Come learn the art of 3D computer generated art and animation. This blog deals with the lessons learned and the art created by Robert G. Male using DazStudio from Daz3D.
Also covered are the ancillary software, tools, techniques, and processes needed both before and after rending in the 3D software.
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This is the first time in the new year and new decade that I am posting here. Happy New Year. I thought that I would start off all of the blogs that I write with two special entries. The first is a look back at 2009. The second is a look forward at what I would like to cover in 2010. There was a fair bit of time off in 2009 on this blog leading to only a few topics that were covered. This number was lessened even more by some of them taking multiple parts while others were a series on a particular topic. There were a few that posed as simple heads ups that there would not be new entries. There was even an attempt at having guest bloggers. Of course that did not go over so well since I know a limited number of artists, at least ones that I was daring enough to approach with the idea.
The earliest entries took a look at creating custom eye maps using what I'd previously learned from mapping spheres into planets. The eyes led back to planets as I explored a way to create planetary revolutions and paths in space by connecting them to a human figure. Next were a couple weeks about photo stitching, which was furnished by Windows Live Gallery. Then I got into designing creatures and going from form to biological function and back. That led to revisiting role-playing game artists with some new faces. Then, out of the blue I popped out a rusted metal mesh tutorial. From there were discussions about strength in simplicity and strength in complexity. The year finished off with an interesting look at negative intensity lights to create darkness in a scene.
It was quite a ride. Next week I'll let you in on what's next to come.
Previously on Learning Dark Arts there was a discussion about inverted shadows in Daz3D titled "Come Over to the Light Side". To briefly re-iterate it involved the following steps. Set a distant light and scroll down through the light's parameters. Double click the word Intensity and on the menu that pops up click Respect Limits so that it reads No and click accept. The Intensity bar changes from 0 to 100% with a slider to a bar full of graduations. Roll the dial and select a negative intensity. In that previous entry this technique was used to create bright white shadows. This time the intention is to use it as a dark light that saps away the brightness from the scene. This can be used on any of the style of lights for different effects. Just remember if you turn on shadows it makes white ones.
This negative intensity light, that I call a dark light, also has a negative colour so it is best to leave it white. I have created the images "By the Christmas Lights Comparison" and "By the Christmas Lights" to illustrate the effect. The Comparison shot is the original render of the scene before adding the negative intensity light. It's quite bright and some of the coloured light is lost on the figure. With the addition of the dark light the room takes on the appearance of a dark room lit by smaller lights. In other words a dark light is good for turning down the lights on a scene when you want to mix coloured lights without excessive brightness. If you've ever wanted to add multiple lights to get a specific effect or colours, but the scene is bright and the colours are washed out then this is your solution.
This will be the last entry in this blog for the year. I wish you happy holidays whatever you celebrate (or don't). Take care and stay safe. I will see you again in 2010. Thank you for reading.
A discussion on this blog previously covered the strength of simplicity in an image. Complexity can have its place too. A new image titled "Happy Halloween 2009" illustrates this. There are multiple items in the scene outside of the focus of what the picture is meant to convey that add meaning, but could have been left out. Leaving them out of the image would make it simpler and at the same time would take something of the reality away from it. What would it say if it were just a figure in a room with a backdrop outside the window? Would it look like a staged scene like that in a department store display window? Are these items not as important as the pose of the figure and the ambience of the lights?
What is the importance of the knife and the goblet? What is the use of the bowl and the dark glass decanter? Do the washbasin and cabinet along with the furnace and chimney set the time period? The cobwebs certainly say something about the scene. These are the items that add to the complexity of the image. They also give the scene a sense of verisimilitude. The light is not what would be naturally expected for the location or the hinted time period. When coupled with the figure's pose that odd light says something about what is going on in the image. So what of the unnatural figure outside the window? Is it the result of what is going on in the shack or is it drawn there by the events unfolding inside? All of this builds a more complex, well-rounded, strong, image.
Music: One Tin Soldier by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.
Today I have for you special guest blogger, Richard H. Fay. I met Richard on Facebook and immediately took note of his art. It had a certain feel to it, a mood that was very inline with my own sense of aesthetics. I like his line work, the contrast styles, and couldn't have been more pleased than when he mentioned he could write an article on how creates his art by hand first then works on it with the computer. Here is his gracious provided and insightful article. Be sure to check out the links to more of his work.
Traditional Meets Digital by Richard H. Fay
Robert graciously invited me here as guest blogger to talk a bit about the creative process behind my artwork. I'm Richard H. Fay, a traditional artist and illustrator with digital leanings, and owner of Azure Lion Productions. Many of my works have appeared in a variety of print magazines and e-zines, illustrating both my own poetry (I'm a poet, too) and the verse and prose of others. Examples of my illustrations and designs can also be found on merchandise in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store.
What do I mean when I say that I'm a traditional artist with digital leanings? Well, my medium of choice is ink on Bristol board, but I add the final touches to my artwork using the computer. I create my black and white originals by the tried-and-true method of drawing by hand, but I use the versatility of the digital realm to colour and sometimes even manipulate my hand-drawn images.
My works invariably begin as pencil sketches, and then I go over my initial lines with design or artist pens. After completing the originals, I scan them into the computer, creating bitmap working copies of the images. Pieces meant to remain black and white receive a bit of touch-up, and are then converted to jpeg or png files for submission to publications or use on merchandise. Pieces designed as full-colour creations receive their varied hues on the computer. I add my colours to the bitmap images and then convert them as I do my black and white works.
Utilizing the computer's image-manipulating capabilities in this fashion allows me to experiment with different tints and various colour combinations before deciding on a finished image, something I simply could not do if I coloured my art by hand. In that respect, the computer makes my job as an artist a whole lot easier. I can even add elements from one drawing to another, creating certain pieces as two separate images added together digitally. I don't know if the method I use is the most sophisticated way of doing what I do, but it works for me.
And yet, as much as I appreciate the convenience of colouring and manipulating my art digitally, I still consider myself to be a traditional artist. In my mind, when it comes to my art, the line's the thing. And my lines are still drawn in the traditional manner, by hand, ink on paper.
There is a new image in the Battered Spleen Productions Grotesquerie. The image is marked Violent, despite that it does not actually depict any. It is titled "What Happened Here?" and represents a concept that I wanted to explore. Sometimes simple says a lot. It is the basis of the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words." I received the butcher's block and knives, noted the bloody poses for everything, including the wall--the floor appears stained but cleaned up, well minimally--and had to immediately begin constructing an image. There were so many possibilities. I decided on a simple presentation that spoke volumes despite the lack of elements to the scene. A small number of elements do not mean a small number of things of interest.
The ambiguousness of the image is also a strong draw for me. The first assumption is that the woman has been murdered. Is this necessarily true? It is a butcher's block, there is blood spattered on the wall, but as previously indicated the floor has had blood cleaned off of it, repeatedly it would seem. The leg is a left leg. Where is the right? The woman must be in an awkward pose. The question I put forth is, is the pose too awkward? It might not be. Since we cannot see any more of the leg do we assume there is more to the leg currently? There could be nothing past the knee. That opens up an even greater number of possible stories to explain the scene. There are also the possibilities within the history of the woman. What does that pink toenail polish say? So many possibilities.
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