Thoughts on 3d

The TL:DR of it is that I taught myself how to use Blender and this blog is a way for me to share my thoughts and progress.

Back in August ‘20, I taught myself how to use Blender, a forever free and open-source 3D modeling, animation and VFX software. My principal goal was to create my own virtual gallery as a way to more easily manage and scrutinize my artwork in real perspective. Then, next thing I knew, I was digitally sculpting donuts for countless hours, consuming all the tutorials that I set my eyes on, and I began radically considering what MORE a gallery could BE/DO in a virtual space… I found a new hobby :-)

Over the months, I have danced between the down and dirty of drawing and the technicalities of virtual 3D modeling. When I am in the process of art-making it is always a performance. I am in conversation about the physics of water, ink, alcohol and pastel dust clinging to and repelling one another. I usher along pools of liquid as they branchiole microscopically through cracks and crevasses. The entirety of my body operates on all axes while letting nature take its course. When working in the virtual realm, my body is replaced by a 3D cursor with infinite range, limited only by my level of fluency with the UI and CPU/GPU speed and processing powers. Taken together, those limitations form steep learning curves that generate countless hours of frustration. It is the many awesomely generous people that I have to thank for their tutorials and knowledge sharing in general. The Blender community in particular has really helped me keep stride.

First Render (donut tutorial)

This plunge into digital art reminds me of growing up in the early 2000s when Newgroundsworld, Shockwave and even eBaumsworld -.com’s were not just a ‘thing’, but the SHIT! Literally and figuratively. They were portals into the best and the worst of what the world of amateur flash animation had to offer - experimental to polished works of art. Well, Newgrounds.com still IS the shit and it is remarkable how well they have sustained themselves as a company and a community over the years. Of course, there were the ever-violent Stick Man point and click kill ‘em-ups, Pico School and the “Choose your own adventure” (wink wink) sagas, and the creepy (but very well-done) Salad Fingers by Doki. Then, there were also cats like Chluaid who made somber and dazzling animated clips. Zhu’s Xiao Xiao series that took stick fighting to meta levels. Radiskull and Devilldoll who were silly, cool and fun to sing along to. And most impressively was Brooke Burgess’ (brokensaint69’s) Broken Saints web series.

The reason that I think back to the days of flash is because I spent so much time watching these creations and never once contributed to the world that I felt so part of. They certainly inspired me creatively. I just felt that learning flash animation was such a farfetched idea. For one, I could only spend a limited time on my family’s shared dial-up desktop computer or at the school library. And the time that I was spending on the computer consisted of playing Runescape, doing homework, flirting with girls on AIM, and of course enthusiastically watching web series on Newgrounds as if it were my own curated Internet version of Adult Swim.

The point is that I have multiple computers now. I have the time to learn how to digitally sculpt and make short animated clips. I am eager as an artist to continue to expand the range of my work. And I love the idea of trying my hand at an art-form that I have always admired.

At the end of the day, artwork needs no explanation to be brought into existence. It is all play.

P.S. - R.I.P. Flash