What's your approach to starting a new computer graphics project?

1 Define your goals and scope

Before you dive into the technical details, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how much time and resources you have. What is the purpose and audience of your project? What are the main features and functions you want to include? How realistic or stylized do you want your graphics to be? How will you measure your success and quality? Answering these questions will help you set realistic and specific goals and scope for your project.

3 Sketch your ideas and concepts

Before you start coding or modeling, you should sketch your ideas and concepts on paper or digitally. This will help you visualize your graphics, explore different options, and communicate your design to others. You can use simple shapes, colors, and annotations to represent your graphics, or create more detailed sketches if you prefer. You should also consider the layout, composition, and perspective of your graphics, and how they will fit into the overall project.

4 Implement your graphics

Once you have your sketches and designs ready, you can start implementing your graphics using your chosen tools and techniques. This is the most technical and time-consuming part of your project, so you should follow some best practices to make it easier and more efficient. You should break down your graphics into smaller and manageable components, use modular and reusable code or assets, test and debug your graphics frequently, and document your code or models clearly. You should also follow the principles of computer graphics, such as coherence, consistency, and realism.

5 Refine and polish your graphics

After you have implemented your graphics, you should not stop there. You should review and refine your graphics to make them more appealing and effective. You should check for any errors, glitches, or inconsistencies in your graphics, and fix them accordingly. You should also enhance your graphics by adding details, effects, textures, colors, etc. that improve their quality and aesthetics. You should also seek feedback from others, such as your clients, colleagues, or instructors, and incorporate their suggestions if possible.

6 Showcase and share your graphics

Finally, you should showcase and share your graphics with your intended audience or the public. You should present your graphics in a way that highlights their features and functions, and demonstrates your skills and creativity. You can use various methods to showcase your graphics, such as screenshots, videos, demos, portfolios, etc. You should also explain your goals, scope, tools, techniques, and design choices behind your graphics, and how they meet the requirements and expectations of your project.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?