How to get noticed online (without showing skin)

[@Zyrane]

nice video, i will now use 22.5°-30° degree angles in my generic sci-fi designs

[@NarrativeOfLifeM]

As a senior 3d artist with 25 years of experience I find this video gold.

[@f1shze4lot]

Also many of 3d artists wanna do 3d for games. At least on artstation. That's why there is a lot of conflict-based stuff and AAA games are almost all either sci-fi/fantasy (which is somewhat historically based)

[@robinsquares]

I think you're bang on

That's exactly it. There's more of the same because people use Artstation to apply to work in an industry that does not take chances on imaginative new concepts. It's just more of the same, so if you want a job, no matter what your taste and imagination is, you have to bend to what they are looking for. And that is yet another problem caused by economics and capitalism.

[@shubhamthakur3321]

Exactly! Artstation or Behance is mainly used as a portfolio showcase for studios or individuals who are hiring, most studios make games/movies/ads based on the same genres mentioned in the top 5, so it's easy for them to tell "Yeah I worked on that here's my portfolio". Another reason people those top 5 genres is because everyone likes them and thats why based on algorithms it is shown to you by default.

[@flavio8430]

The true nature of creativity is reserved for personal work.

[@dreamstate5047]

profound

[@Enderblade18]

100% agree

[@hamidzarts]

Here's a story: I typically create 3D stylized characters for animation. Once, a potential freelance job sent me a test concept. I improved the design, knowing the original had issues. However, they rejected my work, saying it didn't match the concept, so they were uncomfortable working with me.

[@Gladdie]

Life truly is strange, recommending me the channel and video of a former classmate some 7 years later. If I remember correctly you made a skull mixed with a typewriter quite early on while the rest of us struggled to make a hole in a cube (or thats how it felt anyways)

[@robinsquares]

Problemet er at den skallen fortsatt er mitt stolteste verk. Hyggelig å se deg i kommentarene!

[@Gladdie]

@@robinsquares Den skallen er nok bedre enn det jeg hadde prestert å slå sammen i dag, ga desverre litt for fort opp 3D til fordel for en "normal" jobb, og da ble det for mye å studere på siden, men har alltid holdt et øye med 3D verdenen, antagelig derfor videoen din dukket opp!

[@S41L0R]

i imagine getting into 3D is so hard that follow reference is most beginners' only working strategy for improvement (and measuring improvement)

[@John_Anno]

I really like your opinions! Thanks for sharing them

[@FR3NKD]

The "Artstation look" it's definitely a thing

[@JosiahBout]

Great reminder to strive for originality and intentionally set yourself apart. Although some of that repetition you see is probably due to what a given social media favors. For example, you'll find lots of sci-fi and fantasy on art station but almost none on Behance...But THAT leads me to wonder... what's the best social media for discovering diverse art styles?

[@danialsoozani]

very good point! thanks for uplifting my new ideas :)

[@foxfirefarmhouse7567]

Excellent analysis. Thanks for thinking outside of the 3D box and inviting us to think with you.

[@creativohugo]

This is honestly amazing advice, thank you!

[@adrawdesign]

This the best I've seen in a while ❤

[@rgarus]

im so glad i stubbled upon this gem of a channel. cheers mate

[@creativejunkie-f5t]

Thank-you this gave me confidence to make indian theme based 3d art without any judgement

[@S41L0R]

amazing thumbnail. thank you for blessing me with that

[@yoman4802]

I never was able to look at many of the contributions featured in rendering compilations and such. I started thinking I was just uninterested in other people's stuff, or maybe trhat I didn't have the knowledge needed to understand their skill -- Now I think differently As well as giving me a much needed insight into how uniform this scene is, I gotta say I appreciate the Joos van Craesbeeck reference! Amazing video as almays my man

[@kowalski1358]

Very interesting and informative video, I think the 3d community really needs these kind of video essays that analyze the behaviour of the community as a whole and point out certain patterns, whether it's about artstyle, economics or expectations and .etc

[@djr3386]

Good video. Great graphics. Helped immensely in understanding. Thanks. Your latest subscriber 🙏

[@jaym2267]

Lots of comments here are sci-fi artstation people who do 30° angled sci-fi hallways

[@CGMatter]

more like Robin Pentagons

[@nirmalroyalrich_3d]

More like Robin Hexagons, covering every axis of art

[@chirantanadhikary9108]

Really interesting video.. totally agree with you

[@dreamstate5047]

i am glad i land of this video, and thank you for speaking your heart and mind, there are so many things unknown to think, so many combination, you just have to keep it pure. Thanks for amazing video

[@Mind_Splitter]

This is an important video!

[@jtolberto]

@robinsquares, your videos always seem to arrive at exactly the right moment! I've been dabbling in 3D for a while now, but I'm becoming more serious and trying to find a good lane for myself. As I’m getting faster and thinking up new projects to work on, I do something similar to imagining how my grandmother would respond. In my case, I think about my normie friends on Facebook and Instagram and what they might respond to, and that helps me veer away from most of the common genres you mentioned. But at the same time, I was questioning whether I was trying to please others instead of myself, and this video really helped me answer that question. I think what it really comes down to is that I like a lot of things, not just robots and spaceships. So I for sure can find something in that Venn diagram of what I like vs. what’s not over-saturated that will make me happy, and maybe help me stand out from the crowd at the same time. Thanks for this, and keep the great videos coming!

[@InfinitycgIN]

I made weapons because (1) They are at the sweet spot of hard surface modelling, simple to grasp unlike those organic hard surface armours and bodies, but complex enough to develop your modelling skills without sending you into a slump (2) Most of the games are based on conflict, and you'd need weapons anyway, why not build a good portfolio while also learning texturing, UVs and all the other stuff But I also agree with your point, breakaway art will definitely get noticed in a sea of beautiful but similar art. Thanks for making this video

[@YellowNotThe]

very good video for art in general, never really thought about these things but they make so much sense. like i don't wanna be depressed so why am i making depressing things? especially since you gave alot of other interesting confilicts. thank you

[@Thebluebananas100]

As always nice content

[@LFPAnimations]

not to mention the genres that pay the most aren't even close to Sci Fi or Fantasy. Most corporate clients want clean and professional looking 3D, with bright colors and style closer to fashion brands than star wars.

[@TripTilt]

you have an interesting point there... I love surrealism but then it's a bit tricky to find an audience for all that :)

[@SanjeevKumar-be4dd]

Again Amazing video......Dude you are gem for youtube.

[@sobreaver]

Reference are the good starting point, but BLENDER !! Like, B L E N D E R !!!! You gotta mix it all into a sublime smoothie not one ever tasted or even saw the colors of yet ! XD

[@webduncetv]

Very inspirational! I only regret that I have but one like to give this video. :)

[@kmjgsdkmjgsd]

In a utopia where work doesnt exist, it would still be pretty hard for the standard passionate, recreational artist to come up with something new and novel. Even without the pressures of algorithms and livlihoods and nostalgia, we don’t have the systems and willpower to grow up researching every historical footnote and tertiary artist. Annoying people always yap about “the internet is full of endless information for you to research”, but if we actually spent every waking moment finding the most niche of niches, its no longer productive ORIGINAL creation, nor mindless fun. Its work.

[@owenjenkinsofficial]

Agree with a lot here, and if the images aren't about war, then they are usually just busty girls and "Anatomy". I myself find my personal work leaning towards war and dystopia, and its both easy and hard work to get out of the mold and find new ideas that feel fresh and positive even. It always bothered me because it seemed like so many artists work was overly sexualized on Artstation, if not about war, etc. 3D anatomy studies are one thing, but when I see a portfolio that I would hesitate to show to an employer for a normal set of 3D jobs I hardly see how the art they are making is anything other than self serving.

[@kbbk.studio]

Similar subject has been brought up in the School of Motion interview with PJ Richardson kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5a8c5qGedaAr9U that to get work you also have to show "the boring work that fit's in current corporate aesthetic trends" and that to get work more important than originality is your network (which is my experience).

[@sajidahnaf]

A lot more people need to watch this video

[@aayushsharma.22]

this video is best and amazing video I ever seen on your channel bro 💯💥❤️

[@jonathonsayre4879]

I feel like many of the examples you listed that weren't listed in the diagram actually fall under niche categories of those broader ones in the diagram. Like retrofuturism is still sci-fi. Hindu concepts and archetecture, and euro countrysides are apart of fantasy. Like those sub-categories don't have their own really. Although I agree with styles like the baroque painting styles and whatnot.

[@robinsquares]

Categorization is always possible to do in many different ways, you're right. It's a totally legit criticism.

[@artwith_Claz]

One reason that the sci-fi and fantasy genres are saturated is because the 3D world allows us to experience things that never actually will happen. We want to see things become reality that can't be. Bringing there imaginations to life the biggest reason people become artist (at least 3D)

[@Aptass]

super interesting subject. I guess artists copy whats successful and sites like artstation becomes echo chambers sort of.

[@yoman4802]

Had to watch this video twice to fully reflect on it. I think the questions you asked at around 5:50 are really important. And since I know literally nothing about it I'll speak very enthusiastically about it! 1. Is it important to be original? Seems like to me that art in our scene is nearing the end of an era, and might soon transition due to exactly the points you're making here. The style we see in these examples have been around for a number of years now, and many artists and visionaries have invested in it, developed it little by little, and here we see a large number of creators working on a laser-focused, specialised, and possibly perfected, style of digital art. But people are growing tired of it, and soon more creators will challenge this very norm, and try to push different expressions, genres, conflicts, and techniques. Maybe soon we will see mainstream media, and AAA games regularly incorporating completely absurd visuals in a mix of styles, somewhat akin to the abstract and surreal styles we've seen before. (actually maybe not that extreme) To get to the point: Perhaps the importance of originality in creative work varies from time to time. When something new has been introduced and we've seen the outer boundaries, then originality becomes less important than other atributes? And on the other side, maybe originality becomes much more important again when the scene grows stale after being "perfected"? 2. Where do you find reference? Speaking of DJs -- isn't it also somewhat normal to go cratedigging for recordings that aren't music as well? I think I've heard snippets of radio broadcasts and from TV and movies sampled into a few different songs. I'd love to see what might be done if we could incorporate old photografs taken on a film camera into our renders. Breaking the barriers between scenes, and borrowing some creativity from other mediums through sampling of our own

[@MichelDani]

Nailed it! 😂😢

[@NullPointerEcho]

I spend a lot more time looking through the Cara frontpage these days because of this. I think the issue for Artstation is the same one we're facing with AI though. Art and creation, the communication of story and humanity, isn't a goal unto itself now. The primary purpose now is to provide content for distribution and most only measure by the yardstick of profit; Not impact, emotion or legacy. Business is risk averse, so it pressures the same risk aversion and homogeneity into the rest of society, including expression, because that yields "more predictable" results. No discomfort, no breaking new ground, no advertiser unfriendliness - Only to shift when there's a new trend to chase, ignoring the real source of those new wells. The so called maturation of industries follows the historical cycle, where the makers and experts are made subservient to the interests of the merchant. And so most of the crafts people have to... "Low, keep your head, keep your head low, Oh, you gotta keep your head low, If you wanna keep your head."

[@robinsquares]

Well said!

[@z8318]

the issue in the beginnin of the video, i think is social media and following trends in general. trends which cause such a large amount of people to make the same thing. for me i have been inspired by 3 key movies and I'm mixing the story and style from each instead of following instagram's 3d trends

[@arreshubham]

How can I know about crate digging?

[@ludvigInLegendaryLands]

Very clever and sleak as always!

[@papajohn9958]

Iam a former art student with a bachelor in finearts but i failed that Path. Atm im studying at futuregames and planing to release a small game where you run around a art museum and destroy art😅😂

[@Carpe-Diem-gg1hg]

Thanks, 3D artist pewdiepie. 😂😂😂 Fr tho this is really helpful and reminded me of a lot of things I've forgotten about.

[@DiluviumEyesofThunder]

Art is about capturing things as they are, Music is about feelings we have, Games are about things that we do. A good game is a worthy challenge. Everything we do is analogous to warfare. To clarify my point, we have no clear conception of social, spiritual, intellectual, artistic, legal or financial attack. Even though the behavior patterns map up very closely on to physical-attack, based tactics and stratagems. Using violence as a catch all term is simplistic. There is much virtue to be found in competition. There is none in the pettiest of acts. Clearly not all violence is the same. In my opinion this is a benign signal, but interesting avenues do appear in the question of respect to subject matter which, sadly, always strays toward the trappings of Carnival; Gratuitous-attention-hacking-entertainment in the guise of art, but in service only to profit motives. Games are made to make money. That's just how it is under the current paradigm.

[@AmitKumar-bp4fi]

I make product animations and there is no category for this 😭😭😭😭😭

[@robinsquares]

Your kind shuns ArtStation

[@phm6834]

Interesting! I just started to do some slightly stylized retro futuristic characters. My first attempt I really enjoyed and the follow-ups are in the making. My vision is a bunch of characters which look like sci-fi from the 60s and 70s, Space Age, but with a modern coat. Pinups withou porn-proportions, androgynous looking ones, but also sexy without being blatant. Think Xena, John Carter and Bayonetta thrown together. You think that's a good idea?

[@robinsquares]

Love it!

[@puddingmotion6971]

I need more scifi and war

[@posebukse]

A lot of artists are regurgitators. Nothing wrong with enjoying just drawing/making, but there's a reason concept artists and illustrators aren't the same (they aren't mutually exclusive though). Just like you have eg writers that can imagine, create and write fabulous worlds, but they don't have the skills to bring what's in their head to paper. And then you have people like James Cameron, who both imagine, draws, writes and all of the other stuff too. This is why it's important to be laterally competent if you want to be more than a cog in a large machine. Also musicians don't do violence? 😅 Dude.

[@EMNM66]

"without showing skin" is important boys

[@MonzotoOfficialChannel]

I agree ☝️

There's more of the same because people use Artstation to apply to work in an industry that does not take chances on imaginative new concepts. It's just more of the same, so if you want a job, no matter what your taste and imagination is, you have to bend to what they are looking for. And that is yet another problem caused by economics and capitalism. We have imagination, but we need to work for industry people that just care about turning in a profit with established IPs and no risk.

[@polatkemalakyuz2021]

Right pointing. E.g.ven most of animators is getting close the Arcane style etc these days

[@lovlina11]

Hello Mr Robin, i have a question for you With the rise of unregulated Ai on social media platform, do you think it will have negative impact on artist's jobs or not ?

[@MartinDubuque]

Something a lot of people seem to lack is wanting to make something that hasn't fully existed before, instead they just draw another picture of Generic SciFi Guy. Baffles the hell out of me. Even just fantasy, without even straying too far from the standard "European", there's so many different eras of medieval history to pull from, different regions, all with wildly different looks. There are no original ideas, everything's done before, yada yada, but I know I've seen more generic Apple SciFi to last several lifetimes. If you're going to tread common ground, find a rock that someone hasn't turned over, or hasn't turned over in a long time.

[@chasingdaydreams2788]

I love the way you think. Ive been saying stuff like "everyone's just doing clichés and calling it original art" for far too long but nobody listens lol

[@00beast7]

So you want us to join the art to make the art which is art in itself because its an art or combining multiple arts

[@Astronet2030]

Chocolate though! 😂

[@aleshkovalev]

They do this because this gathers views, likes and attention. Viewer demand is a major concern. Of course you can make "something special" but it will drown amongst 45 deg sci-fi hallways anyways.

Everybody feedback looping into everyone else's work, spitting the same result.

[@f1shze4lot]

Don't look at gumroad's 3d section lol

[@eddy9831]

hey robin, can you create a video on "the trends to avoid in 2025" like the one you did back in 2024??

[@robinsquares]

That's how this started! I guess it evolved a bit past that

[@ROBOTRIX_eu]

[@mikkelmelby]

rofl spot on

[@SpidersFace]

überlasst es den Deutschen, für seinen guten 3D-Videos einen beschämenden Clickbait-Titel zu erfinden 🙃

[@robinsquares]

The newsletter 👉 robinruud.substack.com/ Kudos to the artists I featured! This is obviously not a roast.

Everybody feedback looping into everyone else's work, spitting the same result.