3 Views of a Winged Head

 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.

3 views of a Winged Head, Blender, 2023

3 views of a Winged Head, Blender, 2023

The Acolyte (digital sculpture)

 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.

The Acolyte, 2023, sculpted in Blender

The Acolyte, 2023, sculpted in Blender

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

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

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

Sun Angel I & II

 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.

Sun Angel II, Blender digital image (Cycles renderer)

Sun Angel I, Blender digital image (Eevee renderer)

The Unlikely Vehicle (test)

 This was just a test where I was playing around in Blender with cuboid shapes, loop cuts & the extrude option. Then I remeshed it & started sculpting it. This may be a better way to create figures than starting with a sphere, which can be quite long & tedious. I'll try it out & post the results here if they're worthwhile.

The Unlikely Vehicle, 2020, digital sculpture in Blender

The Unlikely Vehicle, 2020, digital sculpture in Blender

The Unlikely Vehicle, 2020, digital sculpture in Blender

Ancient Trees

An attempt to model a semi-realistic old tree in Blender, with the roots & all visible. Blender is good at organic shapes as well as more geometric ones. The more objects I create in 3D, the better I get. I'd like to be able to do what I do in 3D to be of a similar standard to my 2D media work (drawing & painting). I'm getting there.

Ancient Trees, 2020, digital sculpture

A Strange Group

And, finally for today, here is a little grouping of some of the characters I've made in Blender. I guess at some point in the future, I'd like to do a scene with many strange creatures, more or less like a Bosch painting, with all kinds of creatures, monsters, animals, fantastic beasts, and so forth. I feel that this little image suggests some kind of bizarre narrative of a group of outcast beings who band together...for some reason...

The lurid lighting effect is one of Blender's default lighting/instant rendering options, which seemed to fit in this context.

The Unexpected Friends, digital image

The Sleeper

Here is a close-up shot of the sleeper (from the previous posting). As my Blender 3D digital sculpting skills improve, the figures and other elements will get more realistic. I'm not going for photorealism by any means, but it's important to gain control over the tools, to make them do what you wish. It's a process, & I'm in it.

The Sleeper, digital 3D model