Digital Medusa

 As part of a series of mythological figures that I've worked on over the years (drawings & paintings mostly), here is a digital sculpture done in Blender. I'll probably be reworking some of my other themes in coming days & weeks...\

Digital Medusa, 2021, sculpted & rendered in Blender

The Dream Wings of Night

 An important thing about the Blender 3D digital sculptures that I make is that they can be almost endlessly recomposed, textured, lit, post-processed and so on. Like a photographer or painter with a favorite subject, there are infinite variations to be discovered and displayed. (See previous posting for another version of this one.)

The Dream Wings of Night, 2021, digital Blender image

The Mists of Time

 A new variation on the "winged head" theme...going back to classical mythology (Hypnos, Morpheus) & Symbolists like Fernand Khnopff...post-processed with noise & reducing of contrast.

The Mists of Time, 2021, digital image

Monochrome Melancholy

The good thing about sculpting in Blender (& sculpting in general), is that with a 3D object you should ideally have a multitude of angles from which to view the piece & appreciate the interplay of forms.

With Blender's texturing, lighting, coloring etc., options, the possibilities are multiplied. Add to that the ability to insert a background image or objects, & then post-process (I set the image levels to "auto" & added noise), & you can almost endlessly recycle the images and find something new to present.

I also like the way the exposed mesh structure of the piece in places can resemble chisel marks, giving the work a handmade quality of sorts, whilst still maintaining its digital origins.

Monochrome Melancholy, digital Blender image

The Pact

This is a 3D rendered image created in Blender of 2 angels (of the somewhat terrifying, Rilkean variety) coming to an agreement of how to share the mundane world, perhaps. That's what seems to be happening here, but I never really know. I prefer to allude to narratives and let the viewer fill in the rest, which makes the piece more interactive, I think.

The Pact, digital Blender image

Head for a Pietà

 This is a 3D digital sculpture done in Blender. It seems to have a quite strong emotional resonance.

Head for a Pietà, Blender digital image

Amber Angel

 Another rendering of the Angel Manipulating Spheres piece:

Amber Angel

The Angel's Hand

 Close-up rendering of the Angel's hand (from Angel Manipulating Spheres). Hands are difficult & time-consuming to sculpt, and this one came out quite well.

Angel's hand, digital rendering from Blender

Here is another view of the piece:

Angel Manipulating Spheres, another view

Resilience Rising Revisited

 A new version of Resilience Rising, done in Blender to be used in A-Frame web format. This is a work-in-progress, more soon.

Resilience Rising (new web version), digital, 2021

Three Golden Heads

 I recently did a sculpture workshop for students at ASU (where I teach Blender & XR artwork). I started this head in the Zoom workshop to demonstrate Blender's 3D sculpting capabilities, & finished it afterwards. It usually takes me several hours to sculpt a head, & the workshop was around 45 minutes.

Below are 3 versions: top; fully textured: middle; another variation against a cloudy sky: bottom; the sculpted heads in raw, untextured state.

Over the Hills and Far Away

Probably the best thing about Unity's terrain toolbox is the ability to easily & quite rapidly create very large environments (in which to place one's digital sculptures). See below:

Over the Hills and Far Away, 2020, digital image

 

Narcissus in the Desert

 Just playing around with the terrain generator in Unity, with one of my Blender (3D modeling) pieces.

Narcissus in the Desert, 2020, digital image

Narcissus in the Desert, 2020, digital image

Narcissus in the Desert, 2020, digital image

Manna from Psyche revisited

Manna from Psyche is/was the AR installation I created (with the help of ASU's Meteor Studio) for the Emerge Festival scheduled for Mesa, Arizona in the spring, which was unfortunately canceled due to the pandemic. We did manage to launch the installation (it should still be available on the App & Play stores), but it was a last-minute fix & some features were rushed, etc. So, now that I have more time (& appropriate skills in better shape), I'm revisiting the idea. You can see some early new prototype ideas below...

Lost Soul(s)

Another 3D sculpture in Blender of a head. Maybe it needs a bit more work, but it's a little raw & maybe that's best. Montage of different views.

Lost Soul (multiple views), 2020, digital image

Satyr in Red

Here is another view of the Satyr head, rendered in red in Blender.

Satyr in Red, 2020, 3D image rendered in Blender

Close-up view

Satyr

Well, we're back for the summer from Arizona (where we've been the last 9 months or so). I'm back in my NY studio working on some new pieces & just got a new computer (refurb) as my old ones are in AZ. Here is my first return to Blender (3D sculpting etc. program) with a horned head, name of "Satyr"...

Satyr, digital sculpture

Narcissus (digital)

It's more difficult to sculpt a figure in Blender than, say, a head. Maybe it's the way I'm going about it, starting with a sphere & pulling out parts, filling them in, smoothing them out, rinse, repeat...

It's my intention to reproduce some of my artworks in 3D, and making them available in some way as AR (augmented reality) pieces. Narcissus seemed like a good place to begin. This piece is by no means finished, but it's a good start.

Narcissus, 2020, digital image

Narcissus, 2020, digital image

Tree Man Rotating

An updated version of Hieronymus Bosch's Tree Man, created in Blender & animated in Unity. I'm gradually refining & improving this piece. The rotation is to show the piece from all sides.

Tree Man Rotating, digital image

And below are some nice renderings of the piece, done in Blender, of course.

Tree Man (rendered in Blender)

Tree Man (rendered in Blender)

Tree Man with Birds (rendered in Blender)

Only Dreams Are Real

This is an edit of a 3D model I made a while ago, in fact I think it was my first good one (in the sense that it held its own). From time to time I experiment with different lighting, materials, composition & so on. This one seemed to have a life of its own. It's a depiction of a Greek god with winged head; Morpheus or Hypnos.

Only Dreams Are Real

Tree Man Evolving

I'm continuing to work on the Tree Man object...my skills gradually get better & I replace & refine parts of him. The most recent addition is the boats at his "feet"...the original version by Bosch in the right panel of the Garden of Earthly Delights depicts him as having boats for shoes, a tavern inside his torso, as an allegory of drunkenness, it is assumed.

Tree Man 3D sculpture, now with boats on his feet