7 Must Avoid Mistakes in 3D Modeling & Animation

Whether you’re just diving into the world of 3D modeling and animation or already have some experience, there’s one universal truth: every detail matters. There is more to it than just coding; you will have to create photorealistic models or animations. For that, accuracy, imagination, and knowledge are essential to avoid mistakes. 

As per Grand View Research, the 3D mapping and 3D modeling market size was valued at USD 6.11 billion in 2023, which is projected to grow from USD 6.77 billion in 2024 to USD 22.19 billion by 2032,. Overall, it showcases a CAGR of 16% during the forecast period.

One small mistake can waste all the time spent preparing the project. The result? The audience is left unimpressed. But don’t stress out; we are right here to assist. In this guide, we’ll look at what animators and designers often get wrong and what to do instead.

1. Lack of Coordination Between Facial Expressions and Body Movements

If an animated character is smiling but the body remains rigid, it didn’t receive the message. For instance, consider the disposition of happiness and then a look of confusion or slack-jawed surprise; this kind of disharmony boils the viewer’s brain. 

To avoid this, ensure that your character’s body language moves fluidly with their face and gestures effectively, conveying affiliative emotions to the audience. 

2. Poor Spacing

It emphasises that the appearance of movement depends highly on the distance between frames in an animation. If you have a character running, the frames are taken to give the impression of the actual speed of the character. For instance, if frames are spaced out too much, the facial expression will look like the character is teleported rather than running. 

The late and great animator Norman McLaren said, “Shockingly, what happens between frames may be more significant than what happens within frames.” Try to spend much of the time perfectly positioning the frames to depict some sort of tempo and beat.

3. Misunderstandings Related to Ease-Ins and Ease-Outs 

Animations require certain mass and kinetics. If a character travels at a certain speed throughout the animation, it proves to be ridiculous. Instead, use ease-in and ease-out, which will look at acceleration and deceleration. 

For instance, if a ball is thrown, it should accelerate as it is being thrown (ease-in) and decelerate just before touchdown (ease-out). Measurements must be considered to accurately prescribe the sizes and weights of objects.

4. Over-Animation: More isn’t Always Better 

Over exaggeration is the main weakness when animating characters with too many movements. This kills the motion and makes the scene feel too busy at times. Consider a character who is pacing—every step that he makes should not be overdone.

Otherwise, it looks comical. However, avoid overdoing it by focusing on small, delicate movements that add value to the story.

5. Poor Arc Tracking

The animation should have a flow, and its displacement should appear in motion, so the characters’ actions should look realistic. For example, if a character in the cartoon is swinging his arm, his motion should be curving, not straight. 

The character’s head might swivel effortlessly, whereas the foot must hit the ground with the proper curve. Just a note: Think about arcs when drawing different parts of the body—this will also help keep your animations realistic.

6. Lack of Consistency with Brand Visual Communication

In the current world, it is essential that a business set and maintain standards of branding. If you are animating marketing content, it’s important to stick to the visual identity, such as your brand’s colours and fonts. 

For instance, if the brand is colourful and targets the youth, your animation must capture this energy. Deviating from it means that your brand identity decreases in effectiveness, and people may not engage as often.

7. Not taking into consideration Anticipation and Aftermath

Of all animating principles, realism can only be based on anticipation and aftermath. In the tweens, even if a character is in the process of jumping, they squat slightly to give an illusion that there is an imminent action to be taken. 

Similarly, how characters in a filmland after the jump, whether they balance themselves or fall or do so poorly, give the scene more depth. The animation looks uninteresting if the main concepts are explained without attention to small details.

• Excellence in Your 3D Modeling Software

To achieve success in 3D modeling, one must understand the software thoroughly. Hence, there is software such as Autodesk 3Ds Max, Maya, ZBrush, and Blender out there. But we need to find the right match for the project. Newbie enthusiasts may benefit from designs developed using free software like SketchUp and Blender.

• Take Advantage of the Internet

There are a lot of assets that can be found on the Internet related to 3D modelling. Where to find the material? You are welcome to tutorials, forums, articles, and video tutorials. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never taught before or been doing so for decades; something can always be done to address problems and enhance the approaches being used.

• Focus on Realism

When modeling, do this to make it seem like there is the real thing behind the graphics presented. A current model may appear appropriate in a 2D field, but finding the three-dimensional projected outlook will captivate clients much more. This is done to guarantee that your 3D models look point-blank at real-world beauty and appear fascinating and realistic.

• Start with Simple Objects

Even when learning a new language, you start with the ABCs, and so should learning 3D modeling. It is recommended that basic forms such as cubes and spheres be drawn to understand the most important principles of the drawing process before drawing vehicles or complicated jewellery. This will build up your confidence and expertise progressively.

• Get Rid of 3D Modeling Myths

Regarding 3D modeling, newcomers are constantly bogged down by time and cost. However, all these factors are strictly connected with the chosen complicated project. If people are willing to spend time and effort learning how to create 3D models, this talent will certainly become extremely valuable, especially as the industry expands.

Wrap-Up

Applying all these tips will help you improve your 3D modeling techniques as well as help you manage your projects well. With the strategies mentioned above, you will significantly reduce the errors you make to the point of having more confidence in your capabilities. However, once you focus on achieving it, you will eventually see that 3D modeling looks relatively easy, and you can conquer even the most formidable projects, especially with guidance from institutions like MAGES Institute, which offers specialized training in 3D modeling and project management.