We keep receiving the same question from both professionals in the field of traditional jewelry and new generations of students asking us about the best ways of learning and the best software.
Actually, there are two main questions, both of which are rather difficult to address, since the answer should take into account too many unpredictable variables such as personal factors or constantly changing external circumstances.
The aim of this particular article is to share our hands-on experience with those who are reinventing themselves today, looking for new state-of-the-art technologies to replace traditional obsolete approaches and those who want to start modelling 3D jewelry from scratch.
Gaining experience requires time from individuals, that’s how we improve our skills with software, which does the same simultaneously with us – it evolves and changes.
So, we are equally subjected to the same rule: “you never stop learning”
Nowadays, there is a great variety of industrial modeling programs, in particular, 3D modeling for jewelry, being replicated and enhanced over the years, offered at a wide range of options and prices. As a matter of fact, there are plenty of good programs available on the Internet for free.
All the changes we have to go through also reflect the speed and the demand of the market: with time jewelry tends to be more personalized as well as to have better quality and lower cost.
Without going through the industries and branches in the course of the last 50 years an example from the food industry is a good one to illustrate its potential and risks.
Change is beneficial only if it maintains quality.
Some 3D software for jewelry presents multiple modeling aids, with “pre-designed” parts that are a great help – just “assemble and paste” and offer much faster results, though they seem to subtract the part of learning. We will not praise or dislike any software or form, we only believe in our path so that you can freely choose yours.
Faster is not always better.
In the 90s some of us began to use programs like 3D Studio Max, those were our first steps in a new world, we were amazed by the power and complexity, as well as with the plug-ins, that were being added, giving even more potential to this program, which was undoubtedly one of the pioneers.
But any software is like the tools of a jeweler – though some are of better quality than others, they do not necessarily have the last word when it comes to demonstrating quality in their use.
They are only tools.
As we have said in other articles, practicing traditional techniques of manual manufacturing provides an understanding that would be impossible to learn with 3D alone – these are fundamentals in jewelry, such as the thickness in different metals and their different forms, their malleability, resistance among many other characteristics. This particular well-apprehended assessment really takes years to acquire through direct contact.
As in many trades and professions (if not all) learning process, undertaken by a professional who has invested time in it, is something that rarely implies shortcuts. It is a path that only accepts your going through it only and years later on it starts to “bear fruit”.
In addition to this form of learning, there is also self-study and we believe that in parallel it tends to give even greater impulse to the experience of evolution in the way of technical improvement.
Education is a broad and complex topic, which we will gladly touch on in another article since it is a very interesting subject in itself.
Besides, we also consider it essential, in our times we observe this tendency towards instant results, from magic diets or courses of 40 hours that we have all taken more than once, they may serve as lighthouses in the haze, they are of great help, but they are far away from offering you what years or decades can bring you.
As we said in the article the eighth art, being far from great revelations, we concentrate on sharing thoughts and ideas that our experience has brought us, always hoping that it could be of value for someone.