3D digital art has certainly come a long way from its obscure beginnings. Nowadays, you find it everywhere - in print, web and television advertisements, in movies, etc. But what exactly is digital art?

The technology of 3D digital art

3D Digital art is a very young field, and more research and formal training is needed before schools can offer it as a viable study. So far, 3D digital art software has managed to create impressive 3D images, but more functionality needs to be incorporated. Software developers are continuously working to delve into the vast potential of 3D digital media.

Many digital 3D artists are involved improving the application of 3D digital software's light and shadow effects on objects. Most 3D artists also create straight from their imagination 'surreal' or impossible objects. Their output is often times seen in movies and on the Internet.

3D digital imaging is a long process. When you create one 3D digital face, it can literally take months - even with the help of software such as Corel Bryce 3D, Adobe Photoshop, Curious Labs Poser, Jasc PSP and other painting programs. The technique of 'modeling' is particularly hard to master. It takes months and sometimes years for the best digital artists to achieve 'broadcast quality' looks.

Spline control is another particularly complicated area of 3D digital imaging. Before going into such advanced techniques, digital art students must be well versed in the fundamentals of LightWave 3D, as well as basic modeling skills. They should be very good at selecting and modifying points and polygons, determining framing and motion paths, basic surfacing and image mapping.