, you will have the skills and knowledge you need to start bringing your own illustrations to life.

Let’s get started!

Once you have finished this class, don't forget to check out the other animation classes here on Skillshare.

John Knowles

Animation Director

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