Eohippus

A pair of small furry creatures forages in a primeval woodland on the pebble strewn shore of a forest pond. Leafy plants carpet the ground between the trunks of thick trees while mists drift through the air. One of the creatures, a darker coated one, grazes on the forest plants. Its lighter furred companion, however, seems to have been alerted by some sound in the woods.

These are Eohippus, or "dawn horse", the earliest known ancestor of the modern horse after the extinction event that ended the reign of the dinosaurs. Sometimes they are also called hyracotherium, but that name seems to apply to a different genus now. They were the size of a medium dog and was found in North America.

For this artwork, I had a request for an unspecified Equis. I decided to go with the earliest version I could find. Via, Daz Studio, I used a eurohippus model by Dinoraul that I thought looked more like eohippus and added fur using LookAtMyHair then constructed the rest of the scene in Vue. Post production was done in Gimp and color enhanced using Photomatix.

A disclaimer about my paleoart:

When it comes to paleoart, the images I create favor 'art' more than 'paleo'. While I try my best to depict animals as accurately as possible, I'm make no claim that they 100% scientifically accurate. The same goes for the environment I depict them in. I am primarily interested in creating aesthetically pleasing images and paintings. Scientific accuracy comes second behind artistic expression.

Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge

Pandas in a Bamboo Forest

A pair of panda bears stand in a forest of thick bamboo stalks. One of the pandas searches the ground among a thick carpet of green leaves, while the other looks right at the viewer. A fog drifts through the forest obscuring the distance.

Perhaps one of the most requested animals I get for art is the panda. For this one I created a sort of stylized bamboo with darks and lights echoing the patterns of the pandas' fur.

Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge

Reading About Dragons

It's a warm summer day. A woman sits against a tree reading a thick novel. She is flanked by two small dragons, one green, the other blue. Perhaps the dragons are real or just creatures of her imagination that have leapt from the pages of the book.

The sun shines down brightly upon the trio. They lounge in the shade of a moss covered tree in long grass full of white wildflowers. Puffy white clouds drift lazily in the sky over the gentle tree covered hills in the distance.

The woman has long brown hair woven into braids. She is barefoot but wears a red patterned dress and a white shirt. She looks down intently at the heavy book cradled in her hands. Near her legs the little green dragon looks off into the distance. Meanwhile, the blue dragon lays down in the grass on the other side of her.

School has just recently gotten out here in North Georgia, and I was reminded of when I was young and had summers off. This was the time of year that I would finally have time to tackle the pile up the novels that I had built up over the school year. I've always been partial to sci fi, horror, and fantasy stories. Fantasy, in particular, was the genre of fiction that I read most during the summers. So I guess being reminded of summer reading inspired this particular image. I rather liked the way it turned out. I am particularly partial the tree trunk in this one.

Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge

Howling Wolf

Somewhere in the wilderness of North America, a grey wolf howls in front of a full moon..

My latest wildlife themed artwork.

Thanks for looking,
Daniel

Teepee

An Indian teepee (also spelled tipi and tepee) is pitched near the mountians in the American Wild West. It sits on a hill covered in long golden grass and overlooks a valley full of evergreen trees. A layer of morning fog still clings to the valley floor. Dominating the horizon is a massive snow covered peak under a clear blue sky. This is no ordinary mountain though. It is a dormant volcano with a clearly visible crater. Smoke drifts out of the teepee's top as someone inside cooks breakfast and tries to stay warm.

This is another entry in my Native American series of western themed art. For this one I really wanted to focus on the volcano, but, I felt it needed some evidence of humanity in the foreground. As someone who goes camping quite often, I know the value of a campsite with a great view, I decided to pitch a tent in this scene.

This artwork was created digitally using CGI techniques using the computer application Vue as well as more traditional painting techniques in software called GIMP.

Thanks for looking,
Daniel

Hawk Warrior

An American Indian warrior stands upon a rocky cliff side. On his arm sits his best friend, a red-tailed hawk. The man wears dark brown and red war paint on his face, arms, and bare chest and carries as tomahawk. Both he and the hawk look across the forested valley dominated by an ominous, jagged, snow peaked mountain.

To many Native Americans, hawks are a powerful spiritual symbol, though, the meaning does vary from tribe to tribe. To some, they offer protection from evil spirits and represent the elements of storms, to others the represent speed, dedication, and good vision. The feathers of a Red Tailed hawk are often considered sacred and are used in ceremonies much like eagle feathers. Possession of such feathers is subject to the Eagle Feather law.

This digital artwork was created using CGI techniques as well as some more traditional painting techniques.

Tools used: Poser, Vue, GIMP, Photomatix

Afraid of the Dark

Prints as low as $27

A blindfolded, dark haired woman in a nightgown clutches a teddy bear. Behind her is a foggy forest at night time.

I went for a more stylized look to this one to suggest that this is a more of dream or nightmare rather than reality, that is, a bit more of a psychological work. Sometimes I see part of an older artowrk of mine that would work on it's own. This image actually comes from a horror illustration I did called "Bad Influence" (http://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-bad-influence-daniel-eskridge.html)

Incidentally, there are several names for fear of the dark: achluophobia, nyctophobia, lygophobia, and scotophobia.

Tools used: Poser, Vue, GIMP, Photomatix

Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge

Coelophysis

A Ceolophysis hunts in a dense forest. Near a rocky stream he hopes to find some prey that has emerged from the primeval jungle. A few rays of sunlight manage to breach the canopy and shine down on the fern covered forest floor.

Ceolophysis was one of the earliest dinosaurs. It lived during the Triassic 200 million years ago. It couldhave been the ancestor of the great Cretaceous theropods, such as velociraptor and tyrannosaurus, but most it tends to more often be seen as an ancient cousin.

Here I've depicted it with a crest of feathers. There is no evidence for feathers on Ceolophysis, but, being a member of the theropoda suborder which does have feathered members, it is not impossible.

A disclaimer about my paleoart:

When it comes to paleoart, the images I create favor 'art' more than 'paleo'. While I try my best to depict animals as accurately as possible, I'm make no claim that they 100% scientifically accurate. The same goes for the environment I depict them in. I am primarily interested in creating aesthetically pleasing images and paintings. Scientific accuracy comes second behind artistic expression.

About how I create my artwork:

Rather than traditional forms of art like painting and photography, I use a computer to create my images. The process is called 3D Rendering and works like so: I construct a scene by sculpting and arranging virtual models in a virtual 3D scene. After stipulating lighting and atmospheric effects, I tell the computer to create a simulated environment from which I take a virtual snap shot of the scene. Then, using image editing software and something more akin to traditional painting techniques (via a Wacom tablet), I go over the work fixing colors, adding brushwork, painting in details, etc. to produce the final image. Software I use includes: Sculptris, ZBrush, Blender3d, Vue, Daz Studio, and GIMP.

Tools used: Poser, Vue, GIMP, Photomatix

Thanks for looking!
Daniel Eskridge P.S. I have this as a design on Zazzle products, too.

How Do You Buy and Sell Art in the 21st Century?

How Do You Buy and Sell Art in the 21st Century? Of course, the traditional ways of selling art still exist: galleries, shows, contests, catalogs, etc, but in recent years a new way to sell art has appeared. It’s called print-on-demand, or POD. In a nutshell, print-on-demand is a form of printmaking that works via the internet. The artist uploads digital copies of their work to a POD site, then, as they make sales, has them printed and shipped.

At this time, it only works for 2D art. So, sculptors, you’re out of luck, unless you intend to sell prints of photographs of your 3d sculptures. However, with the advent of 3d printers, that may change in the not too distant future.

The prints are made using high end ink jet printers which can print to an array of fine papers and canvases. Some POD services also print to merchandise such as coffee mugs and t-shirts. Most of the POD sites on the web also allow the artist to maintain an online gallery. Patrons can visit the gallery, order prints, and have them shipped directly to them. The artist need not do any work after uploading the image to their gallery.

Here is a quick breakdown of the high level pros and cons. There are many more, but these are some of the big ones.

Print on Demand Pros

• The biggest one is that artists have an online market that requires little or no money to put online. The whole world can visit this online gallery.
• The artist does not need be involved in the transaction. Patrons can order prints without having to contact the artist. However, that does not mean the artist has to be completely hands off. Nothing stops the artist from using the POD site to order their own prints to display in brick and mortar galleries or art shows, or from just being the middle-man in a sale.
• The artist does not need to make a huge up-front investment ordering a series of prints.
• For patrons, there is also the professional customer service of the POD company. If there is a problem, they don’t have to deal directly with the artist. Plus most sites have 24/7 customer service.
• Also, the nature of POD makes it so that there is no limit to a series of a particular work. A work need not ever be “SOLD OUT”.

Print on Demand Cons

• Much like a brick and mortar gallery, POD sites take their cut of the sale, and they have most of the control over the price. They can be a bit on the expensive side to print an artwork.
• Because they are generally inexpensive to maintain a gallery on, there is a huge number of artists using them. Competition is high, and it can be difficult for artworks to be found by patrons.
• Because, by the nature of the business model, prints series are unlimited, there can be a perception by patrons that the prints will be less valuable.
• Because artists will not necessarily have any interaction with buyers, they will not be able to maintain mailing lists and contact information for their patrons.

This has just been a quick overview. There is a lot of information out there on POD and hundreds of POD sites. Coming soon, I'll share with you info on some of the top POD sites. For now, you can check out my gallery on my favorite POD site, Fine Art America: Daniel Eskridge on FineArtAmerica.com

What is 3D Rendering?

3D rendering is the form of digital art that I do. I wrote this quick primer on it a few years back, but if you have an hour to kill, I also have a youtube video that covers all the fundamentals.

Overview

Rendering, also called “digital rendering” or “3-D rendering” is a new form of art made possible by the existence of computers. Essentially, it is the creation of two-dimensional artwork using a computer to generate an image. The artist describes the scene in a way that the computer can understand. The computer then uses that description to simulate a 3D reality from which it takes a virtual snapshot. That snapshot can then be left in digital format or be printed out by the artist.

Modeling

The first step in creating render art is the creation of a virtual model. This is analogous to sculpting a model from clay in the real world. The artist begins with a virtual lump of clay, often a sphere or cube, then molds model by stretching it, twisting it, and adding on to it. The process can get rather elaborate. Model making software can cost thousands of dollars, but there are some free applications, such as Blender 3D (which I use) that are quite capable of producing high end models.

Skinning

A virtual model really only defines a shape. Generally, modeling software will let you define how the surface of that model appears (color, texture, reflectivity, etc.) but, more complex models call for skinning. Skinning is the process of creating of what is known as a UV Map. A UV Map is a special picture file that can be wrapped around a model to give it a surface. It’s sort of flattened version of the model analogous to the pattern one uses to cut material for clothing. Modeling software will help to create the UV Map, but I use image editing software, such as Photoshop or GIMP, to actually color in the UV Map.

Rigging

Certain complex models might call for something known as rigging. Rigging allows the artist to reposition certain parts of a model rather than having to remold a whole new one. For instance, if I create a model of a human form, I may want to be able to reuse that model in different poses. Rather than shaping a new model for every pose, I can rig a single model virtual skeleton. I assign groups of polygons to certain “bones” and then define how those bones can move in relation to one another.

Layout

The layout stage of rendering is where the artist defines the spatial relationships between objects in a scene. The objects are models created in the prior steps. This step also includes defining the light sources for the scene as well as atmospheric aspects of the image such a haze and fog.

Rendering

This is the step that is handled by the computer (or network of computers – called a render farm). The computer uses advanced mathematical algorithms to simulate the effects of the light and atmosphere upon the objects set up during the layout phase. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to many days depending upon the complexity of the screen. The final product is a CGI, computer generated image, usually in the form of a bitmap or JPEG file.

Post Production

This is the part that would be more familiar to traditional artists. In the post production phase the image is loaded into image editing software such as Photoshop, Corel Painter, or GIMP. The artist then makes adjustments to the image ranging from simple color changes to painting new parts.

Printing

The final step in the rendering process is the production of the physical work of art. This is done by using any number of computer printers. They can be a simple standard inkjet printer printing on photo paper or monstrous wide format printer printing on canvas. I prefer the latter. High quality prints on canvas are often called giclées, though now, most places just call them canvas prints.

Hope this primer helps a few folks!

Daniel

P.S. Don't forget to check out my gallery.

The Monster Bear

A cowboy going to investigate mutilated cattle near the edge of the forest encounters a huge grizzly bear. The massive grizzly towers over the man as it stands on it hind legs and prepares to lunge. The cowboy draws his six-shooter as he frantically tries to keep his terrified horse under control.

I originally created this artwork a few years ago as an illustration for a wild west adventure story (hence the vertical orientation to go on a book cover). The deal fell through though before I was done and I forgot about this image. A few days ago, though, I came across it while cleaning some old art files off my hard drive. I rather liked the dime-novel/pulp fiction feel that it had, so I decided to finish it up and publish it to my gallery.

The cowboy/gunslinger wears high leather boots with spurs, brown pants, a light colored shirt, suspenders, a wide black leather belt, and, of course, a brown cowboy hat. He is riding a pinto mustang with black mane, tail and fetlocks. He has got his revolver raised and ready. The bear is a massive brown grizzly bear standing more than twenty feet tall (impossibly large, but heck, this was for a tall tale). The scene takes place at the edge of a forest next to a small pond or creek.

This digital artwork was created using CGI techniques as well as some more traditional painting techniques.

Tools used: Poser, Vue, GIMP, Photomatix