3D Art

BE INSPIRED BY 3D DIGITAL ART

Discover New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Worlds

DIRECT

Inspiration for 3D digital artists

Insightful interviews

Vibrant galleries and portfolios

Issue 16

April 2012

Mini Mag Edition

Tarik Keskin : Space Architect

Chris Hecker

3d

ArtD

irec

t.co

m

Christmas Galleries

DeeDee Davies

Neil Thacker

Sixus 1 Media

2

3D Art

BE INSPIRED BY 3D DIGITAL ART

Discover New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Worlds

Direct

Paul Bussey

Editor

paul@3dartdirect.com

Main cover art : Space Dock I-06 by Tarik Keskin

Mickey Mills

Assistant Editor

mickey@3dartdirect.com

Brian Christensen

Article Writer

brian@3dartdirect.com

Copyright © 2011 3D Art Direct. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means

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3

Editorial

Did concept art launch the American Space Program?

0404

CONTENTS

Interview : DeeDee Davies

“Back when I started playing around with 3D programs, my

hardware could only cope with a few items in the scene, so I

learned to try to get as much impact as possible. I think it makes

you think hard about only including what's really important to

the story behind the picture.”

0606

Interview : Neil Thacker

“I want others to enjoy and understand the creative process,

and make it easier than it was for me

when I started out! I also skim the

forum posts and offer whatever

1414

Interview: Tarik Keskin

“I had a great experience working with Mental Ray, since it is

the industry-standard renderer for many movies like Avatar or

the later Star Wars films. ”

2828

Model Zone : Sixus 1 Media

Les Garner

“My line of work not only allows,

but actually requires me to spend

inordinate amounts of time inside my own imagination.”

4040

FULL INTERVIEW IN PREMIUM EDITION

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FULL INTERVIEW IN PREMIUM EDITION

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FULL INTERVIEW IN PREMIUM EDITION

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4

Concept art helps reality come into being, whether

it be Hollywood blockbusters or mainstream production

motorcar.s Ralph McQuarrie was the first person George

Lucas hired for Star Wars and with McQuarrie’s excellent

visualisations, the main characters were born within a

matter of weeks. The film concept was successfully sold

to 20th Century Fox, with the help of these iconic

McQuarrie pre-production sketches and paintings.

Our main interview this month features beautiful concep-

tual art of space architecture by Tarik Keskin. He has cre-

ated a great set of designs for future space station interi-

ors and other sci-fi settings. Please give Tarik, DeeDee Da-

vies and Neil Thacker the feedback they deserve for

their wonderful works at their respective websites via our

artists page.

Launchpad for the Space Race

So did concept art really help launch the United States

space program? I would say yes. Pioneering space scien-

tists, such as Hermann Oberth, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Her-

mann Noordung and Wehrner von Braun, dreamed of

vast space stations orbiting the Earth. They saw them as

staging points for deeper exploration of space.

Wehrner von Braun, the main architect of the American

space program wanted to have space stations as a

main plank in his long term vision of the program. He had

artists illustrate concepts of the stations in the many arti-

cles he spun during the 50s to gather the required mo-

mentum for the program. In short, he needed to fuel the

American public for their excitement and investment to

what was to become the space race. The power of the

pen with some well crafted illustrations achieved this

nicely. I was delighted to learn that Chesley Bonestell

(one of the top sci-fi illustrators of the day) was one of

those artists.

A lot of the station concept art at the time had similar

traits including rotating wheel like structures, plenty of

space for living as well as science experiments, docking

ports for visiting space craft and a central hub often en-

visaged as a command centre.

What about Space Stations now?

We e are still a long way from the realization of large

space stations or colonies as envisioned by science fic-

tion writers. None of our space stations thus far have had

any gravity. One reason for this is that we want a place

without gravity so that we can study its effects. Another is

that we don’t have the technology to rotate a large

Chesley Bonestell’s space station concept

5

EDITORIAL :

structure to produce artificial gravity. In the future, artifi-

cial gravity will be a certain requirement for space colo-

nies with large populations.

So what has the International Space Station project

achieved?

The ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited. It is a

modular structure whose first component was launched

back in 1998. The station as a whole can be seen from

Earth with the naked eye. The ISS is composed of pressur-

ised modules, external trusses, solar arrays and other

components. The components have been launched by

American Space Shuttles as well as Russian Proton and

Soyuz rockets.

The ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment

research laboratory in which crew members conduct

experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astrono-

my, meteorology and other fields. The station is useful for

testing spacecraft systems and equipment required for

missions to the Moon and Mars.

Did you know that the station has been continuously oc-

cupied for over 11 years?. The station is serviced by Soyuz

spacecraft, Progress spacecraft, the Automated Transfer

Vehicle, the H-II Transfer Vehicle, and formerly the Space

Shuttle. It has been visited by astronauts and cosmonauts

from at least 15 different nations.

The ISS is funded until 2020, but will hopefully operate until

the late 2020s.

The Next Generation of Space Stations

Commercial factors will help grow the next generation of

space stations.

A space hotel, or “Commercial Space Station” (CSS) – its

official name, will float more than 200 miles above Earth

and will be put there by Orbital Technologies, a Russian

company hoping to offer this floating hotel.

And that will be one of the major attractions… floating.

At zero gravity you, as a guest of the hotel, will literally

float. To check in, tourists will have to undergo special

training that can last up to three months, depending on

which of several possible rocket/spacecraft combina-

tions they fly to the hotel. The hotel can accommodate a

minimum of seven people at a time. The cost? Roughly a

half-million US dollars.

The station will feature large windows for viewing. Other

amenities include essential kitchen facilities, digital cam-

eras, and a water-less toilet. Alcohol though, will be strict-

ly prohibited, which will give some potential tourists

pause.

Did Concept Art Launch

the Space Program?

Prototype of the Commerical Space Station interior.

The International Space Station, continually inhabited for over

11 years.

6

Tarik Keskin, an architect, conceptual artist and musician from Istan-

bul, Turkey, is currently studying architecture. Besides his projects at

school, he also creates different concepts inspired by different factors, as

his passion dictates.

He has completed his internship at Emre Arolat Architects

www.emrearolat.com which was very successful and gave him the

chance to meet and work with the best architects in Turkey.

He has done numerous architectural visualizations as a freelancer.

Tarik also chases a music career, as he is the drummer of the

band Manto www.myspace.com/mantoband

7

3DAD: Hi Tarik and a warm welcome to 3D Art Direct

magazine. Tell me about some of the earliest influences

that motivated you to become a digital artist, did it all

stem from your architect studies, or did you experiment

with digital art prior to this time?

TK: Hello, I'm glad to be here. Before I even started study-

ing archi-

tecture, I

knew that

CAD

(computer

-aided de-

Tarik Keskin, an architect, conceptual artist and musician from Istan-

bul, Turkey, is currently studying architecture. Besides his projects at

school, he also creates different concepts inspired by different factors, as

his passion dictates.

He has completed his internship at Emre Arolat Architects

www.emrearolat.com which was very successful and gave him the

chance to meet and work with the best architects in Turkey.

He has done numerous architectural visualizations as a freelancer.

Tarik also chases a music career, as he is the drummer of the

band Manto www.myspace.com/mantoband

Tarik Keskin Architect of Dreams

Access the FULL INTERVIEW in our

premium edition at

3DArtDirect.com/backissues

CONTINUED...

8

3DAD: We are joined this week by a wonderful 3D artist

from the U.K., DeeDee Davies. Welcome to 3D Art Di-

rect. Tell us a little about your journey to published art.

Were you a pencil or crayon doodler growing up?

DDD: I was a pencil doodler. I never really got crayons

or colour when I was younger - I had difficulty staying

inside the lines! Having said that I'm fairly sure there are

a huge pile of old drawing books in my mum's attic full

of my doodles in biro, so I suppose I was actually a 'biro

doodler'.

3DAD: You mentioned a couple of influences in your

bio. You have a relatively brief career as a Poser artist.

Since you joined the Deviant Art community, who has

been your biggest influences?

DDD: Nathie: His amazing male fantasy artwork never

fails to get the creative ideas flowing, and it's been a

real inspiration watching him go from strength to

strength over the last few years.

Nebezial (Stjepan Sejic): What this guy does with light is

absolute magic, and his images have wonderful char-

acter portrayal and tons of impact, something I strive

for in my images.

DeeDee DaviesDeeDee Davies

DeeDee Davies is a long-time

fan of fantasy and dark art. Boris

Vallejo and Chris Achilleos are a

couple of her early inspirations.

She first started creating 3D art

in 2004 when accidently stumbling across the Poser plat-

form. Davies was fascinated with game artwork and ani-

mation and Poser allowed her to try her hand at it. After a

few years in the field she has settled into Carrara Pro for

modelling, Vue Studio for landscapes and rendering, and

Poser Pro for figure posing and animation.

Her influences include vampires, cheesy 80s horror and fan-

tasy films, heavy metal and the works of Poe, Lovecraft &

their contemporaries. Davies tries to storylines into her im-

ages to make them more interesting, and to use or modify

existing items in different ways to make them unique.

She currently works on book covers with a prolific horror

publishing company. At least fifteen of her book covers are

out in print.

seedydeedee.deviantart.com

www.seedydeedee.co.uk

TRUE GRIT

9

INTERVIEW: DeeDee Davies

GILBRIDE MacBHEANN

10

3DAD: Is there any one artist you would point to as a

mentor?

DDD: I don't think I have a mentor as such, but one of the

great things about being part of an online art community

is that there are lots of people share tips with, and there's

always someone you can turn to for help and advice on

any aspect of your art.

3DAD: You seem to have a real talent for composition

with 3D art. What has been your biggest challenge as

you’ve learned the mechanics of 3D Art software plat-

forms?

DDD: One of the biggest challenges early on was using

hardware that really wasn't up to running the pro-

grammes I wanted to use, and I found it frustrating wait-

ing for scenes to respond. In terms of technical challeng-

es, I would say the most difficult aspects were getting my

head around UV mapping, and the rather esoteric art of

transferring models between one programme and an-

other. With my current setup, everything works, and works

fast, but it's taken a long time to get there!

3DAD: What is your strength as a 3D artist? Your weak-

ness?

DDD: I'd like to say that one of my strengths is making pic-

tures with impact. I like to try to get them to jump off the

screen, even in thumbnail view, but it usually takes a lot

of trial and error to get them to pop.

I think one of my weaknesses is getting a decent colour

palette in my scenes – I'd like to learn more about using

complementary colours in scenes.

3DAD: What do you think is the biggest feature missing

from the packages you use today?

DDD: I'm actually quite happy with what my packages

do at the moment. I guess some sort of built-in auto-

conform tool for Poser would make life easier.

3DAD: Let’s talk about some of your work. The Heartbeat of Stone is a wonderful piece, not only in the composi-

tion, but in the story it tells. Talk us through how this devel-

oped?

DDD: This is one that I started and forgot about, then re-

turned to months later. I wanted to tell a story that

showed one of the downsides of immortality, and it's one

of the few that fell together really quickly (once I remem-

bered about it!). I made the girl first, giving her a fairly

modern, gothy look, and then built a more historic look-

ing companion for her, imported him into Vue and

changed all his textures to stone. I then decided to add

the autumn leaves and the gravestone in the back-

ground, to emphasise the sadness and desolation the

11

INTERVIEW: DeeDee Davies

HEARTBEAT OF STONE

12

main character would be feeling. I started work on a se-

cond version of this recently, showing them in the same

positions, but alive and happy, with blossoms in the air.

3DAD: Looking at the credits for this image there are a lot

of components involved. How do you go about looking

for just the right piece that will work for your creation?

DDD: Over the years, I've collected a huge library of con-

tent, and if I don't have exactly what I need, I'll go look-

ing for it through the freebie areas of the major 3D com-

munity sites, or buy what I need. Alternatively, I might

adapt something I already have by creating new texture

maps, or playing around with it in a modelling pro-

gramme. Alternatively, I'll use something that's close, and

post-work it in Photoshop until it looks how I imagined.

3DAD: Describe your general work flow for us. Do you

have a firm idea of a final image when you get started or

does it unfold before your eyes?

DDD: Both. Whenever I get inspiration for a piece, I try to

sketch it out on paper with as much detail and notation

as possible, so that when I get around to doing it, I can

try to create something as close as possible to the origi-

nal vision. On other occasions, I just start with a base

GO GET ‘EM BOYS

13

model and play around with textures and

props until an idea starts to develop. There's

also a third workflow, where I start with a con-

crete, sketched-out idea that organically

grows into something completely different as I

go along. These are usually the best!

3DAD: Go Get ‘em Boys is an image that got a

lot of accolades from around the 3D art com-

munity. Tell us about this creation.

DDD: This one really was just a happy acci-

dent! It's one I started with a base M4 figure

and the Notorious outfit, started throwing

things into the scene and it just grew organi-

cally from there. Once I had the character set

up, the cheeky lines of his face suggested a bit

of mischief, so I posed him appropriately. I

then got the idea that he might be beckoning

to some lackeys and sending them at the

viewer, so I added some suitably grooky de-

mon figures to the scene. I went with a HDRI

light setup for this, which is one of the reasons

the character has come out of the render with

so much clear detail, and postworked it to ad-

just details such as hue, clarity, fog and eyelin-

er!

3DAD: You do a superb job giving credit where

credit is due. What strikes me about the Go Get ‘em image is your ability to take a minimal

amount of components and piece together

such a striking image. Is this something you

think about in design, making more with less?

DDD: Back when I started playing around with

3D programmes, my hardware could only

cope with a few items in the scene, so I

learned to try to get as much impact as possi-

ble from using very few items. I think it makes

you think hard about only including what's re-

ally important to the story behind the picture.

3DAD: In your gallery post for this image you

mention that you were looking to use the

“Notorious Outfit” in an image. Is this a common occur-

rence, where you see a clothing, armor, or character,

and it inspires you to create an image with it?

DDD: From time to time, an outfit or prop comes out that

really makes you sit up and take notice, and you really

want to create something special with it. 'Notorious' was

one of those outfits. I didn't really have much of a plan

when I used it in this particular piece - although it did sug-

gest the type of character that might wear it.

3DAD: The Messenger is another image that your fans

really seem to like. The bulk of your gallery is oriented to

strong male characters and the M4 base seems well suit-

ed to that style. You have a solid ability to maximize emo-

tion from your characters. How do you manage to elicit

that kind of feeling from your characters?

DDD: Trial and error! The face on this guy was actually

rendered separately in Poser, while the rest was rendered

in Vue. If I'd kept the original Vue head, I often wonder if

this would still be popular! I think there's a really fine bal-

ance to be struck between the 'gurning' and 'botoxed'

looks with 3D models. Too little emotion and your charac-

ter looks like a shop window dummy, too much and they

look crazed. I usually go for an expression that's close to

what I want, then use the Liquify tool in Photoshop to sub-

tly alter the facial structure and emphasise the expres-

sion. Used in moderation, it's great for tweaking your

characters' moods.

3DAD: You mention that this image was tough to render.

Would you expand on that?

INTERVIEW: DeeDee Davies

THE MESSENGER

14

DARK ANGEL OF FIRE

15

INTERVIEW: DeeDee Davies

AMBUSH AT THE SWAMP

16

DDD: It drove me nuts for an entire weekend. It was back

when I was using the 32 bit version of Vue 6 Esprit, and

my hardware / software configuration just couldn't cope

with what I was trying to do. I lost this file and re-created

it about 15 times, because I had a really clear vision for it,

and was desperate to render it. The file had also just giv-

en me glimpses - between crashes - that hinted that I

had a decent render in the making, and I really didn't

want to give up on it. As it turns out, the two demons I

had planned for the background probably wouldn't

have had as much impact as the ravens that I ended up

with as a compromise, so it turned out to be for the best

in the end.

3DAD: Models and accessories for female characters

seem to outnumber what’s available for male characters

by around four-to-one. Why do you think that is and does

that high ratio ever impact availability of male oriented

components for your images?

DDD: I often wonder about that, and I suspect it might be

for the same reason that most fantasy art is of women.

Men like to render women, and for some reason, appar-

ently, so do most women, so there's more call for outfits

and textures for the female characters. I don't get it my-

self – I much prefer to see pictures of men! It is frustrating

at times, but over the years, I've found programmes such

as CrossDresser, which enable you to use clothing items

created for one character and re-configure them so

they conform to others, increasing the amount of items

available. If all else fails, I just dispense with the clothing

entirely...

3DAD: One of my favourite images from your gallery is

Phoenix Risen. Between the pallet and perspective this is

a very unique creation. Break down the different compo-

nents of this image for us and give a quick step through

of pulling this image together, start to finish.

DDD: Really? As a challenge to myself, I was trying to cre-

ate a really effeminate-looking male character, some-

thing that really doesn't appeal to me, so it's one of my

least favourite images.

I set up M3 in Poser with the appropriate morphs to give

him that girly 'bishie' look, and dressed him in a skirt and

some floaty scarves. I found some other clothing props

which I wanted to use which weren't built for M3, so I

changed them in CrossDresser and added them in.

I then set up a scene in Vue, with the pink and gold light

and clouds, imported the figure, lit him to match the

background, and test rendered it.

I adjusted the materials so they looked good in the Vue

render and rendered it out at full quality.

I then moved into Photoshop, painted most of the hair,

corrected any parts where the skin was poking through

the clothes, or where the body looked odd, tweaked the

PHOENIX RISEN

PEACEKEEPER

17

INTERVIEW: DeeDee Davies

facial features with the Liquify tool, and

finally adjusted the contrast, brightness,

hue and saturation.

I came up with the story once the picture

was done, and ended up using a flame

brush to add the flames into the hair to fit

the character.

3DAD: You seem to do a fair amount of

commission work. One of those images is

a brilliant piece called, Gilbride Mac-Bheann. When you’re approached to do

commission work, how do you develop

those characters? Is it typically a very

collaborative effort with a lot of back

and forth between you and your clients,

or do you generally just create and deliv-

er?

DDD: It's very collaborative, generally. I

use Boxnet to upload images, then share

the folder with the commissioner. They

can then add comments, which is more

useful than email, because you can just

go back and view your discussions all

together in situ against the picture, without having to

trawl through your inbox. I usually ask if they want to fill in

a form before we start, which asks for the sorts of details I

need, such as build, hair/ eye colour, clothing, personali-

ty etc, but often, people already have biographies or

detailed descriptions of the characters they want visual-

ised. I generally show a work in progress to the commis-

sioner once I'm getting to the stage where I'm almost

ready to do the final render. Once that's done, and post-

work in Photoshop is started, it's harder to go back and

change core details, so I like to get as much feedback

as possible before I get to that stage. It works really well,

and I think people feel like they really have an input into

the finished version. Other work, such as the book covers,

is done to spec, and handed over only as a finished

piece.

3DAD: How much and what kind of Photoshop post-work

are you generally having to put into your images.

DDD: Not as much as I used to! I use it primarily now for

adjustments to brightness and contrast, hue and satura-

tion, and occasionally to fake depth of field. Sometimes I

use Photoshop (and on occasion, Painter) to try to get

away from the realism that's so prevalent in 3D imagery

at the moment. I originally wanted to use the 3D medium

as a means to an end, which was as part of a workflow

to create artwork that followed the styles of the fantasy

artists I loved as a kid. It's easy to get sidetracked though,

when the trend at the moment is to try to get as close to

realism as possible.

3DAD: You are getting to do a lot of book covers at Li-brary of the Living Dead Press. How did that opportunity

come about?

DDD: Through an author I met on DeviantArt. I did a book

cover for him a few years back and he later mentioned

to me that the Library of the Living Dead Press were look-

ing for cover artists. So I got in touch and two years and

many covers later, here we are!

3DAD: Let’s talk about a couple of those covers –

Through the Eyes of the Undead and Anti-heroes. The first

one is pretty spooky. How did you come up with this

look?

DDD: It was a combination of a few different textures for

an old 3D model (either M2 or the original Michael char-

acter). The textures are great anyway, but it's only since I

started rendering them using HDRI lighting that I realised

how amazing they could look. I also overlaid another

render of a skull so it looked like some of the bone was

poking through the flesh. The cover spec was for a

A PRISON WITH NO WALLS

18

closeup of a zombie head with eyes reflecting a ruined

city.

3DAD: And the Anti-Heroes? How did that you come up

with that?

DDD: I was actually working to quite a detailed spec for

this one. I had a really good description of both charac-

ters for the front cover, and went for something I hoped

might look graphic novel-ish. The tentacles on the De-

stroyer of Worlds were a bit of a challenge. I seem to re-

member for this one I imported several 3D octopuses and

placed them inside the figure to try to get the required

tentacles growing out of his skin!

3DAD: Where are you finding your most artistic satisfac-

tion these days?

DDD: The same place as I have for the last few years - in

the combination of Poser, Vue and Photoshop in my

workflow. Having said that, the part I like best is the post-

work - that's when the picture really starts to come alive.

Oddly enough, I find I can't work to music when I'm cre-

ating a character, setting up lights or render settings, or

doing anything that takes concentration, but as soon as

I'm into Photoshop, the music goes on and the exciting,

more artistic part of the creative process gets underway.

That part is really fun and fulfilling.

3DAD: Where do you see your art being in five years?

DDD: Hopefully still going! I'd like to continue with the

book covers - it's a fantastic feeling knowing that your

artwork is out there in print and helping to sell stories and

novels for authors. I'd quite like to diverge into CD covers,

probably for metal bands, but I think I've got a way to go

yet.

3DAD: Day in and day out, what are your biggest ongo-

ing challenges? Keeping up with technology? Market-

ing? Motivation?

DDD: Trying to balance art with my day job! I think it's re-

ally important to have a balance between those things

you have to do, and those things you love doing, but it's

tough sometimes when there are only 24 hours in a day.

As for technology, the main 3D software packages I use

are releasing full new versions annually (more frequently

in some cases), and I've decided to stop upgrading my

software for the foreseeable, at least until some feature

comes along that might mean a massive improvement

to my workflow or the quality of my images.

NIGHT OF A THOUSAND FIRES

19

3DAD: What hardware platform are you working with?

DDD: A 6-core 3.3Ghz AMD with 8GB 1600Mhz RAM and

an Nvidia GTX550 Ti. I wanted a 6-core i7 but didn't have

the extra £800 at the time!

3DAD: To wrap things up, what three tips would you have

for anybody just starting out in 3D digital art?

DDD: 1. Play with the free versions first: Most of the com-

monly available 3D hobbyist packages have free or trial

versions, and it's really worth playing around with a

bunch of them so you can find one that suits you before

you commit to buy.

2. Be innovative and individual: Use what's out there to

create something unique. Everyone has access to the

same finite list of products (unless you model your own).

Bend them to your suit your imagination, and don't let

them dictate what you create.

3. Take your time: When you're finished and ready to

share your images with the world, go away and take a

break. When you come back, you may find something

you've missed, or decide it would look better if you com-

pletely changed certain elements - never be afraid to do

that. You've got all the time in the world.

INTERVIEW: DeeDee Davies

THOR

20

STOLEN MOMENT

CALM BEFORE THE STORM ARAYA LIGHTBRINGER

21

INTERVIEW: DeeDee Davies

THE ROOK

22

Neil Thacker (Grafikeer at Renderosity) is a self-taught artist

working both in the 2D realm of traditional painting

(watercolours, acrylics and ink) and the 3D realm of digital

painting and CGI(mainly Bryce and Photoshop). His pre-

ferred genres are Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Landscape. Additional-

ly he spends time doing logo design and conceptual art.

Neil was raised in Rushden, Northamptonshire, England and

was a huge fan of television programs such as The Thunder-

birds, Captain Scarlet, Dr. Who, and like programming. He

emigrated to Alberta, Canada, and was immediately taken

by the beauty of the Rockies and the diversity of wildlife. He

spent many years studying animals and painting realistic wild-

life scenes in watercolour.

He has returned to his Sci-Fi roots and using the knowledge of

creature anatomy and habits, colour sense and composition-

al skills, has begun to develop a diverse gallery of 3D art.

Neil is a shop manager/master framer in Kelowna, BC, Cana-

da. Working with artists day in and day out has opened a

floodgate of inspiration for this marvelous craftsman.

Grafikeer Gallery at Renderosity

NeilNeilNeil ThackerThackerThacker

“Study the ones that came before—the

Masters, the illustrators of books and

magazines. Understand what made

them successful, their techniques, and

even their life stories. “ — Grafikeer

23

3DAD: We are joined this week by 3D artist Neil Thacker,

from the beautiful British Columbia, Canada, city of Ke-

lowna a post card picturesque town on Lake Okanagan.

Welcome to 3D Art Direct.

NT: Thanks, I am honored to be here!

3DAD: You are a British national who migrated to western

Canada. When did that happen and what was that like

for you?

NT: September 1972. It was exciting and somewhat scary

at the same time. I left all my friends I grew up with, as

well as all my relatives, and came to a new country with

only my immediate family. I was faced with little under-

standing of the school system, the culture and all that

comes with it.

3DAD: Having traveled a bit in that part of the country I

know the beauty you are treated to on a regular basis.

What kind of inspiration do you gather from your sur-

roundings?

NT: The landscape inspires both my traditional art, as well

as my 3D work. The lake, the mountains, the forests and

wildlife are the starting point for many of my images.

3DAD: One thing you mention is how much you enjoy

working with other artists in your day-job. Before we get

to your artwork, tell us how you got into the framing busi-

ness and how that has influenced your art journey.

NT: Quite simply, I wanted to understand what was being

done with my artwork once it was in the frame shop. Was

it being properly preserved through the matting and

framing process? Was there something I should be asking

for when leaving my work for framing that would ensure

that it was being framed properly? Just what was in-

volved in the framing process anyway? These questions

led me to apply for a job at a local gallery, and I soon

discovered that it is an art form in its own right. I have

been in the business ever since, which is now almost 30

years. The broad spectrum of art I have framed, as well

as the prints and original art we have carried over the

years, have given me a wide influence of styles and ide-

as to draw upon in my own works.

3DAD: Your foundation is in traditional art using watercol-

ors, acrylics and ink. Describe your transition from there

to the computer world and the shift from 2D to 3D.

NT: Slow, very slow! To make the jump to computer art

required some understanding of how the computer

worked, and more of the use of the analytical side of my

brain. . . not an easy thing for me since I was used to cre-

ating everything by hand on paper or canvas. Once I

got the grasp of the tools at my disposal, I soon found

that my knowledge of composition, colour theory and

story-telling served me well as I created my 3D worlds.

3DAD: You started using Bryce. What was the biggest

challenge for you as you made the move from 2D to 3D?

NT: Understanding that I should save as I went, in case

the program crashed (which, unfortunately Bryce does

on many occasions), and just how I had to tweak the

various elements within Bryce to get close to what was in

my mind's eye. Bryce is a very intuitive, user-friendly pro-

gram for artists, and the transition from 2D to 3D was

somewhat easier than if I had started in a more involved

program.

3DAD: Do you find the learning curve for 3D software to

be troublesome for artists trying to break in?

NT: Somewhat, I guess it really depends on the individual

artist really. I am very impatient when it comes to creat-

ing an image. On paper I can start roughing out an idea

and work it up relatively fast. With a computer program,

you first have to learn the program itself and its capabili-

ties, which can slow the creative process and lead to

some frustration at the beginning.

3DAD: Around the middle part of last year (2011) you

started working more with e-on Vue and have been us-

ing it more and more ever since. Was there a specific

issue that pushed you that direction and how has your

work improved as a result?

NT: I think it was the limitations of Bryce itself as well as

seeing what other artists such as Artur Rosa and Jacob

Charles Dietz were creating with Vue that led me to try it

for myself. Bryce is limited in its sky and cloud areas as far

as realism and flexibility, and its light options, while cer-

tainly improved with version 7, are no match for Vue. I

INTERVIEW: Neil Thacker

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CONTINUED...

24

3DAD: How did Sixus1 Media start? Was your strong focus

on character models always the case?

LG: While I had personally been involved in 3D art since

around 1994, having started out with 3DS DOS, Raydream

and Infini-D at a company I worked for at the time,

through the late 90's I moved through a number of man-

agerial/art director positions. All of the companies I

worked with during that period, however, were far more

dedicated to web development and the rather vague

"new media" of the day, with none of them having any

real vision for 3D art, animation and their applications.

Eventually, the dot-com bust of 11999/2000 lead to a situ-

ation where I was unemployed with little to no real pro-

spects. Since I was already extremely frustrated at trying

to get any of the media companies I had worked for to

embrace 3D art and content as a viable revenue model,

my wife and I decided to take the big gamble of selling

off what film and video equipment we had at the time in

order to have enough money to float for a couple of

months as we got our website and first content offerings

off the ground. That was really back at the very begin-

ning of the whole Poser content market, was, in retro-

Les Garner and his wife run

Sixus 1 Media and has been in-

volved in 3D digital arts since

1994. His passionate approach to

model production is related to pre-

viously being a comic book illustra-

tor and airbrush artist. We uncover

some of the history behind Sixus 1

and find out some sources of Les

Garner’s inspirations.

Sixus 1 Media provides the services

of 3D modeling, texturing, rigging

& animation, illustration, airbrush-

ing, traditional painting and music

composition.

“Prior to getting into digital art

and 3d, I was a comic book

illustrator and airbrush artist,

both of which I kept doing

freelance through the years, so

the character aspect of what we

do was always the major artistic

focus“

25

Space Port 2001

spect, a completely insane chance to have taken, but

was something that I just believed in to a ridiculous de-

gree. Almost twelve years later, we're still at it, having

turned out quite probably more original figures/

characters than anyone else in the business. Prior to get-

ting into digital art and 3d, I was a comic book illustrator

and airbrush artist, both of which I kept doing freelance

through the years, so the character aspect of what we

do was always the major artistic focus. As the content

market grew, it became very clear to me that while there

were plenty of people out there producing clothing and

textures for a couple of specific models, keeping our fo-

cus on original figures and designs was not only artistical-

ly satisfying, but set us apart dramatically from the bulk of

the field.

3DAD: Would you tell us about your workflow? What pro-

grams do use to model your creations?

LG: In the early days, I was a devoted Max user, however

once Maya came down to a price point where I go

there, I never looked back. In time, Zbrush was intro-

duced and at the point where it's polygon modeling and

texturing matured into version 2 of the program, it be-

came an invaluable staple for me. These days, ZBrush is

absolutely the main tool in my workflow. Maya is still really

important, but nowhere near as much as ZBrush. Now I

mostly use Maya for rigging and a few special little tricks

and techniques that Zbrush hasn't quite adopted yet, but

give it time.

3DAD: What are two of your personal favourite products

and why?

LG: If you're referring to products from our catalogue, I

would say my favourites would be the Orkz and the new

Humanz, which aren't out yet. They're both part of the

Fantasy Racez family of products which are all really im-

portant to me as it has been my attempt to really pro-

vide everything needed to populate a detailed fantasy

world. The Orkz are always high on my list just because I

am really pleased with the design and think it sort of

bridges some big gaps between the Tolkienesque and

more over the top, modern fantasy styles. The Humanz

female in particular is one that I will be excited to see out

and about. In my opinion, she's just a beautiful female

form with a very attractive,

believable face and pro-

portions that

are very

conducive

to a kind of

Frazetta/

Bizley/Brom

“I've always been into horror

novels, comics and movies, with

H.P. Lovecraft really being the

originator of so many concepts

in the stuff that I like the most.

Lovecraft, even before Tolkien,

was such a visionary writer

with a ridiculously complete,

well thought out mythology to

his work.“

Sixus 1 Media 3D Model Zone

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CONTINUED...

26 3D Art Direct : Be Inspired By Digital Art Issue#16

Intergalactic Meeting by Tarik Keskin