If it feels like déjà vu, there’s a simple reason. When you’re good, you’re good. Once again, Renderosity’s January Artist of the Month is the bold and talented, Saltaire, a member since 2011.

Proudly, he proclaimed he was “always a bit of a Nerd - before it was even fashionable, but never got that job I always wanted as captain of the spaceship.”

Looking at his gallery, you can find plenty of satisfying 3D eye candy.

We asked him to update us on what’s going on with him:

How did you become interested in digital artistry and what was it that attracts you to the work?

As I've mentioned before, the digital art started really on just an amateur basis as relaxation from the day job - in the IT industry - so it was a chance to use the PC for something more interesting than just for number crunching.

Having been a Sci Fi and Fantasy literature (and artwork) fan for years, with the occasional foray into hard-boiled detective fiction, gives me the chance to translate some of those imaginary worlds into "realistic" images - worlds that don't exist - but really should. I also like to try to tell a story with my scenes, making the viewer wonder what's behind that next hill, what happens now, what is that person doing there and so on.

What is the typical workflow on a project and what tools/software do you use?

I go way back to using Vue7, and a bit of Photoshop, as the first digital art tools I started working with. I've produced much of my work in Vue, which is good for creating vast landscapes and vistas. More recently, I've been using Daz, good for interiors and portraits, and I've fallen down the rabbit hole of playing around with AI. In both of the latter particularly, I've been using Photoshop for post work much more than I used to do, just to get those finishing touches into the scene. As an amateur dabbler, I don't have real workflow for any given scene. I’m just trying various things to see what works - even turning original 3D scenes into 2D illustrations if I think that it looks better.

How has Renderosity affected your work?

Having discovered Renderosity with so many other people involved in digital art, it prompted me to start posting. There's some really great stuff in the galleries and as promo pictures in the marketplace, and I'm often influenced by them, thinking ‘how can I do something like that?’

What other artists influence you? 

The list of artists that have influenced me are - well this could go on for a long time, but here are a few: Frank Frazetta, Don Lawrence, Chris Foss, Alphonse Mucha, the Pre-Raphaelites...etc.

Do you have any tricks or things to look out for that you would tell those new to 2 or 3D work?

A tip for those new to 2 or 3D work…first, read some instructions - I still sometimes don't do this and waste an awful lot of time. And find an image you like and try to emulate it; no need to copy it exactly. It probably works because of the strong composition - so try to get that right.

Is there anything else you'd like to pass along or say to members?

And finally - thanks to all those in the Renderosity community who post so many freebies - always appreciated and I've used many of them in my renders.