I want to kick this off by thanking everyone for the kind feedback on last week’s “demystifying USD” article. Taking big, complex 3D topics and breaking them down into plain English is one of my favorite things to do. So if there’s anything in your 3D life that leaves you scratching your head, let me know—there’s nothing I love more than pulling back the curtain on these newfangled technologies.
But this week’s piece isn’t about unraveling an existing concept. Nope. This time, we’re hopping into the future. Let’s call it a little “brain tickle” I’ve been having lately—one that originally stems from how the way I write these articles has evolved over time. Because, spoiler alert, I don’t really type them anymore. Let me explain.
My Evolving Writing Workflow
A couple of years ago, when I started writing these articles, I did it the traditional way: sit down, hammer out a draft, edit, edit again, and keep editing until it felt just right. That’s how I’ve always written. That’s how I co-authored a book. It worked, but with the pressure of doing that weekly, it was…rough. Spending three or four late nights until 1am to tweak every sentence was not exactly sustainable.
So I optimized. I spent a few weeks testing out different tactics and—through a combination of random internet hacks and personal trial-and-error—landed on my current workflow:
Brainstorm Early: The first couple days of the week, I scribble down topic ideas and decide on what I want to talk about.
Transcribe Mid-Week: Around Wednesday night, after the kids go to bed, I pace around my living room with my phone’s voice-to-text app running, riffing on the topic I’ve chosen.
Draft with AI: I feed that transcription into ChatGPT (which has been trained on my previous articles), and let it spit out a first draft.
Edit & Polish: From there, I clean it up, add silly GIFs, and basically turn it into what you’re reading now.
This new flow means I’m mostly talking my articles rather than typing them. And once you start ditching a keyboard, you don’t want to go back. So my brain started identifying other ways to talk through my ideas.
Experimenting with Google Gemini’s AI Studio
The next stop on this journey was a recent experiment I did with Google Gemini’s AI Studio. I was working in Substance 3D Painter and chatting with an AI agent in real time to help guide and optimize my workflow.
Watching how effortlessly I could talk through my workflow and get on-the-spot, context-aware replies really blew my mind. Was the conversation perfectly smooth? Not at all. Was it accurate every time? Definitely not—sometimes it doubled down on the wrong answer so confidently that I started arguing with it. But the experience lit a spark in my brain and got me thinking about what’s next.
If we can train these agents on better information so they are 99% accurate and then they can actually execute the actions instead of just advising on them…where are we then?
The Keyboard Is Showing Its Age
I’m a sucker for a good mechanical keyboard. Gotta love that gratifying click-clack with every keypress. But the truth is, the classic QWERTY layout was built for typewriters, which jammed if anyone typed too quickly. Are we really using those exact same layouts with a few extra buttons to control complex, modern 3D software?We’ve layered on hotkeys upon hotkeys upon multi-button hotkeys onto these things and that doesn’t even break into the menus, submenus, and even radial menus, all while still relying on an input design that was cutting-edge in the 1800s.
It’s kind of absurd. We’ve grown accustomed to it, but that doesn’t make it any less weird. Every new feature we add to Maya, Blender, or Houdini just tacks on another layer of key combos or drop-downs. If I can simply say “Give me the edge loop tool” or “Apply a 45-degree bevel” in my 3D app?
The Hardware Revolution Nobody’s Talking About
So that led me to ask: if voice-driven interfaces become the norm, what happens to our hands? Are we still hunched over a keyboard and mouse all day?
Minority Report–Style Gestures? Some of us might wave our hands around like we’re Tom Cruise, with VR or AR gear tracking our movements, but I don’t think that will give us the tactile control need to create.
Haptic Gloves? Maybe we’ll pull on a pair of fancy gloves that let us physically feel the 3D objects we’re molding.
Stylus or Pen? Perhaps we hold onto a pen-like device, but it does much more than scribble—like offering pressure-sensitive sculpting or on-the-fly menu selections.
Suddenly, the whole design of our computers might flip. If voice handles 90% of the commands, do we even need a “desktop”? Or a set of icons? And if everything we do can run in a lightweight headset or on a phone, do we say goodbye to the traditional workstation tower altogether?
VR Headsets: A Glimpse into the Hands-On Future
People often point to VR headsets (or mixed reality headsets) as the next big thing in 3D creation. And I agree that it’s the future. I use my Apple Vision Pro every day and it’s amazing for me. But I still mostly use it with my QWERTY keyboard on my lap. That can’t be the future, right?
Is it through specialized controllers with triggers and trackpads? Hand-tracking cameras that let us pinch, grab, or swipe virtual objects? Or maybe haptic feedback gloves that give us a tactile sense of the digital space? Each of these solutions has its merits, but none has become the clear winner for serious, day-in, day-out 3D production.
That’s where the real innovation needs to happen. While VR headsets open up an immersive environment where you can literally walk around your 3D model, the next step is making the interface just as intuitive. Right now, VR input can feel clunky—it’s as if we’re still using 19th-century logic in a 21st-century space. Once we figure out the most natural, precise way to interface our hands with virtual objects, I think we’ll see a huge leap not just in VR adoption, but in how 3D workflows are fundamentally designed.
Conclusion
I’m not claiming to have all the answers. I’m not even 100% sure what this new hardware looks like. But if you’re looking for the next horizon in 3D, this is it. We’ve spent decades pushing software UI—now it’s time for the hardware side to catch up.
We’re on the cusp of a major shift in how we interact with our digital tools. Keyboards and mice—though they’ve served us well—are showing their age, especially as voice-to-text and AI become more sophisticated. Throw VR into the mix, and suddenly we have a world where the way we see and touch our 3D work might look completely different in just a few years.
Whether we wind up with haptic gloves, pen-based controllers, or something yet to be released, it’s clear that the future of 3D creation won’t be confined to a keyboard and mouse. And, honestly, that’s exciting. Because the moment our technology can better translate our thoughts and hands-on creativity into digital form, we’ll unlock entirely new levels of possibility for artists, designers, and creators everywhere.
The 3D Artist Community Updates
This week, we are thrilled to be joined by Emily Abele!
Emily is a Lighting/Compositing Lead Artist in Los Angeles specializing in feature films, TV animation, and commercials.
3D Merch is here and we have a new hoodie!
3D News of the Week
Futuristic Sci-Fi Radio Device Imagined With Plasticity & Substance 3D - 80.lv
The DPC Outlook with Jaden Oh of CLO Virtual Fashion - The Interline
Chaos releases V-Ray 7 for Maya - CG Channel
Herman Miller and Design Within Reach (DWR) Bring 3D Product Visualization to Retail Sites - PR NewsWire
Synapse Virtual Production Launches its Premiere Virtual Production LED Stage - LBB Online
3D Tutorial
3D Job Spreadsheet
Link to Google Doc With A TON of Jobs in Animation (not operated by me)
Hello! Michael Tanzillo here. I am the Head of Technical Artists with the Substance 3D Growth team at Adobe. Previously, I was a Senior Artist on animated films at Blue Sky Studios/Disney with credits including three Ice Age movies, two Rios, Peanuts, Ferdinand, Spies in Disguise, and Epic.
In addition to his work as an artist, I am the Co-Author of the book Lighting for Animation: The Visual Art of Storytelling and the Co-Founder of The Academy of Animated Art, an online school that has helped hundreds of artists around the world begin careers in Animation, Visual Effects, and Digital Imaging. I also created The 3D Artist Community on Skool and this newsletter.
www.michaeltanzillo.com
Free 3D Tutorials on the Michael Tanzillo YouTube Channel
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