This week I got inspiration for my Looking Outwards post by viewing the 3-D art of artist Aldo Martinez Calzadilla. His work has been featured in such places as the movies Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Ant Man 2, and Black Panther.
Although this is very interesting, what truly struck me was his work reflecting realistic humans, which I thought was absolutely gorgeous.
One of Calzadilla’s 3D personal modelsCalzadilla playing with texture in this model
I didn’t really believe how this could be produced…through code…so I did some investigation.
I found that he uses software such as Maya, Mari, and Z-Brush, which allows designers to manipulate texture and draw in 3-D on the computer. Below is a video demonstrating how images can be created and edited with Z-Brush as if they were physical things that could be molded and manipulated.
Z-Brush demonstration
I was really stunned by the beauty of Calzadilla’s work, so it was interesting to watch the Z-Brush video to work through how it was he was able to create something so life-like. I usually associate coding with being very cold and unemotional, so it’s an interesting contrast to see how he was able to capture such delicacy and vulnerability in his “subjects” through such a seemingly unfeeling medium.
Artist Zacharias Reinhardt uses 3D graphic software to heighten visual storytelling.
Zacharias Reinhardt is a German 3D artist who uses Blender 3D software to create conceptual digital illustrations. Many of his works, such as Final Takeoff (shown above), convey a strong sense of storytelling that is heightened by the realism of fully rendered models. Unlike 2D illustrations, these graphics allow you to view the artwork from many angles and fully immerse yourself within the 3D space created.
A 3D rendering of the car in Reinhardt’s Final Takeoff allows you to experience his work from any angle (zoom in to see the interior).
While I’ve always been loyal to the art of traditional illustration, seeing works such as these truly heighten visual storytelling without losing any sense of the artist’s expressiveness. By using Blender software to create these otherworldly graphics, Reinhardt brings fantasy a little closer to reality.
In the 2009 James Cameron movie, Avatar, there was the issue of creating an alien species that was going to be realistic and relatable on an emotional point of view. Cameron stated that he wanted to not do the traditional way of make up and spot treatment. Instead he went on a route that used a lot of 3D computer graphics. He set up a rig that would have sensors all around (which is pretty ordinary). However, he ended up actually attaching a camera on a carbon fiber rod right in front of the actor’s face. What made this movie’s computer graphic rendering so much better and different from other movies at the time is that the character’s facial features would be very, very accurate and human-like, thus making them very relatable. One thing I really appreciate and admire from this project is that after viewing a info video about how they made the movie, it reminded me a lot of the facial recognition features and “animojis” that Apple recently featured in their iPhone X and the brand new iPhone XS. However, this was implemented on a larger scale in a fast-paced action movie 8 years prior. That is incredibly impressive.
For this looking outwards I wanted to explore a project that I find particularly interesting by former Apple programmer Ben Haller called Attraction Basins. Each of the different art pieces created in this project are made using a form of “equation root finding.” The pieces in this project are very much related to the Mandelbrot Set and the idea of points on a place relating to points on an image, to which the root-finding is utilized iteratively.
The first image below titled “Carapace” was generated using Newton’s Method, which has to do with the idea of finding roots based on a process of successive approximations.
(The image above showing “Carapace” by Ben Haller)
The colors that occur in the pieces are dependent on the length of time and type of root that was converged. At these points of convergence also note the “basins” that occur in these areas. The other piece from Ben Haller’s gallery I wanted to look at is called “Energy.”
(The image above shows “Energy” by Ben Haller)
This piece is based on the Secant Method which is another root finding algorithm that takes a “region of interest” and assumes a linear relationship of the function being analyzed. A graph of how the secant method works can be seen below. Note the relationship between the graph and the art piece generated from it.
I find these 3D Computer Graphics interesting because they relate directly to some form of root finding. So as diverse as the two might read in visual language, there is a common underlying method that carries across all the pieces.
Architectural Applications and Platform Sandbox V.2: The Pixel Monster
Sean McGadden
Little Black Box is a a platform for sharing the work of designers, artist and architects. They are an open source platform that essentially expose the work of many talented young professionals and new graduates. This project, The Pixel Monster, evolved using a program called Platform Sandbox. This software uses architectural assemblage to generate forms and structures that can then be montaged. The Pixel Monster specifically is an instillation intended to be a community center at the “Europa Garten” in Frankfurt, Germany.
The author of this project is Kishan Kumar Thasma Seshier Kuppusamy is an architect from Frankfurt Germany practicing expressive innovative techniques and trying to break from conventional use and forms to generate structures creating real interaction and mystery. This project is highly experimental as there are not many structural members explored and it does start to indulge the viewers and participants in the many possibilities that can come from generative form.
I admire the way he is able to divulge, in these drawings, a clearly defined sense of space and emotion. This project is seeking to be a community center and reunite members from adjacent neighborhoods. I can see the way that it pulls from different directions to explore a central catalyst for social interaction and exploration. This was mainly generated using Sandbox and later post processed. The techniques for generating the form are interesting because they are both random and calculated at the same time. The branches of the project start to imply space and function but continue to intrigue as to what they are really trying to accomplish. Enjoy this render the author has made to truly emphasize the many implications of this project has in a context of calm or chaos…
ADDED: Platform Sandbox was developed by a man named Damjan Jovanovic he is a very talented artist, designer and architect. Here is a small video on his work and the nature of the Sandbox platform. It creates some really cool visualizations and animations.
I wasn’t sure what to write about for this project at first because there is such a multitude of impressive 3d graphics projects out there. I found this artist, mregfx, while scrolling through Twitter though, and thought his work seems perfect!
This is the piece that I had initially seen. It is amazing that 3d graphics can look so realistic and seem to blend in with real world surroundings so well. The work itself feels very mysterious and fits especially well with October coming up. I am particularly impressed by the smoke physics. It’s amazing that a computer can generate these textures and movements.
The artist himself doesn’t seem to have a website, but has a fairly large following on both Twitter and Instagram and it based out of the UK. A lot if his projects are similar to this one in that they seem extremely realistic but some small details are changed using computer graphics that make them particularly intriguing or cool to look at.
“Transformers: Age of Extinction” is the 4th movie in the live-action “Transformers” films, directed by Michael Bay. “Transformers” films are known for their extensive use of 3D computer graphics, or CGI, but from what I have observed, the 4th movie has the most impressive computer graphics. All of the robots have intricate parts, and unique transformation sequences. For example, one of my favorite characters is Grimlock, a robot that can turn into a giant T-rex. The softwares that were most likely used to create the 3D models and their animations were Autodesk’s Maya or 3DS Max. I think that the creator’s artistic sensibilities can be seen from each robot’s design; the characters’ robot and transformed forms complement one another very well.
Frozen Snow Simulation is a project by the graphics community to illustrate real snow in the animation environment. Since already existing 3D graphics only have techniques for solids and liquids, and making graphics for wet and dense snow is difficult, the graphics team had to use a grid that creates self collision and breaking of the snow. The algorithm used for this project is called Matterhorn, which made basis for most of the snow effects in the movie. The designers started with Matterhorn and changed the look for a perfect snow. The creator’s artistic sensibilities manifested in the final form because he carefully considered the composition, details of the snow, and style/ elegance of the whole animation into Frozen. I admire this project because in order to create the real, specific effects of the snow, a team of forty people came together to simulate snow that gives both reality and fits into the style of the movie.
In today’s era, the line between 3D and 2D has long been erased. With the help of digital tools, 2D and 3D is practically the same thing. The work of Matteo Zamagni is proof of such occurrence. In his film, “Horror Vacui”, he dives into the dimensions of the earth. Through the help of software like PhotoScan, Google Earth, Houdini, Cinema 4D, and more, Zamagni strives to blur the distinction between reality and digital perceptions. These technologies have allowed the Zamagni to create terrains that also begin to distinguish between nature and man.
Example of 2D drawings created from various softwares
As an architecture student, the idea of blending 2D and 3D is always within our works. The additional steps of mapping out nature and man gives it another push into what architecture students should aim to contribute or change. The idea of mapping out terrains can be stretched out into different fields of work. Through the idea of mapping, concepts of actions and non-tangible things can be produced into 2D works. This would open up many pathways of the representation in all fields.
Factors, like the sea, that change the Earth are also mappedMapping of human interaction with the nature is a major component within the project
Dalmiro Buigues is a 3D graphics and motion designer from Buenos Aires. He is a director at the Argentinian design studio “Buda”, and has created 3D work for a variety of high profile clients like Nickelodeon and FOX. One project that really stood out to me was a series of 6 animations he created for the Argentinian launch of the running shoe NIKE EPIC REACT. Each animation sequence is defined by a descriptions of wearing the shoe, and the resulting video includes graphics that show this paired with actual users describing the experience.
“It’s like riding a marshmallow unicorn.
It’s like jumping into a cotton candy pool.
It’s like a pillow fight in space
It’s like jumping on velvet springs.
It’s like huging a real size jelly bear.
it’s like diving on a cake made of clouds.”
Original sketches, without 3D graphicsNow with graphics applied.
I was drawn to this project because there was so much information published about the process. First, I watched the final video, and the graphics were stunning in their complexity and photorealistic lighting, even though the animated character were cartoons. I think it’s impressive and important to note that the entire video is spoken in spanish, and yet I could understand practically everything that was going on because the visuals were so compelling and informative of the mood. I think Buigues’s main goal was to create a happy-go-lucky feeling with bright colors and big, smilling characters, and juxtapose the seriousness of the shoe and the task of running with the pleasure of comfort and high jumping and other fun activities that he chose to animate.
I think it is especially interesting to see the process work because I can see Buigues’s original sketches, where he was brainstorming the character, and then I can see renderings using photoshop or other 2D-focused software, and then move onto the final stills, where he used CG software to create these fantastic effects like reflected lighting on space helmets and spongey-yet-metallic texture of springs. I am curious about computer graphic software now because I want to learn more about how you can create characters that have set widths and heights and limbs that maintain their form, and then move them within a space so that the light adjusts accordingly. I know this is how they animate most films now, and I think this is one of the most complex and widely consumed forms of computer art today.
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