2011 Artist Blog - Entry #5

Ugolino and His Sons

Jean d'Aire

Andreja Vuckovic is a traditional as well as digital sculptor, painter, and modeler located in Wellington, New Zealand. His theme is mainly realistic figurative art and creature design but we'll only be looking at his digital figure sculptures. His inspiration seems to come from the Renaissance era of art as well as from the renowned sculptors of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The three works I have selected from this artist are: "Girl" (April 20, 2011); "Ugolino and His Sons" (September 2008); and "Jean d'Aire" (February 14, 2008). The first piece under the title "Girl" is an original work of Vuckovic while "Ugolino and His Sons" sculpt is a copy of the original sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, a French artist of the 18th century. "Jean d'Aire" is also a copy of the work Auguste Rodin did as a commemorative monument to the city of Calais. What's important to notice about the three works mentioned above is that they all have a strong sense of character in them. Vuckovic unquestionably did justice to the works of Carpeaux and Rodin as I cannot see a single flaw in them in terms of anatomy, pose, and expression. He captured a moment in his sculpts just like the original artists intended. The figures have a great sense of balance, proportion, asymmetry, and weight in them. To create characters in such convincing poses requires a deep knowledge of human body's movement and motion. Vuckovic understands the planes of the body without which sculpts may look stiff and blobby. He is a true inspiration to me and aspiring artists alike. (word count - 266)

Girl

All work shown here belongs to its original owner and creator Andreja Vuckovic. No copyright infringement intended.

2011 Artist Blog - Entry #4

Radial Engine

Adam Bromell is a Canadian environment CG Artist working at Ubisoft Toronto. His entire focus is on hard-surface art including but not limited to props, mechanical stuff such as vehicles, airplanes, and robots, and level design. He is also specialized in 2D concept art, scene lighting, and FX (effects). Although being completely opposite to what the character artists we've seen so far in all of the previous entries make (in terms of organic stuff like creatures and humans), Bromell is not less of an artist because of that - in fact, he's a true professional in his field. His work certainly requires a different skill set which is very hard to master. The knowledge of human anatomy isn't required because all the inorganic stuff that he makes, but it definitely requires troubleshooting skills, technical knowledge of how different mechanical parts work, a critical eye, and what purpose each bolt and screw make - everything fits together to make something practical and effective - there is absolutely no room for mistakes (room for experimentation is an exception) and worst of all, complete randomness. If it doesn't make sense then it is not considered good enough and his work does makes sense. Intricate details have to be understood and studied thoroughly to make believable objects, many of which are found in the real world - the environment we live in. A 3D artist like Bromell has to have outstanding design skills, a great deal of understanding of composition and scene lighting, as well as effects such as those produced by fire, rain, smoke, and so on.  The works of Bromell we're looking at today are: "Radial Engine" constructed in June of 2009; "Gee Bee Sportster" airplane (July 2009); "Robot Scene" (September 2009); and "The Fatman", a nuclear bomb (January 16, 2011). All of the things I've talked about above are clearly present in the following works. They honestly have to be seen and not talked about. (word count - 324)

Gee Bee Sportster

Robot Scene

The Fatman

All work shown here belongs to its original owner and creator Adam Bromell. No copyright infringement intended.

2011 Artist Blog - Entry #3

Show Time

 

Mariano Steiner is a young Brazilian CG Artist / Character Modeler from Sao Paulo, another one of my favorites. His main theme is anatomically correct human characters and creatures (though we won't be looking at the creatures he has made). Based on the works we'll be looking at, his inspiration comes from the Renaissance era of figurative art, I believe. The three works from him are: "Show Time" (June 2010); "Winter Sun" (December 2009); and "Aristeus" (June 2011). The art pieces mentioned above have a great sense of weight and volume in them - a skill which many novice artists lack of (myself included). His understanding of human anatomy is what really makes an impression on the viewer, and his presentation skills are top-notch as well. The figurative piece under the title of "Show Time" which is dedicated to the art of Richard McDonald, a traditional sculptor working mainly in clay and bronze, is tremendously dynamic and alive - the pose, the expression, the energy are all there. Lighting plays a major role in the works of Mariano Steiner - an ability learned through studying color theory, composition, shadowing, and through having a numberless amount of hours of practice. After all, practice makes perfect - there is no magic behind it. Again, the human form and the motion of the human body had to studied quite thoroughly to make such brilliant figurative works that awe the audience, especially myself, since I do know how hard it is to sculpt a human body that looks correct. The silhouettes are just outstanding and that feel of gravity is definitely present in his works. (word count - 268)

Winter Sun (detail)

Aristeus

All work shown here belongs to its original owner and creator Mariano Steiner. No copyright infringement intended.

2011 Artist Blog - Entry #2

Andrei Ndo Cristea is a CGI sculptor from Reykjavik, Iceland whose main theme is high-resolution, realistic characters. He also uses computer as his main medium. Being one of my favorite artists, he has an in-depth knowledge of human and animal anatomy - a skill that is hard to master but one which pays off in the end. Unlike some of the other 3D artists, Cristea goes for more clay-like feel in his sculpts. The kind you would associate with and see in traditional medium. The three works we'll be looking at from this amazing artist are: "Rendezvous" created in March 2010; "Girl With Headphones" (December 2008); and "Age Of Bronze Study" (May 2008). All of these amazing figurative sculptures have a really strong character in them. The Age of Bronze nude male figure (a study of Auguste Rodin's sculpture of the same name) has a lot of sensuality and emotion just like the original one does. The simple material shows details perfectly. Again, planes of the head and the body have to be understood in order to make a believable likeness, and his figurative and portraiture art pieces are flawless. Although being stylized, Cristea's portraiture work has to be outlined as it is one of a kind with neatly laid out details such as soft wrinkles and hair making the heads look believable and not as stylized as, let's say, those of Classical Greek art. The character highlighted on the girl with headphones one is very strong with subtle smile and eyes looking up - telling us a story about the character. The lack of symmetry makes this piece look very believable. The hard-surface pieces such as the headphones on the girl and the astronaut helmet on another female character is another story. Regardless, they are of highest quality of craftsmanship as well. (word count - 263)

 

All work shown here belongs to its original owner and creator Andrei Ndo Cristea. No copyright infringement intended.

2011 Artist Blog - Entry #1

Tsvetomir Georgiev is a Bulgarian digital 3D artist and sculptor who is specialized in creating film-quality characters including but not limited to monsters, sci-fi creatures, realistic humans, and robots. The medium he uses is a computer modeling and sculpting application. The 3 pieces of work I selected from this CG artist are: "A marble God" created in April of 2010; "The neck" (January 2007); and lastly "Pegasus, a winged horse" (May 2010) for a movie "Clash of the Titans". All of the works I saw from him are of marvelous quality and his attention to detail and anatomy is breathtaking . His understanding of planes of the human body as well as animals is clearly shown. I would certainly go as far as comparing his "marble God" sculpture to the works of the Great Masters like Michelangelo, for example. If you take a look at God's beard, you can tell a lot of thought and care went into detailing it - not an easy task at all. The piece was also rendered meaning lit and carefully painted to give that feel of old marble material which makes the composition stand out that much more - and that cannot be accomplished by randomly pushing buttons. A lot of attention also went into God's face - his expression gives that sense of tranquility and peace, perhaps some tiredness too. But just because Georgiev's work is all digital, it still takes great talent and perseverance to create such outstanding pieces, one of the best I have seen in the world of CG art (and I've seen a lot of works). Computer art is just that, another medium. If you're good at sculpting in clay, you'll transfer right in to the digital world with no problem and vice versa. (word count - 284)

Marble God (detail)

All work shown here belongs to its original owner and creator Tsvetomir Georgiev. No copyright infringement intended.