All language subtitles for 1 About Me

About Me

Hello, I am James Tralie.

Welcome to the wonderful world
of 3D environment creation in Blender.

I'm a full-time producer and animator
at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,

making cool animations
that explain complex science

in exciting and thrilling ways.

I often use software like Blender
in my work to create these animations

and have fun learning new things
every time I go back to the software.

In my free time,
I'm also a freelance 3D designer

represented by H+ Creative out in LA.

I've done a lot of work
for a bunch of clients

in the music, TV, and film industries,

making commercials
and also album artwork,

and even animated concert visuals
behind the musician as they perform.

I often use Blender for these projects

and it's fun having the mindset
of learning new things

every time I open the software.

There’re always
new developments to learn

and it's fun to keep up with the pace
of those new developments.

I got my start in film when I got
a flip video camera many years ago

and made LEGO stop motion animations
with a lot of my LEGO toys

and kept that love of film going
as I grew older.

I started to submit
a lot of my work to film festivals,

where I started
to get confidence in my work

and started to realize that this was
a career that I could do professionally.

I ended up going to Princeton University
where I majored in geosciences,

but always kept that love of filming
going throughout my studies.

I did many film and animation work
while I was an undergrad

and tried to merge
both my scientific research

and my creative side together
through my research projects.

For one project, I made
a 3D-modeled tropical cyclone.

For other ones,
I tried to make cool animations

that graphically represented the data
I was studying for a lot of my projects.

This led naturally to a career

at the intersection
of the science and arts

at a place like NASA where I now work

and have the honor of communicating
the fantastic science

that a lot of planetary
science missions are doing

across the solar system and beyond
in the search for life

and other fundamental questions
about our existence on Earth.

I distill that complex science
into engaging film and animation

that I'll create
through software like Blender

or other software that I love learning

like Unreal Engine,
Cinema 4D or Redshift.

I'm always trying to learn
new things, new techniques,

and new developments in the industry.

I've also built a strong following
across social media

as I began to share my work.

I've always wanted to pay
my love of learning

and all the 3D knowledge
I've obtained over years of development

back to you.

I'm excited to teach you

the fundamentals
of 3D environment creation

in my favorite software
of all time, Blender.

In this course, which is
3D environment creation in Blender,

I'll walk you through the entire process
of 3D environment creation

from gathering references
from the real world,

sourcing cool references from artwork

and other architectural design
that is available online,

building out a mood board
that will inspire our project design,

building out our project in 3D

from sketching the basics
with pen and paper,

and taking it into our software,
creating our scene,

and adding extra natural elements,
texturing and design work

to make our project come alive.

Then, putting the bow on top,
doing final compositing and rendering,

taking it into Photoshop
and making our final scene.

For my project,
I'll be taking on a beach scene,

but feel free
to do any design that inspires you,

specifically, from our photo walks
of exploring the outdoor world.

Source inspiration from the world

and create something
that means something to you.

Next, I'll walk you through
some inspiration from artists

that have contributed a lot
to the design work that I create.

I often source back to these artists
and look at their work

when I'm creating my projects.

I hope that they inspire you as well

as you design this project
and any other projects.