Category Concepts

Entries 90 Total

The Black Box.

Mar 2, ’11 7:28 PM

Over the past two years, I’ve contributed more than 100 posts spanning over 600 different subjects.  For me, writing has given me the opportunity to think about ideas, events and people in new ways.  It has also allowed me to heal.

In some respect, Incubator has been a black box.  The inputs to this “black box” have been my experiences and ideas.  The resulting outputs could perhaps be best summarized via the tag cloud located on the right-hand side of the page; as of the date of this posting, “awareness” and “design” are the two most popular themes.

However, to boil the past two years into this discrete summary would do some injustice to my contributions to date.  Thus, I think it’s important to call attention to several key outputs:

  1. You haven’t believed in yourself as much as you’ve should.
  2. You have a lot of talent, but you are not using it to it’s full potential.
  3. You fail very slowly.
  4. You have trusted others to “make” decisions for you.

To take a lesson from books I’ve read, it’s perhaps more positive to state these outputs in a slightly different way:

  1. Believe in yourself.
  2. Maximize your talent.
  3. Fail quickly.
  4. Make your own decisions.

Of course, these are four outputs – summarizing down to one leaves the following:

You can do better.

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AcD: Digital Specimens – Sphere

Feb 17, ’11 7:55 PM

One of the benefits, not just of Modo, but among nearly all 3D packages is the ability to utilize procedural textures when surfacing a 3D object.  In layman’s terms, procedural textures are small mathematics-based routines that simulate such surfaces as wood, marble and other natural (and unnatural) textures.

One technique that I recently learned involves the use of gradients as an input to the variables behind the procedural texture.  When you alter the gradient curve, you end up with varying points of “contrast” which allows for some very interesting and creative textures.

The result of this experimentation is what’s shown here – something perhaps that could be found under a microscope in the digital age:

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Duality.

Feb 9, ’11 5:20 PM

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Digital Oils.

Feb 4, ’11 7:37 PM

After spending a month in Modo, I decided to switch gears and experiment some in Corel Painter.  While my digital illustrations created in the summer of 2010 were created using Photoshop, I wanted to branch out into a true painting application.  While it takes some getting used to, I am really impressed with the digital oil brushes that are just a few of the tools contained within the application.

Being able to use “natural” digital mediums is extremely helpful when attempting to visualize a concept without introducing the complexity of 3D into the picture.  The combination of the Cintiq and Painter’s digital oil arsenal makes for a very fluid and rewarding workflow.

While my latest injury has taken me off the court for the long-term, it will not steer me away from running!  In the spirit of footwear design, I sketched two sneaker concepts using digital oils.  The first is one I call “Y-Axis” and the second “H2O” given it’s clear origins to water and fluid motion.

(Coincidentally, I started using Painter in 1999-2000, but quickly abandoned the program when a few of my early paintings became corrupt after the program crashed.  Ironically enough, while this version does not exhibit this particular issue, it is still problematic.  Frankly, I’m puzzled why this program is still plagued with issues – particularly after more than a decade of experience.)

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AcD: ION Arcadia I (Early Prototype)

Feb 1, ’11 8:16 PM

This is another (science-fiction) concept focusing primarily on composition and scale.  You’ll see this theme fairly often as I find it fascinating!  This concept is a spacecraft that is used primarily for human transport.  If under attack, the ship can actually break apart on its own and then regroup into a single entity once the intruder has departed.  The ship can also hover while on land and does not require explicit landing gear (as shown below).

This craft is part of a larger “ION” world I have been thinking about over the past several weeks and thus, I decided to create an early-stage logo to reflect this new environment.

To see the original renders and full set, please visit my digital illustration site at Ink.

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AcD: ION Intelligence Compound

Jan 30, ’11 2:12 PM

While I’ve utilized a similar “cloned cube” composition in this concept, this is the first time I’ve combined 3D elements with a 2D matte painting backdrop.  While neither of these elements was overly elaborate in its complexity, I’m pleased with the resulting composition and color palette.  You can see a few final concepts below (incorporated in Adobe InDesign), but head over to Ink to see the original scene along with the remaining stills.

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AcD: Lost Souls

Jan 25, ’11 6:57 PM

It’s amazing what you can do with such a simple scene such as the one I’ve created here.  Again, in these examples it’s about the composition and the “look” rather than a heavy emphasis on the underlying models.  I call this series “Lost Souls” as it is about the vast cityscape and the isolation of the individuals who remain here.  I always hesitate to alter the name of my creations as I like to stick with the name that I start with.

Interestingly enough, this scene probably would not have worked if I did not include smaller references of the woman within the scene.  The key is to utilize familiar elements, such as this person, elsewhere in the scene to suggest a sense of scale.

Can you locate the human in the second piece?  If not, check out the original here.

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AcD: The Human Element

Jan 23, ’11 5:59 PM

I spent the past few days doing more experimentation with Modo and quickly learned that the latest version includes sample meshes and textures.  While I typically don’t like use pre-built elements, they do allow one to focus on the core creative vs. being concerned with every discrete element within the piece.

Fortunately for me, one of the collections contains human figures and busts.  I decided to use and replicate a few of these meshes to start moving away from traditional hard-edged designs (buildings, spaces) and towards a design composition that is more personal and “real.”

Coincidentally, this is perhaps one of my first digital designs, if not the first, where people are explicitly included in the scene. Even though these are virtual humans, it is the human element that I think allows for a stronger “connection” to these pieces – at least, that’s how it feels to me.  The human element is definitely something you will start to see more of in designs to come.

Below are a few sample renders, but you can see the entire collection here.

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AcD: City of Gold (Masters)

Jan 18, ’11 7:55 PM

Advanced Concept Design, or AcD, is the title surrounding my newest portfolio.  The City of Gold series that I created this past weekend was expanded upon and further refined.  The result of which is the first entry into the AcD portfolio.

What is interesting is that these designs are all based upon a single rectangle in three dimensions.  The simplicity of the model allows for a greater focus in composition, palette exploration and image refinement.  I am very pleased with how these ultimately turned out and very encouraged for further work in this space.

Check out the entire collection on Ink.

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Digital Sculpture: City of Gold

Jan 17, ’11 9:49 AM

If you have ever seen any of the Star Wars movies, you’ll see a consistent theme regardless of film: immense and seemingly infinite spaces.  In earlier episodes, the Death Star is perhaps the largest “space”, while Coruscant is the equivalent in more recent episodes.

I have always been fascinated with large scale settings such as these.  This is perhaps why I have always been fascinated with cities such as Tokyo and other large metropolitan centers.  The design and complexity of these areas is nothing short of staggering.

To create a digital matte painting of such a space takes considerable effort and planning.  To start an initial exploration process, I created several renderings which I call the “City of Gold.”  You can see the entire collection here.

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