“Dragonslayer”: Part One

No Better Place To Start Than At The Beginning.

It always starts out the same way.

I’m asked, “How do you create your artwork Sam?” and my usual response is: “SURE! I’d love to tell you! I do everything digitally with my computer!” I go on and on and on about polygons, wireframe topology and texture mapping and then I see the eyes glaze over (just like the hypnotized deer I see everyday on Rt. 70). The typical follow up question to my lengthy discussion of 3 dimensional space goes a little something like this:

“So tell me Sam, just exactly how do you do your artwork again?“.

I finally decided that this blog would be an excellent opportunity for me to visually communicate my workflow. What better way to kick things off, than a topical discussion of my “workshop” and “power tools”. For the sake of brevity, I’ll be specifically dealing with hardware only in this article. (Software is saved for the next installment, sorry folks.)

On that note my kiddies, welcome to The Caboose’s first “How To” article and I look forward to sharing my workflow!!! This article is the first in a series and will chronicle the process of how I do my ‘thang’ as a 3d illustrator. My illustration, “Dragonslayer”, will be the focus throughout the series and I will cover everything from concept to final render.

Now, let’s move on to what’s really important today… THE TOYS!!!! ENJOY!

THE HARDWARE: Tools of the Trade
Computers
  

• (top) MacBook Pro 17″ 2.66GHz Core2Duo, 8gb RAM, 500gb Hard drive
• (middle) Gateway 15″ laptop, Quadcore i5, 8gb RAM, 500gb Hard drive
• (bottom) 24″ iMac G5, 2Gb RAM, 500gb hard drive

Displays

• 24″ Apple Cinema Display
• Built in 17″ and 15″ inch displays on laptops

Peripheral Input

• 9×12 Wacom Intuos 3 pen tablet (I still have no idea how I managed to function without this essential peripheral for so many years. I shudder at the thought!)

Storage

• 2 RAID systems (the black boxes to the right), striped for performance as well as storage.
• 5 External drives for back-up goodiness.
• Total storage capacity weighs in at approximately 3 Terabytes.

Camera and Reference

I love photography! More importantly, I love to shoot my own reference material for the texture and model designs in my work. The internet is a great resource, but I believe it is critical for artists to shoot their own material. This helps build a personal reference library, sharpens the artistic eye and keeps your @** out of the copyright quagmire 🙂

• Canon EOS 40D
• 50mm Tamron Lens
• 300mm Tamron Lens with Macro
• Wireless Shutter Release

Scanning
For all of my reflective and transparent media.
• Epson Perfection 4490 Scanner

Printing
• Epson Stylus Photo R2880, for color proofing and high resolution color prints.
• HP Laserjet 1020, great little workhorse I use for all of my black and white documents.

Sketching
A timeless and indispensable tool for any artist. This is how worlds are born.
• No. 2  pencil, Ultra Fine Point Sharpie, piece of paper

Oh, I Almost Forgot! Bring Some Friends Along For The Ride!!!

 

My personal requisites for each piece I undertake: 1 Dinosaur Egg (hoping the thing hatches as I watch it closely during those long render cycles 🙂 ), 1 Choo Choo train ( courtesy of my wonderful baby sister), an assortment of Bobbleheads and the seminal monster movie icon, Mr. Dragon Breath himself-Godzilla!!!! (Gojira for the purists)

There you have it. All of the ingredients necessary to launch the next illustration into the heavens. However, in order for this puppy to blast off into greatness we need a little rocket fuel-the software. See you next time as we take an in-depth look at all of the different applications I use to complete a project. Peace. Love. And all of the warm and fuzzy stuff in between!