How do 3D artists learn to do architecture like this?What books read or what courses they take?3D CG artist take architecture classes?I thought that if i wanted to draw fantasy architecture like this, i should start studying real old architecture. I looked for some books on the subject but most pivot to the historical aspect rather than explain the elements of the buildings that are iconic of every era and every country and their functionality. >"Hurrr just model arches and add bullshit">"Just search on google images for lots of references bro"Both of these takes are retarded.1. The style greatly deviates depending the building, so just by adding arches with bullshit i could end with a mix of styles, which won't look good.2. While elegant, these are FUNCTIONAL designs, if look at the hallway image on bottom left, you can see the ceiling integrity is related to the design. Not only it looks pretty, there is a logic behind it.
>>988399>these are FUNCTIONAL designs
>>988407They are functional, the hallway interiors are sometimes extensions of the exterior arches, as are the ceilings.The windows on Raya Lucaria castle were build to give 2nd floor hallways illumination, and the outer pillars to give support to them.At first glance i thought they were just fluff, random decoration with no meaning. While SOME were that, the more i try to analyze them, the more i notice there is a reason for everything to be in place, either for illuminate certain sections or as a basis for the interior.
>>988399Real buildings don’t look like that bro, just look at them at Wikimedia Commons snd their original designs are mostly guarded against invasion instead of being art.https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Art_and_Architecture_-_Crusader_Castles_Art.IWMPST16958.jpg
>>988399You have to just be interested in this stuff and build general knowledge. You absolutely can mix styles, Souls does it all the time. Gothic, baroque, empire style. Real castles and shit do this too. A ton of castles in europe just go back forever and have been built up over time in lots of different style. Learning about the history is actually important here, because things in history were placed for a specific reason, architectural elements tell a story of a time and a place. I would recommend brunelleschi dome's by Ross King. There's engineering, history, and architectural elements that you'll pick up. It's a good story, too. But in general just be curious, watch youtube videos about castles and cathedrals, when you learn about one thing use it as a jumping off point. Artists who know a lot about this stuff, they just find it interesting and learn about it for fun.
>>988399I was working on gothic dark fantasy stuff creating authentic styled medieval architecture. Project was canceled but pic related is my work. I started by binge watching an ~18hour TTC course on medieval architecture by William R. Cook for research to get all the vocabulary downand have a detailed walkthru and explanation of how these things are put together so I knew the name and function of anything I was looking at.After taking notes having done that that it was real easy to google for references for any of the specifics i needed to capture the look.
>>988399Those were most likely made in some 4-square program with a grid like this and then touched up by an environment artist, it's a 2 man job really.
>>988399I will tell you the answer as I might be one of the only professional environment artists on this board, whether you believe me or not is up to you.This is 50% research, and 50% design knowledge.Design comes first. You need to understand how to create hierarchy and contrast through varying up the elements of your work (shapes, sizes, proportions, textures, details). Everything is about ratios, you wanna have different ratios of things and avoid 50/50 so you can have a clear hierarchy when you view the thing. "First I see there's a lot of X, then a little Y, and a tiny bit of Z if I look really close." You don't wanna go overboard and schizo out with 9000 different elements either, pick a few things and reuse them throughout the design.Look at Stormveil Castle. It has a mix of big, medium, and small towers. Most of the building is made of bricks, but there's also a gold trim present all throughout the design in smaller proportion. The brick is very minimalistic and flat, the gold trim is very noisy and ornate, with the same patterns (columns, arches, and spires) repeating throughout. Repeating these patterns rather than having 9000 different ones helps the design look like a coherent whole rather than the schizo mess mentioned above.Now, the beautiful thing about good design principles is you can make designs out of anything. That's where research comes in. If you know the rules about combining visual elements in pleasing ratios, maintaining a hierarchy and working from big to small, you can pick anything for these elements as long as your picks mesh together well. So read up on your favorite architectural period, go look at some towers, arches and cornices, and treat them as building blocks to make your own designs with.
>>988399>picpretty good, yet, not perfect, but I'll cut them some slack because it's a videogame
>>988443>I started by binge watching an ~18hour TTC course on medieval architecture by William R. Cook for research to get all the vocabulary downMight i ask for the name on said course? There is a lot of stuff by William R. Cook, but i am not sure what course you might be talking about.>>988677>professional environment artists>Design comes first. You need to understand how to create hierarchy and contrast through varying up the elements of your work (shapes, sizes, proportions, textures, details). Everything is about ratios, you wanna have different ratios of things and avoid 50/50 so you can have a clear hierarchy when you view the thing. >"First I see there's a lot of X, then a little Y, and a tiny bit of Z if I look really close." You don't wanna go overboard and schizo out with 9000 different elements either, pick a few things and reuse them throughout the design.Yup, this is solid advice. Did you went to college to learn environment art/design or did you learn by research?
