Art Inspiration Sources

Finding inspiration and ideas as an artist is critical. Every once in a while when we run out of ideas there are those places we go to refill our visual and creative reservoirs. In an industry as fast growing as ours, keeping up to date with new techniques and practices is just as important. I have ccreated a list of some of the major websites that help me develop and learn as well as build new ideas as an artist. Although this list is not by any means exhaustive, they have formed the foundation upon which I build when in search of new ideas or techniques. 

Fxguide.com

A site dedicated to visual effects and production news for film, with in-depth articles and podcasts covering topics such as camera choices, effects breakdowns, 3D conversion for film, the latests plugins to improve studio workflow and pipeline integration etc. The site is divided into further sections such as fxinsider and fxphd featuring even more in depth analysis and interview with artists, designers. technical directors and vfx supervisors who are at the forefront of the technological andvances and creative leaps in the industry.


Cgsociety.org

From a site that began simply as a forum, it has grown over the years into a hub for CG artists that are seeking advice, inside knowledge and a place to show off their work. With broad articles and interviews featuring current artists doing great work in CG and VFX and how they do it, it is a site I visit everyday. It is also a great place to see work from various artists around the world who showoff their work and to get inspired in my work.




3D World

A magazine style site that features news, tutorials, reviews and forums for 3d artists. It is an all in one place for artist showcasing their work, reviewing the latest animated short films being produced and offering competitions to artist through out the year. It also publishes an offline magazine that features breakdowns, tutorials and the latest news from around the cg world.






Evermotion.org

It is a website agregator for recent news, tutorials, breakdowns, movie and short film trailers and work showcase from the CG and VFX industry. The site offers free and charged 3d and arch-viz models and textures that are ready for production. It also offers news on new and recently releases tools and plugins for artist who want to improve their workflow with new technology and software.




Videocopilot.net

This is the website of Andrew Kramer who is perhaps one of the most talented trainers in After-effects history. His site features indepth After-effects video tutorials suitable for beginners, intermediate and advanced users. He also offers stock footage packs, presets and plugins specifically prepared for motion graphics and VFX artist looking to speed-up their workflow. Some of them are Optical Flares Lens Flares Plug-in, Action Essentials II, Twitch Chaos, Evolution and the much anticipated Videocopilot Element 3d.



Other notable mentions include cgtuts, aetuts, 3d total, cgtalk and many others. I will limit the list to this five for now. I will probably add other websites to it at another time.