Indeed, learn the foundations and principles of the tools, and then learn how to apply those tools, then create new and improved ways of applying them. It's all about sticking to it and practicing, just like learning to play a musical instrument, or any other type of art.
Developing a good industrial design sense is good too. Also, studying the fundamentals of art itself, composition, color, light, shadow, contrast, esthetics, (what makes art actually "art"), etc., these are all the things one would do well to study and come to understand.
The rest is vision and inspiration, and then perspiration (work and practice).
Oh and the final ingredient: Strive to remain
objective of the actual quality of one's own work. We all see the same
EXACT films up on the screen, so always look at those and strive to recreate that level of quality.
Just because one can hit the render button and have the computer make a bunch of shadows and light does not make one an accomplished 3D artist.
And lastly,
believe you can do it (even if you are not at that point yet). You can never achieve something if you don't first beleive you can ultimately do that thing.
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