I've been interested in digital art for many, many years, but computer hardware is only beginning to catch up to my imagination. I live in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, and my passions are CG art, music, acting, mathematics, physics, and my girlfriend. Not in that order. :)
BIO
I am a romantic and a dreamer, given to flights of fancy whenever possible. I love to create, in almost any medium. I do crochet and needlepoint (never mastered knitting, and sewing machines and I are practically mortal enemies). I cook, the fancier the feast the better. I love to work with wood, and I'd probably enjoy metal smithing, but I have neither the space nor the budget for tools. At one time, I dabbled in painting, but I was never satisfied with my own work enough to show anyone. I sometimes write music and poetry, but I'm not very prolific; I need to be in the right mood for that. I love to make animated films, but it's such a time consuming hobby that I don't pursue it much; I do best with projects I can complete in a day or at least in a weekend. One of my very favorite things to do is to act on stage, which is, again, very time consuming, so I don't do it as much as I would really like. Art is fun, but one does need to pay the bills. :) Oddly enough (to me, anyway) my day job is developing computer software. Well, it's kind of a hobby, too; seems like I'm always working on a program to do something or other. The work I do in writing code requires a lot of logic and precision, and not so much creativity. Sometimes it's hard to "shift gears" and jump from one mindset to the other. I have been making art with my computer for as long as I've had one, going back to a UNIX box with a 20 Meg hard drive and a 720x360 monochrome display in 1987. I fell in love with ray-tracing the moment I discovered it, obtaining a copy of DKB trace in 1991 or thereabouts. That led directly to POV-Ray in its beta form, and I've used that extensively all the way through the current version (3.6) and I'm looking forward to what that creative team develops in version 4. I first discovered Poser at version 2, but I could never quite get the pictures in my mind to come out on the screen. I used it off and on, here and there, but mostly to pose objects that I would export to POV and render there. I acquired a copy of Poser 5, and I've begun to learn how to make it do what I want directly, and I have *lots* more learning to do. I recently got a copy of Carrara, and I'm really enjoying learning what it can do. I own a copy of Bryce, but haven't even unpacked it yet, although I hope to soon. I also want to explore digital photography, as I like to use photo backgrounds with my CG work. I discovered Renderosity a few years back, and I was like a kid in a candy store. The diversity of artistic talent and the warmth and support of the community is absolutely marvelous. I lurked for a really long time, just enjoying the sights. It took me a long time to think that the stuff that I make might be worth posting for others to look at. A lot of encouragement from my wife (in this, as in every aspect of my life) made me brave enough to jump in. I love the great responses that my art has gotten, and I have found the constructive criticism I've gotten to be invaluable. The two elements of human nature that I find the most striking, and that inspire me the most for my images, is nobility and playfulness. A person may be rough and hard-bitten on the outside, or kind and gentle, or anything in between, but I believe that on the inside of most everyone is a good heart. And, nothing is more important than letting the simple joy of being alive into yourself, then returning it to the world with a smile. Favorite...
Color: Cobalt Blue (I'm color blind to the extent that red-green-brown is all one color to me; I very much depend on my computer to help me there)
Food: Root Beer Float (which I no longer indulge, to avoid complications from diabetes)
Musical style: Chicago Blues (especially live)
Favorite animal: Bengal Tiger
Song: Varies, but "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray most of the time
Imagery: Beautiful Women (which is all women; not everyone recognizes this fact, but a fact it is)
Author, All Time: Robert A. Heinlein, hands down
Author, Current: Tom Clancy
Fantasy Series: Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, varies by mood
Movie: The American President (1995, W. Aaron Sorkin, D. Rob Reiner)
TV Show: Multi-way tie, Any Star Trek, Any Joss Whedon anything, Law & Order (original only please), and The West Wing.
Guilty Pleasure: Dr. Who, especially Tom Baker or Peter Davison, although the current series is pretty good, too.
My personal rules:
Take life in big bites
Laugh whenever you can and smile when you can't
Never break a promise
Always share
Money is a means, never an end
Love everyone
Sing & dance even if someone is watching
Give away hugs with wild abandon.
Comments (3)
VigilAnnie
LOL! NIce replacement picture. :) I definitely can relate to that one. I lost a whole evenings worth of work on a pic that I still have not gotten to finish yet.
PumaSue
Very creative render, Jack!! Art imitating life. LOL. Everytime I hear thunder rumbling over-head I immediately shut everything down. I'm a little paranoid because I have already had to replace a hard drive. I love this very funny composition.
SBriggs
Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt, etc. Just think of it as a reason to do an even better one! ;-)