What is a cg painter and what is his job?

CG painter is a digital painter who can create computer-generated images (CGI) for all types of multimedia. This can include 2D works or 3D assets used in games or animations.

More specifically, 2D resources are usually made using Adobe Photoshop or similar software, and are usually used as textures or UI (user interface/menu) in games. These assets can also be independent digital works that can be used as marketing materials.

3D assets mainly constitute the model and digital attributes of assets in games or other interactive media. CG original painters can choose many softwares, but the most common ones are Blender, 3DS Max and Maya.

These 3D resources can also be used to generate 2D renderings, and then used for promotional materials, packaging and so on. In the same way.

CG image

CGI images have great use cases in many different fields, so many companies have high demand for CGI images. Due to the existence of commercial applications (such as architecture or urban planning), CG original painters must perform well in the market at present.

There are many companies specializing in this field, providing the marketing image of potential buyers or investors for construction companies.

CGI assets are also very useful for products, especially those that are still in the design stage.

These images are used to get a correct visualization of the product and see if it is suitable for this purpose, and to help make design decisions as early as possible.

Many architects and product designers avoid the traditional blueprint and choose to use CAD (Computer Aided Design) software to generate their design documents.

Just like the difference between traditional art tools and software like Photoshop, the extra flexibility of digital CG software is very valuable.

3D software can generate ultra-realistic images and has the ability to calculate the illumination and reflection behavior. Compared with photography of some products, this actually makes them more sought after, because it eliminates all the restrictions of physical cameras or lighting equipment.

A good example is to get a clear macro photo without serious blur in other parts of the image. This is just an example of CG working in a business-centric field.

animation

Both 2D and 3D resources can be used to make animations, which can be superimposed on live shots of movies and videos.

Perhaps the best example is 1996 live-action version+animated film "Space Jam".

However, if these assets are more suitable for the selected artistic style, they can also be used as independent videos or movies.

These examples include updated animations (Princess and Frog, Spongebob movies, etc. ), and even some new movies made by DreamWorks 3D (Toy Story, Shrek, etc.). ).

Animation is a very important tool in CG original painter's toolbox. It can be used to convey more information than standard still images, and CG animation is usually cheaper than traditional 2D animation.

With 3D technology, you can tell a fascinating story and build the whole world, while creating reusable assets and simplifying the process.

However, with the appearance of these benefits, time becomes less and less.

Compared with complete 3D animation, it takes much less time to make a single 3D image. And in the case of absolute need for exercise, it can also make real people move faster (maybe cheaper).

Although 2D animation is still a common practice in some studios (such as Studio Ghibli), the progress of modern computing power and workflow makes it cheaper and more suitable for large-scale 3D production.

This is why the number of 2D animated films released now is much less than that of 20 years ago.

Even Disney, which led the revolution of 2D animated feature films, seems to run counter to this business model. In the past ten years, this business model has only released two 2D animated feature films.

Games/interactions

CG art is always very important if products need interactivity. Or, if you are making a game (naturally), because the live footage of video games is very limited.

If you remember arcade and NES/SNES era, 2D art was once the only way to make video games.

Due to the limited technology at that time, only a certain number of pixels can be displayed at a time, which means that 3D/CG can be used for models, but not for in-game assets.

But with the development of technology, we now see that most modern games with big budgets choose 3D assets.

Nowadays, 2D games made by smaller development studios are passionate projects, such as "Cuphead". But the real AAA titles are all made by CG original painters.

Because the graphics engine can handle it, most big-budget game studios want to make the game look as real as possible.

This means that most of them use 3D resources. Use the rendering of their game engine to calculate real-time lighting.

Please note that CG art not only needs to be used in games. They are also widely used in other interactive media, such as training applications or marketing materials.

On the next flight, please check the on-board media console-many teaching videos are complete 3D animations with some interactive games.

About CG original painter

It can be seen that the term "CG original painter" is widely used in many disciplines. But it really boils down to one thing: the original painter who used computers to create graphics and assets.

You don't have to be a CG artist. In fact, it may be better to focus on a certain field and become famous for it.

I think it is always better to specialize in CG art, so that you can spend more time practicing and improving specific skills.

For example, in Disney, they have an original painter department. Some people may just create digital story panels on 2D story boards, while others may just be animators of 3D characters.

This is a very different job role, but it can still be regarded as the original painter of CG.

For better or worse, due to the improvement of CGI, the traditional art media is in a downturn in mass production.

Many benefits of digital works far outweigh outdated artistic creation methods, even though they may lack some charm.

CG is easier to transmit or copy, and these graphics are easier to send back and edit. They can be made easier or cheaper, and according to the ultimate goal, making can look much better than hand-drawn animation "one-on-one".

The CG industry is everywhere. If you are interested, it's time to enter.

But I hope this will help to better understand the essence of CG art and the performance of CG original painters in their daily work.

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