For my personal projects so far, I’ve been working on my analytical skills and familiarizing myself with Adobe After Effects. As I was researching the metaverse, I noticed the use of 3D is popping up more often now in fashion content, and not just as virtual clothing but also as a means of storytelling. As the online world shifts towards a more realistic reflection of reality, I wanted to explore this new avenue and its usage in making marketing material.

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For my personal projects so far, I’ve been working on my analytical skills and familiarizing myself with Adobe After Effects. As I was researching the metaverse, I noticed the use of 3D is popping up more often now in fashion content, and not just as virtual clothing but also as a means of storytelling. Videos are a popular form of social media content1 and as the online world shifts towards a more realistic reflection of reality, I wanted to explore this new avenue and its usage in making marketing material.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Figure 1: 3D in Fashion Content (social media). Left: Gucci. Right: Vivienne Westwood |Source: @gucci and @viviennewestwood on Instagram

 

In terms of programs, one of the most popular is Blender which I found immensely complicated due to its interface. Luckily, Illustrator recently launched a new update I've been meaning to get into for a while. When I learn something new, I like to set small goals for myself so I don’t get overwhelmed. I started this project only keeping two things in mind: just having fun and exploring the settings. In preparation, I watched a few videos on Youtube and Tiktok to get a quick introduction to the basics of using this. 

 

I based the project on an imaginary beauty brand that sells food-inspired lip balm. To make it more localized, I based it on a popular breakfast dish here (in Singapore) which is kaya toast and eggs. My idea for the concept was a breakfast scene with the lip balm being used as a spread. I started first with the flat illustrations then made them into 3D.

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Figure 2: Flat illustration to 3D

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I had some issues figuring out the functions so I had to trial and error each setting to get it to how I wanted it to look. I had particular trouble with the revolve and lighting functions, which only bothered me slightly. However, as my computer's graphics system could not handle the program, it was a very frustrating process overall. I had a few scares when the program crashed momentarily and it had to re-render objects whenever I moved or changed a setting. This made the whole process way longer than it needed to be, which I could feel myself get pretty irritated by. I knew there wasn’t anything I could do about it, so I took a short break in between to de-stress, then came back to finish it. 

 

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Figure 3: Final Outcome as Instagram posts

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Overall, I think this is a successful first attempt as I’m more confident using 3D. While I do like the outcome, I think that it has more potential beyond just the creative aspect. Using 3D models versus the actual product cuts down on time getting multiple shots of it, which means instead of looking through and editing each photo, I can just adjust the angle and lighting as I please.

 

Working on this project was stressful in a different way from my animating experience. Animating was very task heavy, as in I had to move things and apply effects individually quite often. 3D required me to question how things were structured, so it was more mentally intensive. Still, as it required more effort, I was more motivated everytime I managed to solve a new problem I came across. While more tiring, the process had more instant gratification which drove me to complete it. I kept setting little goals throughout this project until I had actually gone further than I had intended to

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