As an artist, I do four things; Oils on Canvas (Social Commentary), Drawings of National Parks, Photography of Birds and California Native Plants and 2D/3D Digital.
Since most here will be interest in digital work, I'll talk about that. I started in the digital world with a TI-99/4a computer in the early 1980's and immediately started creating art and animation with a very limited graphic range in hexadecimal code (16 colors, 256 shapes). I eventually became a published artist for Asgard Software and a year later when out on my own to form “Notung Software” which became on of the most popular TI Software companies. In 2010, I was inducted in the TI-99/4a Hall of Fame.
After making my switch to the PC, I started with Sketcher (the precursor to Painter) and even owned Fractal Design's "Poser 1". I didn't start seriously playing with Poser until Version 3 came around. With the advent of Poser 4, I began by creating textures and started a career as a digital artist, selling my work through Zygote, Vista, DAZ3D, Hivewire3D and Renderosity.
I really didn’t find my nitch in the 3D world until I partnered with BL Render to do the Songbird ReMix Series in 2003. The following year, I came into my own blending my love and knowledge of birds with a strong environmental theme "Threatened, Endangered, Extinct". That set, designed specifically to raise awareness about threatened species and why they're going extinct, became a template for all my work.
Since then I’ve steadily worked on improving my skills with Painter and Modo, and of course, producing more 3D birds and other flora and fauna with a strong environmental message. Today, the Songbird Remix birds have appeared in films such as ”I am Legend”, in Audubon literature and advertising, Duncraft (bird product & seed) advertising, in the museum presentations (such as the National Wildlife Research Center of Saudi Arabia) and even billboards and bus benches for the Omaha Reads promotions.
Besides being a Renderosity Vendor, I work at home as a freelance artist/photographer and also volunteer/lecture at the Theodore Payne Foundation (a Foundation that focuses a native plant awareness) and at Audubon California.
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
This site uses cookies to deliver the best experience. Our own cookies make user accounts and other features possible. Third-party cookies are used to display relevant ads and to analyze how Renderosity is used. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood our Terms of Service, including our Cookie Policy and our Privacy Policy.
Comments (7)
Kinchie
If I ever get to South America again, this superb owl one will be on my bucket list! Ken, Have you experimented with how to optimize rendering of your birds? They are so lovely they need to be shown off to best advantage. Any tips would be most welcome esp. to maybe take advantage of the new IRay rendering. I have trouble rendering birds in Reality for example but would love to get closer to a photoreal-type render. Any pointers?
Ken _Gilliland
I've have mixed views on Reality... in some renders, it adds considerably and in others, there's little difference from a standard render. If I want reality-like lighting effects I go to Vue. There are some rendering issues with the wing feathers (Reality and Vue), some poses make squares on the wing feathers--adding subdivision (especially in Vue) corrects this. I haven't tried the IRay system yet, so I can't give an opinion of that yet. While software can help in the creation of realistic renders, knowledge of basic lighting principles are much more important. With this render, I used my simple 3 light system ("Bird Lights" in my download section). It has a sun light with shadows and AO, the other two lights are simply a fill and back light with no shadows. I use (usually) soft gray colored lights. What adds to this render is using Poser's (under-used imo) Atmosphere settings. I used a light gray color with a beginning setting of 15-25 and back setting of 750-1500 depending on the size of the scene.
Kinchie
Thanks for the lighting info, KenG. Going to give these a try.
Ken _Gilliland
...I guess I should add, in DAZ Studio, I generally use the omni-freak AO light settings with a point light and Age of Armor's Cameras (like the fog one) to get the Poser-like Atmosphere settings.
Cyve
Fantastic composition and marvelous creation... Fantastic bird also !!!
Kerya
Cute - and fascinating!
Lyne
THIS guy looks like a professor owl for sure... he looks like he belongs in a Harry Potter scene! :)) He is a wonderful bird!!
adorety
Nice. Another odd looking owl. Love those "brows". Thanks for the tips.
IVSMA
He's beautiful Ken! Thanks for the tips Mate. ;-) :-)