Returning to another old theme, the mythological winged head (Morpheus, Hypnos), partly inspired by the work of Belgian symbolist painter, Fernand Khnopff. 3 views of the same head.
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| 3 views of a Winged Head, Blender, 2023 |
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| 3 views of a Winged Head, Blender, 2023 |
It's been a while since I've posted here--between the Pandemic & being busy teaching...but here's a little digital sculpture I just made in Blender, a robed figure. It's a theme I've used before, but I think I found something new in there.
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| The Acolyte, 2023, sculpted in Blender |
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| The Acolyte, 2023, sculpted in Blender |
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...\
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| Digital Medusa, 2021, sculpted & rendered in Blender |
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.)
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| The Dream Wings of Night, 2021, digital Blender image |
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.
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| Monochrome Melancholy, digital Blender image |
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.
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| The Pact, digital Blender image |
This is a 3D digital sculpture done in Blender. It seems to have a quite strong emotional resonance.
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| Head for a Pietà , Blender digital image |
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.
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| Angel's hand, digital rendering from Blender |
Here is another view of the piece:
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| Angel Manipulating Spheres, another view |
This was done in Blender using a winged head I sculpted a short while ago. I added a partial body & gave it a metallic gold texture, then lit it with an HDRI (high dynamic range image) as well as a sun light. By experimenting with the lighting, HDRI placement, composition, etc., I came up with the following images. The only difference between I & II is the rendering engine used (Eevee in the first, Cycles in the second). The results were suitably ethereal & heavenly, I think.
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| Sun Angel II, Blender digital image (Cycles renderer) |
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| Sun Angel I, Blender digital image (Eevee renderer) |
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.
Recently, I've been teaching an Intro to Blender (3D software suite), which has been helping me to integrate the software into my art practice (as well as helping the students learn the software, of course). Last night I was experimenting with volumetric lighting (light through fog, etc.) & found ways to make the rendered images more atmospheric. This was a missing part for me, & seems to be helping to create the worlds I want to make.
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| Atmosphere, 2021, Blender image |
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| The Shrine, 2021, Blender image |
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| The Most Ancient One of All, 2021, Blender image |
Just playing around with the terrain generator in Unity, with one of my Blender (3D modeling) pieces.
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| Narcissus in the Desert, 2020, digital image |
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| Narcissus in the Desert, 2020, digital image |
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| Narcissus in the Desert, 2020, digital image |
Here are a couple more new pieces. The first one is a painting of the 2 Psyches (goddess & asteroid) -- I want the digital & traditional work to complement & feed off of each other, & it's getting easier to switch between the two. The other image is a Blender rendering with the painting inserted as a texture within a frame. The idea partly comes from Max Ernst, who used his bird avatar, Loplop, to introduce various things (Loplop introduces the surrealists, even Loplop introduces Loplop...)
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| Manna from Psyche, 2020, acrylic on plywood, 14" x 11" |
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| Psyche presents Manna from Psyche, 2020, digital image |
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| Lost Soul (multiple views), 2020, digital image |
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| Satyr in Red, 2020, 3D image rendered in Blender |
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| Close-up view |
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| Satyr, digital sculpture |
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| Narcissus, 2020, digital image |
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| Narcissus, 2020, digital image |
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| Tree Man Rotating, digital image |
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| Tree Man (rendered in Blender) |
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| Tree Man (rendered in Blender) |
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| Tree Man with Birds (rendered in Blender) |
