Labyrinthine.wmv (600×400, 1.5MB, WMV9 video)
Now:
It feels like it’s been too long since I’ve been able to work on a 3d piece. One of the last chances I had I was able to produce this, which suffers somewhat from a shortened time allotment but did give me a chance to work on moody lighting.
Now:
While I feel less than happy with many of my previous images, this one still pleases me. Probably my favorite aspect is the texturing, achieved almost entirely by lighting rather than traditional texture mapping.
Lighting (and texturing) is something I’ve traditionally struggled with, and it may not be perfect but the lighting here did accomplish much of what I wanted it to do; flaws are more in the realm of design than technique. Anyway, don’t you just love the contrast from shadow to highlights, and the soft bloom those highlights give off? I do.
Update: see The Making of Corruption!
Now:
During my early sculpting days, when I sat in on a few of Valerie’s art classes, I developed an interest in making my own 3d digital sculpture pieces. This is perhaps my most literal attempt, the lighting and depth of field and little details were all intended to produce the effect of realism while still obviously describing an art piece sculpture.
Now:
Here’s a dark one, and I’m not just talking about theme. The thing I remember most about making this image is that it was the reason I began to think about monitor calibration.
This was probably around the time I started working the graveyard shift for a part-time job, and I hung up towels and blankets over the blinds in my room to block out as much light from the windows as possible. Having created, for the first time, a truly dark environment for myself (really just to be able to sleep when I got home in the morning), it started having an effect on the way I used my computer.
Now:
I can still enjoy this piece as a 3d doodle. The simplicity and reasonable textures feel more forgivable than some of my overworked and under-designed 3d images. A part of me, seeing this again, wants to develop more simple, iconic 3d images and achieve better results on such a low level of complexity, before attempting more involved scenes again.
