Site Contents

1.    "Bo Lister" is going ballistic with cartoon images and ideas.

2.    Technical Illustration samples can be found here with a continuing dialogue of  information.

...soon to arrive will be examples and information on the following  subjects-

Poser 6

Truespace 7

Carrara 5

Bryce

Flash Animation

the CNC Carving Machine

Metal Casting Foundry- a history of years ago and miles away, in pictures, of equipment designed and constructed for a working art foundry business.

Technical Illustration

Technical Illustration branches into many areas of Graphic Art and Design. With the development of strong digital graphic programs, artist today have access to a wide array of software tools.

Patent design drawings, technical cross-section illustrations, illustration for user manuals and the typicalexploded view illustrations we see in parts books... were once the focus of a general technical illustration artist. Today... the only limit for a Graphic Illustrator is a positive attitude and determination to encompass the learning-curve of the amazing artist tools available.

Publication has moved from the print world into the exponential growth arena of The Internet. The graphic area of print for presentations, hand-outs, teaching seminars...etc., is now taking back-seat to CD, DVD and other electronic storage devices capable of presenting a total visual experience ranging from static pages to complex or simple animations. No longer relegated to a business environment, millions of people can view presentations in the relaxed comfort of their home computer system.

The “Information Age” is rapidly moving away from complex costly physical machinery and physical delivery systems into a single inexpensive personal computer publication system as more and more professional individuals rely on “instant” information.

The human figure in any graphic publication is the focus that “glues” content to experience. From cartoons to high quality human figure images... the public viewer is drawn into a human “episode” at a glance. Subtle or dynamic figuritive images gain viewer attention with the mode of drama, humor or simple presence of a human form.

The animation at the beginning of this article demonstrates the processes of developing a figure in Poser. Drawing in three dimensions is not... exactly like... a typical computer drawing process, since the added dimension of “depth” is important for making a “solid model” and giving the model a skin (textures) for finished photo realistic effects (called “rendering”).

The first step is the “wire frame”. A line in two dimensions has a start, an end and points in between if the line represents a curve. In 3D a line has a start, end and points for it’s curve, while it must live inside a space as if inside a room. 3D software allows the artist to move around in the space of a wire-frame model. Intersections of lines in space are called “vertice” and a group of vertice define a “plane” as a solid in a space.

Like a sheet of paper, the more you bend, fold and round it’s from, the more vertice it will have in 3d space. Many expressions and terms used in the 3D artist world are different from 2D programs. Think geometry... now think solid geometry. Without some fashion of “skin” the wire-frame would serve little purpose as a finished visual design. The “skin” is called “texture” in 3D. Tools in 3D manipulate textures, layers, light absorption, reflection, transparency... refraction...etc. of a digital layer. Rich in figurative elements, Poser’s reputation continues to grow in popularity in the 3D world as a major graphic tool for artists who create movies, animations and still images.

TrueSpace, Carrara, Daz Studio are just a few of the quality software available to the artist at reasonable price or free of cost. Blender, PovRay are among the many software packages available on the Internet as downloads or purchase of a CD at a modest price.

3D artists often speak of their favorite software program. Intuitive control of a software program is as essential to the computer artist as the control of a physical brush, pen, paints or clay is to a physical artist. 3D software companies today are showing their talents in the advancement of user interfaces for the 3d artist.