Hey Reader,

We are back with our new bi-weekly schedule, with a fresh dose of news, inspiration, and resources from the 3D world.

Today, we have the new Open Movie ‘Singularity’ by the Blender Studio, an impressive stylized girl animation breakdown, a special 25% discount for a professional automotive modeling course in Blender, and the 30% Spring Sale from Blender Secrets.

Let’s dive right in.

​New Open Movie by Blender Studio: ‘Singularity’​

​A new Open Movie, ‘Singularity’ from the Blender Studio team, has just been released on YouTube. It’s a short animation (6 minutes) but full of action and vivid, painterly shots.

The style originated from one of Blender Studio's previous works - Project Gold, which introduced the new Brushstrokes Addon (which is available for free here), but was more of a ‘proof of concept’ than an actual movie.

This time, they’ve used it to tell a full story of a small, cute creature taking part in a weird cosmic event.

As usual, the production files are available to use for the Blender Studio subscribers (the subscription fee is a way to support Blender Studio and its open movie projects).

​Painterly Girl Animation in Blender (with a breakdown)​

One of the most challenging parts of creating 3D (or any) characters is faces. How to make them believable and convey emotions without getting lost in the uncanny valley? This can be a real struggle, no matter if you’re aiming for a cartoony, painterly, or realistic style.

The very reason why we’re able to instantly spot weird proportions or ‘robotic’ movements in facial animations (we’re training ourselves in watching faces since we’re born) can be a hint to the ‘secret technique’ that makes overcoming this challenge possible.

That magic key is deep observation. A keen and sharp eye focused on details (the most important details) and not losing the big picture isn’t something you can gain instantly. It requires patience, practice, and iteration. Watching other artists succeed in their projects can help you as well, especially when they share their process and let you see where they put most of their focus and energy.

​This stylized running girl animation breakdown by Vladislav Trotsenko shows a great dose of shortcuts and clever techniques to cut corners, but where it truly shines is the face animation (which grabs the most focus of the viewer in the final shot).

You can see how much attention to detail was put into this between 1:40 and 2:10 of the video. The convincing final effect wouldn’t be possible without careful analysis of the reference video with Natalie Portman from ‘Léon: The Professional.’

That’s mindful observation put into practice.

​Make Cars in Blender Like a Pro (25% Off)​

CGMasters’ comprehensive 3D Cars: Inside and Out course has been revamped with new content (including a full car interior).

The promo video and images are living proof that the techniques taught by Chris Plush (the course instructor) just work.

If you’re in doubt that this is ‘the professional way’ that works for the Automotive Industry, let’s just mention that Chris’ past car modeling training has been studied by designers from industry giants like Hyundai, Volvo, Kia, and Ford.

Check out these renders from the course:

If you want to learn to model cars like that, CG Masters has kindly offered a special discount for our newsletter subscribers, so you can get this course 25% off using the coupon code below (expires on May 31st).

25% Coupon Code: boost25

​Get the '3D Cars In and Out' Course here (affiliate link)

​Blender Secrets Spring Sale (30% Off)​

Jan Van den Hemel offers all of his products 30% off during his Spring Sale.

Don’t miss the opportunity to grab his handy quick tips e-book or one of his courses (on Hard Surface Modeling, Characters, and Materials).

The sale ends tomorrow (May 16th).

30% Coupon Code: SPRING26

​Get Blender Secrets' courses and e-book here (affiliate link)

That’s all for today. Have a great weekend, and till next time.

Jarosław, Zach & Alan (the CG Boost Newsletter Team)