how I approach illustration in Blender!

[@dotrarXD]

I love that you write your own music for your videos. It really does add a lot to the viewing experience

[@patrickkn7607]

I love that he makes his own video for his music. It really adds to the listening experience

[@youssefbencheikh8637]

I love how he videos his music for his makes. It really does add a lot to the viewing experience

[@henrythebananaboy]

@@youssefbencheikh8637hello

[@redpepper74]

I love that he adds a lot to the viewing experience. It really does write his own music for his videos

[@henrythebananaboy]

@@redpepper74 hi

[@babblebunn]

As a long time fan, seeing your work in Fionna and Cake was so amazing!! Love seeing your art grow and improve, as well as your music, is such a treat!

[@rodolfoornelas6022]

He worked on Fionna and Cake? What did he work as?

[@romiio1]

@@rodolfoornelas6022 he made the hologram/game animations for the casper and nova bits!

[@id3it]

@@rodolfoornelas6022if I remember is was the Casper and nova segments in the finale, Idk if he did anything else. Maybe storyboarding too

[@jacksaenz2591]

omg when I saw that part I thought it looked like something Louie would have made! Super cool to know he actually worked on it.

[@Lichen1]

the second i saw the casper and nova animation i knew it was louie

[@brysonmcbee]

that projecting from view technique to add painted textures in the texturing step is SO HUGE, setting up texture painting and a good uv unwrap and making an image texture feels like such a chore, busting it out real quick in a comfy drawing program and just adding the node is so nifty!

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

3D models trying to replicate the old illustrations and stop-motion look while keeping it stylized is unique. Nintendo's old CG renders, especially from the N64 era, is one of the kind that keeps me intrigued with its plastic-esque texture.

[@JayTheDevGuy]

Such an invaluable video. So many Blender guides, and art tutorials in general, lose sight of how important messy playfulness can help create great work. I have always guessed you're able to put out so much high quality work so quickly because you embrace the joy of creation and learning new tricks, but this little "tutorial" has given such rich insight into your workflow. I can't thank you enough for this. You are EASILY one of the best artists online, and your ability to masterfully wield so damn many different mediums, tools, and styles is mind-blowing. I think I speak for everyone here when I say I'd love to see a similar video for your 2D illustrations, animations, and music. :]

[@NukaColaLight]

+1 +10 +100000 to this

[@cosmicrad]

i know this isn't intended as a tutorial, but the casual explanations in this video really is helping me understand some of the basics better than i did before! thank you! (and, of course, this video has the wonderful louie charm i love from all your videos and creations)

[@shanecagney]

This is genuinely so helpful, I’ve been meaning to teach myself Blender for a minute and this demystified it a lot!

[@Trancilian]

One of the best beginner tutorials for Blender I’ve come across. I love how you approach it from a creativity perspective instead of the usual technical one. Very inspiring! It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the possibilities, your approach seems like a wonderful way to start

[@neonbean399]

Hi Louis! Wonderful video! I would say I’m an intermediate when it comes to 3-d modeling, I’ve spent these last 3 years learning and what I’ve found about 3-d, and why I love it so much is the variety of things you can do. This video definitely inspired me to approach my work in new ways. Thanks for this!

[@saltedmutton7269]

louis song

[@caspenbee]

Wow, this is so clear. I never thought I'd understand how to use Blender, but maybe now I'll give it a go. Your art is so so good. It unfailingly makes me happy.

[@Simplecreator427]

Hello

[@redpepper74]

Hi!!!

[@xXpuddleduckXx]

I started learning Blender because I fell in love with the look of your work, so thank you for making the process more transparent!

[@FineCurry]

Crazy coincidence, I had just finished a model of mine yesterday!

[@cornsalsa2300]

Thank you so much for making this video!! I just started blender, and you are one of my main inspirations for 3D models/illustrations. I had been hoping you would reveal your process :))

[@SillyLilDawg]

I absolutely love seeing this man’s creative process with music and art. It’s so inspiring.

[@_aclown6377]

the music is so nice in-fact the entire vibe of the video is just lovely

[@alvarocarrasco2091]

Just being shown around really helps with the overwhelming of all the functions. Loved the final illustration!

[@lewisdrayton1817]

This is the best tutorial/educational workflow video I've ever seen even (and I've seen a vast amount). You do an incredible job at showing your process in a clear and concise way that is easy to understand for someone who barely knows anything about Blender. You do all this while also keeping the video fun and entertaining using a great script and absolutely amazing sound design. I could go on and on about how much I love this video, Thank you for making it!

[@DensetsuVII]

"This is not a tutorial" Proceeds to make the single best beginning-intermediate Blender tutorial on the internet. Sounds like Louie to me! As a working 3D artist with almost 10 years experience who's always seen it as somewhat a necessity I don't use in my personal work, the way you describe your process and the use of modifiers in particular is so authentic, fun and useful - a little like your music - what a surprise!

[@ThisIsDownstate]

THIS VIDEO IS REALLY GOOD. Highly valuable for any new users feeling overwhelmed with technical stuff and learning shortcuts. You can really have fun learning it while completing simple projects. Stylistic ones, nostalgic ones are so enjoyable to make. There are no real rules, you will make some wild stuff through experimenting and PLAYING with lighting, textures, simple keyframe animations and paying around in the compositor. Playing around is so important and this video really highlights the importance of it, and not over thinking and over burdening yourself with trying to make a photorealistic 4k scene off the bat. If you follow tutorials beyond your understanding too early it becomes impossible to tweak and have fun and be creative as the set up is already so complex. Simple is fun and looks beautiful as demonstrated here.

[@luketribedotcom]

Hands down THE best intro to Blender video. Your attention to detail did not go unnoticed. No notes. 5 stars.

[@joeldavis8444]

Hey this was great and inspiring! One quick tip: if you go to texture paint mode, and go to Tools Panel > Draw > Options > Quick Edit (i know, it's buried in there) it will automatically open Photoshop or Krita (configure this in settings), then you can paint exactly like you did in the "Project from View" example with the cats, make sure to paint on a new layer and turn off the background before saving, then hit "Apply" and it will splat just what you painted onto your model. It's the same process as "project from view" but fewer steps (once you find it) and it doesn't mess up any existing UVs so you can do this on top of an existing texture and don't need to mess with the nodes. I guarantee this will improve your workflow and I'm surprised it's not more widely used. Well not too surprised since it's so hidden.

[@FaunoDufaux]

What I think is what you do best, better than a lot of artists, is identifying your inspirations and sticking to them

[@AshleyTheSwift]

To release such an amazing video for free seems totally wild, especially when the amount of work that must have gone into it is staggering, and the amount of information I gained from it is invaluable. You're a hero.

[@lionelheisler4887]

Omgomgomg okay so, I got into Blender last month (June 2024) and since then I've been looking up inspiration on Pinterest of course. I found a lot of your work and have so much of your stuff saved on a board called "Blender Inspo". I'm so drawn to your style! I had no idea you have a KZbin channel though. I'm so pumped now. Thanks for sharing your work and your approach. I intend to study you in the same ways that people study the master painters of old 😭 Love your work Louie. So glad to have found out that you have a YT channel!! 🫶🏻

[@snarkiwi]

This is the only Blender tutorial (although you say it isn't necessarily a tutorial lol) that doesn't immediately overwhelm and stress me out T_T I find myself coming back to this video when I want to give Blender another try! Thank you for making such lovely, peaceful, informative videos!

[@TheLocomotiveEngineer]

I use Blender mostly as a necessary evil in my 3D- modeling process, but this is the first Blender introduction I've ever seen that actually feels approachable and makes me curious about its features instead of overwhelmed by them!

[@AmbroseReed]

the feel of your work is like perfectly between toys and n64 era 3d, but with modern textures and flavor. so cool and unique

[@graceculloton7269]

Seeing your illustrations has been a huge inspiration as a fellow tendonitis sufferer! Thank you for the video!!!

[@Bekahchu]

This camebat such a perfect time as I just finished my doughnut and have started to experiment a bit. You are one of my favorite creators andbyour dedication to this video is fantastic. I love the musical cues that follow extrusions, clicks, and other actions on screen.

[@NukaColaLight]

This is probably the most charming tutorial out there with all the Foley sounds and your narration :D I'm a fan of your work and I love learning more about your process, so thank you so much for sharing. Would love to hear more about how you approach making your short films like Church of Whale Fall, since they feel so _complete_ despite being arguably minimalistic. I'm super impressed at how you manage to just _finish_ and put so much stuff out there. I'm a professional video game artist and personal projects always turn into quagmires as I spend an infinite amount of time polishing individual pixels. This video helps in that regard. Anyway, love everything you do on this channel, cheers!

[@zows4]

i'd been considering it for a while but this has finally pushed me to download blender. i'm now in the middle of making A Donut, as one does. learning a new program is always a bit overwhelming but also so fun, thank you for the inspiration, i love your work!

[@adrian-chambers]

Always looking forward to your videos, they're just so heckin fun!! :D

[@crowpen]

My KZbin recommended has blessed me today. I’ve wanted to work in this type of visual style for YEARS but never got to it because I didn’t know how to even begin. What you provided for your inspirations are my inspirations as well!!

[@giulyanoviniciussanssilva2947]

This is a refreshment to this qualitative vision of ultra-detailed illustrations, because it is simple, compositions with geometric figures with low grain, but with a lot of effective refinement of lighting and composition, and a show on how to be a great artist with simple theories and a tool that you don't expect.

[@spatulachan]

I can't say what it is, but there is something so cozy and playful about this video

[@NatalieHawes-w9b]

I really want to get into art and creating my own stuff. Sometimes it feels like it's too late, like I'm too old, or like I'm way behind. And then I watch videos like this and see all of the people who are interested in making things, not because they have to be the best, but because it makes them happy, and they want to share their happiness with others. Thanks, everyone, for sharing your passion with me today and thanks, Louie, for sharing your heart with us. 10/10 video.

[@sunny-the-girlie]

I love your voice so much, it’s so nice and calming but also fun

[@jonathanhancock470]

This… this got me so pumped to try new modeling methods! Thanks for the behind the scenes!

[@cobysoftco]

Thank you for the shout-out!!! Louie, you're such an incredibly versatile artist and your use of Blender deeply inspires me. Thanks for making this vid

[@BUG25985]

You have been one of my favorite artists for many years (both music and illustration-wise) - thank you for peeling back the curtain a bit!!

[@tannookii]

i am currently taking my first 3D art class in college and we are learning on blender, nd wow what a learning curve it is. during the difficult times of trying to understand the program, i’d look to your art as a source of inspiration and as a positive light to blender. slowly but surely i’m finally getting a grasp on this overwhelming software and i’m starting to enjoy it haha. seeing the style of your art in blender is so cool and honestly widened my view of what is possible to create using blender. thank you for sharing your art with us!

[@AsherStone-wd3rb]

What a lovely man Louie is. This made my day better.

[@CharacterDesignForge]

Fantastic! Also: this is the best possible timing for a video, given something going up tomorrow 😜

[@timdemoss]

Dude...something about this video was the perfect mix between technical and inspirational. I've been toying with Blender forever, but I've never felt super great about it. This helped me think of it as a tool to make pictures (instead of trying to make a perfect 3D model of something, viewable from every angle). I spent 3 hours today on two illustrations & I'm thrilled with them - thanks for the inspiration!!

[@divalea]

A ghost video AND tutorial in one week?! It’s the best Halloween ever!

[@drawnbydaniel]

Louie you are the GOAT!!! such a great tutorial. I thought the uv unwrap from view option was a JOKE until I saw this video and now I will be using it so much!!

[@oogalook]

Louie, thank you for being a charming and healthy person. Whatever you do, you also give a good example of how to be a chill, friendly spirit.

[@starpaw0072]

This is the most informative and entertaining Blender video I've seen

[@maokus]

This is an absolute wellspring of inspiration!! THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!

[@infomanhead]

You are such an inspiration in every way. Love your sound design, your humor, and most of all your visual artistry. Thanks for making this video! Love your overall vibe :)

[@nwright872]

I reached out to you not long ago on instagram with basically this exact request of understanding your inspiration and techniques. So you creating and sharing out with this video is a dream! So thank you, it means a lot!

[@Lem0n_23]

I just love the attention to detail with all the little sounds and images

[@oliverry4826]

Watching this consisted of me gasping every time you showed another one of your pieces (they are just so charming!) and quietly yelling “Bigtop Burger!” When I saw Bigtop Burger (I love Bigtop Burger so much). The music(sound design?) reminds me of 90s educational videos, specifically “Outside In”. Wonderful vibes and a wonderful video.

[@giulyanoviniciussanssilva2947]

You are very unique in a way that I cannot praise in words, I will summarize everything in three points...

[@hoodwinkedDaDon]

wow.... not only is this incredibly useful but your art is out. of. this. world. Huge huge huge inspiration, thanks

[@majicdrawz]

thank you so much for the tutorial! this actually ended up helping me make my boyfriends' christmas present!! i'd love to see you do more tutorials in the future because they always yield incredible results!!!

[@Schwites]

Thanks for the look into your behind the scenes, I love your 3D style! I'm def gonna try out some of that filtering on my renders

[@SchmoopyTheSpy]

I just want to say that the background music delights me in a similar way that the background piano in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood does :)

[@jonhanlan]

Would absolutely LOVE more of these types of videos - your process is fascinating and your work is soo good.

[@PalPlaces]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I’ve been racking my brain over the incredible look of your 3d stuff recently, and now the mystery is solved!! This is so unbelievably helpful🙏🙏🙏

[@lynksdisease8795]

Your art is insane beyond belief

[@LuiNogueira]

what an amazing tutorial, looks like i am watching a episode of a fun series. Love it.

[@fleetfoxx]

Incredible work! I hope I can find a way to incorporate some of these ideas into my own work in small 3D games. Also, "Screen cap → Photoshop → Project from View" might work better for your workflow, however I recently discovered you can export a PNG of your unwrapped UV from the UV Editing tab under "UV → Export UV Layout" which you can use as a template for your textures in an external tool.

[@dannmcdan2185]

This was the most wonderful tutorial i have ever seen

[@eugened.4581]

That was one of the cutest and most interesting tutorials I've seen on Blender. Thanks and keep up a good work!

[@keimy4409]

what a beautiful synesthesia you created… you continue to impress me louie, i love your art and it makes me happy

[@randfur]

The background improv makes this so good to watch.

[@wrenbeck3370]

I've been a Blenderer for many years, but this video is teaching me stuff I didn't know before!

[@superschizoscriptures]

The texture paint tab is really fun, you can paint directly onto a model if it has any texture plugged in the material. A blank texture can be plugged into the material color, for example. However, the UV unwrap of your object must not have any overlapping faces, because if you paint on one face, it will paint on other overlapping ones as well. Smart UV unwrap fixes that, by default, without any tweaking. Additionally, while texture painting, if you open your brush/tool settings, (the icon with a wrench and a screwdriver over on the right), you can use your own images as a custom brush. Or, (my favorite) if you scroll down to the bottom of the brush/tool menu, under "Options>External", you can push a single button to open a screencap of your scene in an editor of your choice. Then, you can paint all over it in your editor, save the file, return to blender, and click "Apply". Your changes are applied to the texture without having to project from view or anything like that. NOTE: You do have to set your default image editor in the preferences. I think the texture painting tab is wonderful, and so i urge anyone reading this to try it out...

[@TummisYT]

Thank you! I always love your 3D compositions

[@murderwizard9177]

I love your music and I just recently got into blender and got insanely excited to find this video!

[@locrianico6843]

The fact that the music reacts to what you're doing on screen adds a real Mr. Rodgers vibe

[@PROMANIA-q3v]

I really like youre videos! Youve helped me wanting to experiment with blender and and made me feel that you can be playing around and having fun. And not worrying so much about the final result beacuse you learn by trying, playing around and experimenting wich makes learning fun.

[@frogman1]

i can already tell im going to be coming back to this video a lot to remember the small tips :)

[@YoYork]

brilliant video, seeing your process was so helpful in learning these sick techniques that I would've never thought of. Really did give me a new perspective on blender art altogether. Outstanding video, simply wonderful.

[@balckthebob]

Absolutely love this. I have been a long time fan and seeing how you go through the creative process is super interesting. I’d love to see more like this. It made me think of my creative process and can’t wait to use some of the tips you shared.

[@strawberrysoupiii4801]

you have such a detailed process and so much experience!! im still so shook over that guy on tumblr calling ur stuff ai generated but now everyone gets this cool bts so overall, it's a win

[@bismuthdistrict]

your art is so nice to look at i am going to CRY

[@LPetal86]

This is fantastic, and what a time as I was inspired a couple of days ago to try Blender out for the first time. The last time I worked in a 3D modelling program was with OG Maya back in 2005, so jumping forward all these years and seeing just how much tools have improved (and the lessening of render times, which give me PTSD flashbacks) is a true delight! Thank you so, so much for this!

[@spastcho5345]

You’re one person and you’re an asthethic. An icon

[@benhmedia]

I tried out Blender about a year ago. Took a couple weeks to get through the donut tutorial. I did it, and I was proud of my result...but life got busy and I just fell off of it. I'd like to jump back in at some point, especially since I made comprehensive notes on my phone while going through the donut tutorial. This video was really nice to watch. The score you made for it is so satisfying and - as a video editor myself - I can only imagine how tedious this whole video was to put together. Thank you for all the wonderful little (but not so little) things that you make :)

[@what_is_loaf]

I don’t comment often but I’m really in love with your style of editing. All the different aspects (music, narration, what’s shown on screen) work together super well.

[@CallMeToasted08]

I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS LETS GOOOOOOO

[@dianagamboa2496]

yes!! you posted this at the right time

[@cinnabard955]

FINALLY ANOTHER ONE OF THESE THANK YOU MR ZONG

[@lebenethedrury]

this is such an amazing video, i look through your portfolio all the time. Your 3d stuff always pushes me to keep learning blender and to try new things! love this insight on your process!!

[@yummyos]

Never thought about projecting UV's from the camera and using that shape to directly draw textures on top of to fit your view. Super clever!

[@hauntedburgerplant]

I just started incorporating Blender into my own art so I loved seeing this video pop up in my feed!!

[@anonyrat09]

Louie, can u make a video like this but for life? “Louie’s existing fun times” We want to learn your chill vibes

[@rionsanura]

Gosh this is such a lovely video, and such a great instructional tool! The editing and soundtrack are so inseparable and really center the actual semantics of what you're telling us. Delightful.

[@abbeybricks]

Thank you for this video! I've been following your blender illustrations for a while and always wondered how you created them!! I'm also extremely inspired by 3D art from the olden days!

[@Simplecreator427]

You video is th Best

[@brysonmcbee]

abbey! < 3

[@abbeybricks]

@@brysonmcbee bryson!! :D

[@honeydewgurlfriend]

I've been trying to learn blender but I've found it difficult because so far I feel like the tutorials I've used have been a million steps and I do better just learning how to mess around a bit and then I can learn intuitively! This is my kind of tutorial, and your art is very inspiring ⭐

[@Linty-hk8st]

Hey Louie, I really love your music and art. Thank you for bringing joy to your fans!😊

[@mouseling]

This was such a delightful video to watch. I'm very new to Blender, just started learning it in the last couple of weeks, and even though I'm not comfortable enough to do stuff like this just yet, watching your workflow was pretty inspiring and gave me ideas of what tools I want to learn and practice with.

[@McFrankles]

I really appreciate your informational / instructive content! The effort and enthusiasm you put into the entire process very much shows. 👨‍🍳👌

[@LOC-Ness]

Gonna save this for future reference!

[@dilsdoes]

thank you louie! gives me a little confidence to try blender :)

[@MrTylerGarrison]

This is incredible on all fronts. I want so many more of these walkthrough-ish type videos!

[@circeeeee]

I learned so much abt blender with just this video 😭❤️

[@nightwingalelle2849]

i'm such a big fan of your work man thanks for the tips :D