Character Modeling from Ballistic Publishing

d'artiste—Digital Artists Master Class: Character Modeling,
ISBN 1-921002-11-5
Reviewed Published May 2006
Published by: Ballistic Publishing
MSRP: US$55.00 (soft cover slipcase edition), US$145.00 (limited edition)$69.95

For many fans of computer graphics (CG), the most enjoyable part of any CG art is seeing just how realistic a character the artist can create. Part of the enjoyment is being able to turn to friends and share the thrill of being entertained by the artifical reality. Part of the enjoyment is the appreciation of the talent and experience needed to create great CG. For anyone working in the world of CG art, achieving this level of reality is one of the hardest things to do.

Movies such as Final Fantasy, The Lord of the Rings and the latest crop of Star Wars movies have displayed a level of hyper-realism which has left many of us truly gobsmacked. I remember sitting in a theatre in Toronto watching Final Fantasy in digital and smiling to myself with a real respect for what this movie represented. It was a whole new level of sophistication in the creation of artificial characters and imagery.

Character Modeling is an impressive book. Like others in Ballistic Publishing's d'artiste Series it features the work of three artists who work in the industry. The book features Francisco A. Cortina, Steven Stahlberg and Pascal Blanché. These artists have created some amazing work over their careers and some of the renderings in this volume make you just sit back in awe of their ability to create realistic characters.

Each artist showcases his work in a gallery featuring some of the best pieces. Like the other titles in the d'artiste series the artist then presents a tutorial in which he very effectively demonstrates some of his working methods along with some insights into how to make your work more believable. Another gallery follows, showcasing the works of invited artists.

Francisco A. Cortina who is the first artist featured and is famous for his work on the movies Aeon Flux, the landmark Final Fantasy—The Spirits Within, and on The Final Flight of the Osiris in the Animatrix Movie. His gallery and tutorials showcase some of the better images in this book. I also thoroughly enjoyed the work showcased in his guest artists gallery, in particular the Knight of the Temple (which had an amazingly gritty quality), and one of an Asian child eating a tomato.

Steven Stalhberg is the second featured artist and although his work is far better than what I can create with the tools he uses, I found his characters looked a little too similar. All his females have a sameness to them which to a certain extent takes away from my appreciation of what he does as an artist. However his tutorial, Telling a story: One Last Time, is excellent. As with the earlier guest gallery, his featured artists are incredibly talented. The digital model of Monica Bellucci and the girl in Track Day are excellent examples indeed.

The final featured artist is Pascal Blanche who specializes in creating quasi-human and non-human beings that have an almost cartoonish but uncanny realistic quality. All his pieces have a unique powdery/dusty feel which adds a feeling of authenticity to his renderings. I'm a fan of his work. Blanche's tutorials cover the creation of some of his more unusual looking creatures and his selections for his guest gallery also reflect his unusual world view.

Cons: As I stated in my earlier review of d'artiste: Matte Painting, I felt it would have been good to see a few hands-on tutorials with a CD containing the associated files.

Pros: Well presented with excellent production values. The artists presented in this book are all top notch. d'artiste: Character Modeling is aimed at the artist who is interested in the art of creating realistic and believable characters. The titles in the d'artiste series are examples of how to produce books for the professional artist and collector of digital art. Ballistic Publishing has consistently produced books which hit the mark and set the standard for showing the state of the art in digital craftsmanship. If you are an artist who wants to learn about your craft, a fan of digital character creation, or just want to look at some amazing renderings of people, scenes and characters, both human and not so human, then this book is a must-have.
Highly recommended.
This review has been reproduced in its entirety from Kickstartnews.com
Character Modelling and other excellent books can be purchased at the Ballistic Publishing Website.

Jason Chan - Digital Dreamer

Jason Chan is an artist whose work I came a cross a while back, but a recent feature [May 2006] in UK Magazine ImagineFX brought him back to my attention. His digital paintings of angels, gothic babes and fantasy characters are stunning to say the least. His work history is like a who's who of Fantasy Gaming, RPG and book publishing companies. Born in Stockton, California in 1983, he is a young artist but don't let that fool you. His work shows his talents are to be taken seriously. Visit his website Jason Chan Art for a look at his excellent work.

EXPOSÉ 4 Released

Ballistic Publishing have announced the release of EXPOSÉ 4, the latest annual publication of the world's best digital art. If EXPOSÉ 4 is anything like its predecessors, then it is a must have for your digital art library. EXPOSÉ 4 is published in 3 editions; A Limited Edition Version with 16 extra pages, 12 Art Prints and a deluxe leather and gold foil binding, and also in hardcover and softcover versions. For more information about EXPOSÉ 4 visit Ballistic Publishing.

The Art of Adi Granov

Adi Granov is a comic book artist and digital artist who grew up in bosnia duru=ing the war years spent a couple of years in croatia and now lives in the UK. His work adorns the covers of Marvels' Current Iron Man Series. Marvel comics named him as one of their "Young Guns" in August 2005. The Young Guns are a group of artists who Marvel believe have the qualities that make a leading light in the world of comic art. He worked with comic book writer Warren Ellis on the post-Avengers Disassembled relaunch of Iron Man. His work has a highly polished quality to it and reflects this young artists talent at illustrating. The Art of Adi Granov is well worth a visit.

Bud Plant - Books, Art and Comics

For a number of years now, I've been a collector of Comics, Art and Photography Books. One of my favorite sources for books has been Bud Plant, who are a specialist store based out of Grass Valley, CA. Bud Plant is also a collector who began in the early 1960's by collecting comic books. He set up the Bud Plant Store in 1970 and expanded the variety of products to include art books, graphic novels, comic strip collections, comics, books on illustrators from the past and present, popular culture, erotic art and photography, and countless other products. They specialize in rare and out of print books as well as limited and specialist items. If you are looking for something not generally found at amazon then give them a try. Visit Bud Plant here.

Ashley Arrasmith

Ashley is an artist who work has an interesting dreamy and yet textural quality to it. Her work has a very strong graphical nature which reminds me of the works of Erte, Aubrey Beardsley and more recently Christopher Shy. Although a talented artist in the traditional sense she largely uses digital tools for her creations. Ashley lists amongst her influences Art Nouveau, the works of Gustav Klimt, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Harry Clarke and Aubrey Beardsley whom I mentioned above. I highly recommend you pay a visit to her website,

Messs Creative Concepts

After my recent look at Imaginary Friends, I remembered that there was another studio worthy of mention. Messs Creative Concepts, showcases the work of several extremely talented 2D and 3D artists. My only criticism about their site is that they don't do themselves any justice by failing to tell their own story ... Excellent Art though. I've been following their work at the Concept Art Community Forums for a few years now and I'm still impressed by what they produce. Visit them at Mess Creative, it'll be time well spent.

Craig Mullins - Artist and Visionary.

I've been toying the last few days over who I'm going to feature and decided on an extraordinary visioneer. Craig Mullins is a production artist who is also a brilliant and talented Fine Artist. His works have influenced the look of some of the most exciting games and movies seen in the last decade or so ... He's worked on movies like Final Fantasy, the Matrix Revolutions and Armageddon and on games like Need for Speed Underground and Halo. His work is awesome to look at and his digital sketches and concepts have an amazing sense of life to them ... his natural media based style is cool to say the least. also worth looking at is his fine art plenty of which can be found at his website Goodbrush.com, drop by today you'll enjoy the time you spend at his site.

Studio Ronin

Christopher Shy is another Illustrator whose work I enjoy. His work features a very organic and luminous style which is quite beautiful to look at and yet a little disturbing at the same time. He cut his teeth as an illustrator working for many of the leading gaming and fantasy book companies producing illustration of vampires, cyber warriors, seductresses and winged beings. In 1994 he approached a group of artists to form a new Studio ... "A Studio that would take no money, or be of any specific art style or movement. Rather it would adhere to the Philosophy of The Ronin, in the sense that it would move free from constraints, and be masterless in its form and function. Each artist would be free to do what he or she chose, but together the Studio would lay down its first group ideals."

"Studio Ronin was created to Promote the work of the artists
Studio Ronin was created to Protect the work of the artists
Studio Ronin was created to Produce Payment for the artists"

The artists at Studio Ronin include: Christopher Shy, Leanne Buckley, Thom Miecznikowski, Mike Cosner, Steven Perkins, Josh Sutton, Niko Rantalainen, Erich Randall Buttstadt, Kirk Shy, Nick Stakal, Cam De Leon and Anthony Lepiouffle.

Visit Studio Ronin for some excellent artwork.

Imaginary Friends Studios

I actually only came across this studio today and I was so impressed with the work which I found there that I felt I had to post a review. Imaginary Friends Studios (IFS) was formed in 2005 by Stanley Lau, Edmund T. Shern, Kendrick Lim and Ri Kai. IFS has as it goals the task of bringing together Asian and international audiences by creating entertainment properties and art which appeal to both.

In their own words; "Despite a modest 1,600 square foot artist studio in Singapore , IFS has gathered a team of rising talents all over Asia and beyond to bring its creations to life. By bringing together artists and writers who have grown up on both Asian and western influences, IFS hopes to deliver entertainment that will transcend international boundaries yet remain genuine to its influences. IFS won't conquer the world, but we hope you'll at least enjoy the ride with us."
I spent several hours perusing the gallery which features the work of 9 of the 20 artists that they currently work with. They provide serices like the creation of comics and graphic novels, 2D and 3D CG Art, Book and Game illustration, and creating conceptual art for games, animation and films. Take the time to visit their site, you wont regret it.

Best Ads Ever

Whilst surfing the internet I came across this blog which posts Adverts on a frequent basis ... Advertising in general is pretty banal but occasionally ads come along which raise an eyebrow or make you stop ... many of the Ads featured in this site are worth a look at ... I got quite a few chuckles out of this one. Whilst it would not be an Art site in most peoples minds, creating advertising like this is an art in itself. Visit Best Ads Ever and enjoy...

depthCORE collective

depthCORE is an international art collective which is focused on the creation of modern and abstract art. The collections incorporating design, photography, animation and audio are produced using a combination of digital and analogue media and tools. The collective was established by Justin Maller and Kevin Stacey in 2002, and comprises of artists from all around the world. depthcore was etablish to showcase art which pushes boundaries. In their words "we aim to bring something unique and innovative with every release we put forth, as we illustrate, orchestrate and visually represent the thoughts, hopes and dreams of all corners of the globe." I only recently came across this collective by chance as a result of following a link from one of the artists I was checking out on DeviantART. Visit depthCORE today and get inspired.

Stephan Martiniere

Stephan Martiniere is an illustrator and creative who has contributed to many of the leading projects in the world of film and gaming. He has contributed to projects like Star Wars: Episodes II & III and as an Art Director for the games URU and MYST 5. His work on book covers have won him many awards and he has the knack of being able to capture fantastic landscapes and futuristic vistas. This knack has served his various clients well, if you enjoy well rendered science fiction imagery then visit martiniere.com for some excellent examples.

Artmagick.com

ArtMagick is an online gallery which in their own words is "dedicated to the continual quest of seeking out obscure 19th century artists and long-forgotten paintings showing a "magic world of romance and pictured poetry"." Much of the art featured is from the Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist movements it also links strongly to Art and crafts from the Vienna Secession. It is a wealth of links and sources for art from this time which happens to be one of my favourites. Visit Artmagick for some excellent info.

Ashley Wood

Another of my favourite artists is Ashley Wood, who is well know for his work on titles like Spawn, Popbot, Lore and Automatic Kafka. His work hints at nightmares and dreams, mixes mechanisms with sexual imagery and looks more like fine art than what most comics fans would associate with conventional sequential art. As an illustrator for over 15 years he has enjoyed working on projects for a diverse range of clients, including Dreamworks, Warner Bros, Sony, Konami, LucasArts/LucasFilm, Microsoft, Vivendi International, Random House, Marvel Comics and Todd McFarlane Productions. He is a three-time Spectrum Award winner and a two-time Communication Arts award winner. Visit Ashleys world at his website ashleywoodartist.com and his blog ashleybambaland.

conceptart.org

Conceptart.org is a web community of artists who collaborate and share idea, images, work and experience. It is a place for education and a webportal where you can meet like minded peoples.
Conceptart provides a venue where you can showcase your works and get feedback from like minded individuals. It is also frequented by industry professionals and by corporate sponsors based in the world of digital creativity. In their own words: "We have lofty goals. We want a place which we can all learn and share our works. We want to improve the quality of art education on the internet. We do not believe that the information about art should be only for those who can afford the expensive private schools. We want to help those with talent, regardless of income. We want to even be able to offer scholarships to a select few with need and talent. The latter is one of our biggest goals and we are currently seeking corporate sponsorships in order to make this happen. It will happen."

The site is frequented by individuals who work with companies like: LucasFilm, ILM, Tippett Studios, Massive Black Inc, Nintendo, Acclaim, Escape, Vivendi-Universal, Ubisoft, Blur, id, Flagship Studios, Blizzard Entertainment, Activision, and many more. I vist them regularly to catch up on what several of my favourite artists are getting up to. Join the community and visit them today at Conceptart.org.

OPI8.COM - The New Dark Culture

If your artistic tastes tend to the darker side of human nature then OPi8.com just might be your cup of tea. This is a site which focuses on the promotion of artists, writers and other creatives whose work expresses the darker extremes. OPi8.com was founded by photographer & illustrator, Chad Michael Ward and came about largely due to motivation from a friend of Chad's Warren Ellis who is a famous writer of excellent Graphic Novels and Comics. Chad's experience with the now defunct Reactor Magazine, which was an excellent webzine, led him to desire a more personal conduit. Visit OPI8.com you might find it a little disturbing.

Michael Kaluta

Michael William Kaluta is another one of my early artistic inspirations. His career as an illustrator has spanned over 4 decades. He first became famous for his work on The Shadow comic book in the early 1970's. His fantasy art prints were what attracted me, as well as his association with other "The Studio" members, Jones, Wrightson, Windsor-Smith. His more recent works include producing some beautiful covers for many of DC's Vertigo Imprint such as The Books of Magic and fantasy related titles. His love of Art Nouveau and Deco Art is evident in his works as is his penchance for fairies, angels and other denizens of the world of myths, legends and fantasy. His eye for interesting composition and design is second to none. Take a trip into Kalutas World.

Hellboy Dot Com

This website is a great resource for all things Hellboy ... as an official conduit it carries the latest info and news. It also has some great art and an excellent forum on upcoming projects and features some excellent fan art. Visit Hellboy.com today

Stenkat - Design/Illustrator

Stenkat is a designer/illustrator/photographer whose portfolio features some great art and designs. His work features graffitiesque illustrations, design and graphics a few nice photos. The sites design is also cool with much use of flash and multimedia.