Earlier this month, during the 97th Academy Awards, a huge surprise came as one of the envelopes opened. No, we’re not talking about the fact Demi Moore lost her leading actress awards to the up-and-coming Mikey Madison. We’re referring to the award for Best Animation film, given this year to “Flow” - a small Latvian film, beating the giants of Pixar and Disney, and in doing so becoming the first ever indie film to achieve this. 

As part of the film’s low budget and indie spirit, it was famously produced using Blender - a free and open-source 3D computer graphics software tool, used for creating animated films, visual effects, art, 3D-printed models, motion graphics, interactive 3D applications, virtual reality, and video games.

This ethos is something we are deeply familiar with here at Wix. It is inherently tied to our product's idea: the ability to open up tools and digital capabilities in order to allow everyone—no matter their background or experience—to express themselves and push the boundaries of their creativity. It’s an amazing reminder of the power online tools hold to help us define and expand our style and original creations. 

It just happens that we recently held an internal Blender workshop for a few of our studio designers, led by motion designer and 3D artist Yuval Katz. Over the course of 3 days, the participating designers were able to bring to life a 2D sketch or drawing, and turn it into a sculpted, animated creation. It was a perfect example of the ways in which dipping your toes in new techniques acts as a catalyst for exploration, therefore placing you in a much better position to find fresh and original ways of expression. As we tap into the idea of Creative Originality this month, we had a chat with Yuval about his practice and the workshop in order to understand this process better. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your creative practice

I graduated from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design about 18 months ago in the Visual Communication department, and I’ve also worked at Wix as a student. Today my main focus of work is in animation, 3D and plastic arts, as well as design, with everything running through the prism of 3D - which I used to think I’m really bad at. In Bezalel we used Cinema 3D, a software which I really didn’t get along with. 3D can be a very intimidating thing, and when the software itself acts as a barrier it can be quite detrimental to your progress. 

For me, the shift happened when I was in a student exchange program, and spent a semester studying in London. I had so much free time and had to find my own way and how I wanted to use my creativity and the resources that were on offer. I ended up in a ceramics workshop, where I started sculpting as well as visiting the library often. There I found art books on ancient cultures which fascinated me - the Maya and the Inca. I loved the illustrations and drawings I saw there, and the combination of seeing them, along with gaining experience and confidence working with clay, made me want to create them in animated form. I heard about Blender and started learning it from YouTube, taking those ancient drawings and converting them into animations using Blender. So it all really began as a desire and exploration of how to transform 2D into 3D. 

What makes Blender so special in the 3D software scene? 

It’s a relatively new software, I like to think of it as the “street-version” of 3D softwares. A lot of what’s on the market is complicated and requires very complex logic in order to actually create something. Blender is a free software, built as an open source system, so that means that there’s a whole crowd of users and developers that contribute to it. Nowadays, it’s become a big company, but that element of it is still there and is crucial to the way it's built and performs. It creates a software that is  super intuitive and easy for the end user, offering options to sculpt within it.  

Tell us about the workshop you planned for the Wix Design Guild members

I wanted to create a similar experience to what I had in London, allowing others to experience the magic of Blender. As someone who is always drawing and sketching, discovering Blender was like discovering this magic trick which allows you to take your doodles and with a few clicks turn them into animated, moving digital objects. Which for me was like a dream come true. That's the experience I wanted the designers to have. That was my incentive to learn Blender, and I felt there must be many more designers who feel the same way, but are too afraid of the world of 3D.

The workshop took three days, during which each designer was asked to bring a sketch they love - it could be something personal they created or anything else they find interesting. The idea is that once it’s something you have some sort of feeling towards, then playing with the software becomes an organic process rather than something purely technical, because you have an actual desire to see that thing being brought to life. 

How do you see the connection between a new medium or tool to originality and personal style? How do the two things relate? 

I believe it all comes down to curiosity. Studying Visual Communication Design, you are mostly focused on 2D elements - print, typography, etc. Once I got curious about that extra dimension, the 3D perspective, it added another layer of playfulness to the way I see things and think about them. Your whole spatial perspective changes and develops. It’s especially true to graphic and web designers which are often really apprehensive when it comes to design in the physical world and tend to stay away from the physicality of things and their tangible nature. We’re so used to our screens, our computers become our safety zone and we’re scared to deviate from them. 

Blender, with it still being a computer-based tool, allows you to experiment with the sculpting physicality, but still stay within the boundaries you feel comfortable in. It’s a little playground in which you can learn, explore, and develop. Even though you’re creating a sculpture, you’re still in a digital space. You can blow it up in proportions with a click, or give it different textures, like magic. You’re still in the very forgiving realms of the Control-Z option, so you feel you can do anything, but you are playing in a new territory of space and objects. It teaches you to experiment. That playfulness and exploration is immediately translated to personal style and originality.   

Here are the brilliant products from the workshop, along with words of wisdom about the experience some of designers shared with us: 

Lee Gutler, Designer at the Wix Agency team:

"Exposure to new tools and work methods broadens my perspective, especially when it comes to challenges at work. In the workshop, Yuval demonstrated how a simple sketch could be translated effectively into a design within the Blender platform. This process, which I wouldn't have intuitively considered, can now be integrated into my broader work practices."

Eylon Malkevich, Designer in the Mobile Ads team:

"There's always both excitement and nervousness when learning a new tool. You never know if you’ll catch on quickly or feel like you’re struggling. I was really excited about this workshop and happy with the results. It opened up a new world for me: 3D sculpting. This will really help me build a personal style and create original content."

Dana Kravitz, Marketing designer, Wix studio marketing:

"The approach to 3D and illustration was refreshing and simple, and as a result I feel motivated to start illustrating again. Furthermore, using Blender has introduced me to new tools and inspiration that will benefit my future concepts and creative work. Adding this new tool to my arsenal is important, as it opens up a new world of inspiration, references, and connections, even if I don't use it directly.״

Sapir Ziv, Designer Templates Team:

"Initially, I was intimidated by 3D and felt outside my comfort zone. However, once I understood how to navigate this space and grasped the general concept, it became fun and intuitive. I think that using new tools encourages you to think differently and try new things. Experimenting in a new workspace with new capabilities naturally leads to more trial and error and unexpected results."

Hadar Raz, Marketing Designer:

(Based on Liam Barrett’s illustrated 2D mouse)

Dean Naim, Motion Designer:

Shir Albin, Content & Product Designer:

Gal Brin, Designer:

Ashger Zamana, Marketing Designer:

Noam Chen, Marketing Designer: