2D Digital Rendering and Painting
I was not formally taught how to master the art of digital rendering and painting, but when I became professionally involved with architectural model shops as a model maker
and later as a project manager and business owner, I saw great value in mastering the craft. Previously, while in college, I felt threatened by new digital technologies that I
believed threatened to subvert the professional viability of a 'paint and brush' artist such as myself. The limitations of the brush, however, ceased to exist as a stumbling block
towards absolute realism when digital tools were mastered.
Digital Paintings Created with Adobe Creative Suites - Commissioned for the Wings Museum, Surrey, England 2010:
I was not formally taught how to master the art of digital rendering and painting, but when I became professionally involved with architectural model shops as a model maker
and later as a project manager and business owner, I saw great value in mastering the craft. Previously, while in college, I felt threatened by new digital technologies that I
believed threatened to subvert the professional viability of a 'paint and brush' artist such as myself. The limitations of the brush, however, ceased to exist as a stumbling block
towards absolute realism when digital tools were mastered.
Digital Paintings Created with Adobe Creative Suites - Commissioned for the Wings Museum, Surrey, England 2010:
Above: Interior rendering for the remodeling of the oceanside Blockade Runner hotel in North Carolina c. 2007. The perspective has been intentionally distorted to
capture the entire lobby and reveal the lush exterior to the beach.
Compare the image above to the photographs of the original lobby upon which this image is based, below:
The Ultimate in 'Photo Retouching'
Turning an old, damaged, low-resolution black and white photo into a work of art:
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mDigital Painting using 3D Models:
In most cases when I'm commissioned to create a digital painting it is not my desire, nor the desire of the client, that the piece itself be based upon a pre-existing
photograph. In as many cases, there are no photographs upon which to base an image anyway! But it is still an unnecessary waste of valuable time to construct the
subject (in my case, very often an aircraft) the old-fashioned way via 3-point perspective and cube-construction off CAD files or 3-view drawings. In these cases I build a
rudimentary 3D scale model as a stand-in for the original subject, photograph it, and paint digitally over top of the photo to attain the correct perspective.
The project below was commissioned by the Wings Museum in England c. 2009. The aircraft was to be depicted at it appeared in 1945 while in night combat action over
the Sakhalin Islands in the North Pacific.
Above and above-right: Photo of 1/48th scale 3D model of the aircraft, and an actual aerial photograph taken of the Sakhalin Island area as it appears today.
Above: Completed digital painting. Day has been transformed into a moon-lit night. Modern structures on the ground have been removed or replaced. Period-applicable
Russian type warships have been added . . . and so on. The composition of the aircraft remains identical to the perspective of the 3D scale model - but otherwise the
subject has been entirely hand painted in Photoshop utilizing over 100 layers.
This was a two week project: start to finish.
Digital Animation:
I was commissioned in 2010 to produce three 'posters' depicting the main characters of Cartoon Network's "Invader Zim" animated television series. These posters were
carried by Hot Topic and a few other retail outlets.
And I can eliminate 'red eye,' too!
capture the entire lobby and reveal the lush exterior to the beach.
Compare the image above to the photographs of the original lobby upon which this image is based, below:
The Ultimate in 'Photo Retouching'
Turning an old, damaged, low-resolution black and white photo into a work of art:
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
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mDigital Painting using 3D Models:
In most cases when I'm commissioned to create a digital painting it is not my desire, nor the desire of the client, that the piece itself be based upon a pre-existing
photograph. In as many cases, there are no photographs upon which to base an image anyway! But it is still an unnecessary waste of valuable time to construct the
subject (in my case, very often an aircraft) the old-fashioned way via 3-point perspective and cube-construction off CAD files or 3-view drawings. In these cases I build a
rudimentary 3D scale model as a stand-in for the original subject, photograph it, and paint digitally over top of the photo to attain the correct perspective.
The project below was commissioned by the Wings Museum in England c. 2009. The aircraft was to be depicted at it appeared in 1945 while in night combat action over
the Sakhalin Islands in the North Pacific.
Above and above-right: Photo of 1/48th scale 3D model of the aircraft, and an actual aerial photograph taken of the Sakhalin Island area as it appears today.
Above: Completed digital painting. Day has been transformed into a moon-lit night. Modern structures on the ground have been removed or replaced. Period-applicable
Russian type warships have been added . . . and so on. The composition of the aircraft remains identical to the perspective of the 3D scale model - but otherwise the
subject has been entirely hand painted in Photoshop utilizing over 100 layers.
This was a two week project: start to finish.
Digital Animation:
I was commissioned in 2010 to produce three 'posters' depicting the main characters of Cartoon Network's "Invader Zim" animated television series. These posters were
carried by Hot Topic and a few other retail outlets.
And I can eliminate 'red eye,' too!
The painting above was completed for a client in just over nine hours! A comparable painting such as this - optimized for large sized archival printing at an extremely high
resolution - would take me (or most any artist) months to paint by hand. Furthermore, due to methods employed in the creation of this piece, virtually any change at the
client's request can be executed without trouble; anything from a complete revision of the background (Change the weather to a sunny day), composition (have the tank
pointing to the left, from the other side of the painting), to colors (repaint the cars overall tan).
I created the above piece utilizing only Adobe Photoshop CS4.
Architectural Renderings and Digital Paintings:
resolution - would take me (or most any artist) months to paint by hand. Furthermore, due to methods employed in the creation of this piece, virtually any change at the
client's request can be executed without trouble; anything from a complete revision of the background (Change the weather to a sunny day), composition (have the tank
pointing to the left, from the other side of the painting), to colors (repaint the cars overall tan).
I created the above piece utilizing only Adobe Photoshop CS4.
Architectural Renderings and Digital Paintings:
At left is an original 1931 photograph from the collection of the Royal Air Force Museum. The original
print suffers damage from black-decomposition, and the long lost negative from which this print was
made suffered from dust and scratches that were transferred to the print. The composition, as an un-
staged shot, is cluttered and uncomplimentary to the artistic shape of the subject in the image.
The image below is my creation based upon the original photograph - hand painted completely in
Photoshop CS4, provided a new and complimentary setting, and presented in the bright colors that the
subject boasted in 1930 - but the black and white film failed to capture.
The resolution of the new piece below is 600 dpi @ 24 x 18 inches.
print suffers damage from black-decomposition, and the long lost negative from which this print was
made suffered from dust and scratches that were transferred to the print. The composition, as an un-
staged shot, is cluttered and uncomplimentary to the artistic shape of the subject in the image.
The image below is my creation based upon the original photograph - hand painted completely in
Photoshop CS4, provided a new and complimentary setting, and presented in the bright colors that the
subject boasted in 1930 - but the black and white film failed to capture.
The resolution of the new piece below is 600 dpi @ 24 x 18 inches.
Another example, although in this case due to the well-known historical nature of the
original print, I wanted to preserved the original composition - right down to the
less-than-attractively-placed ox cart!
The original image was dated to 1917 and suffered much more damage than the image
above; scratches and areas of muddled detail.
The image below is my result, completed in approximately 15 hours.
original print, I wanted to preserved the original composition - right down to the
less-than-attractively-placed ox cart!
The original image was dated to 1917 and suffered much more damage than the image
above; scratches and areas of muddled detail.
The image below is my result, completed in approximately 15 hours.
