Back and forth

This is a grab-style traversing trash rake, another image that I created for Siemens.

The motorized carriage slides back and forth across the rails, lowering the claw to pick up trapped debris at several locations.  A mounted control panel is seen in the rear.  Once again, this was created in 3D Studio Max..!  

Degrees of separation

This isn't the picture with a yellow rubber duck in it, but maybe you'll still find it interesting.  :)  It's another old graphic that I made in 3D Studio Max, for Siemens.  The equipment is an API separator, which separates oil from water.

The problem with art for some wastewater treatment equipment, is that the machinery can have an elongated profile to it.  So the view is rather zoomed out on an awkwardly proportioned image.  Sometimes I can shorten up the width by eliminating repetitious detail, but sometimes I really can't do that.  I probably could have shortened up this image a little more, however.


This is one of my images which I've seen being used on other websites, perhaps illegally.  Theft of digital art is quite common.      


I'm not sure where the graphic with the yellow rubber duck is at.  It may be on my old, old computer, which is all but dead.  Strain as I might, I can no longer hear the plaintive quack quack of my rubber duck!

Floaters and sinkers

This is an older piece of artwork that I did for Siemens! 

It's a cross section of a piece of wastewater treatment equipment, called a Rim-Flo clarifier.  Basically, water is let into the tank, where solids settle to the bottom and are collected, while floating scum is skimmed off the surface.  Moving water is kept on the perimeter of the tank, between the tank wall and influent baffle, apparently allowing for a nice settling action of poopie in the calm center area of the tank!  This image was created in 3D Studio Max.  


In another graphic for Siemens, I remember placing a yellow rubber duck in the tank.  I think it was art depicting a grit collector tank.  If I can find that image, I'll post that as well!  :)

Storm King Art Center

A few years ago I visited the Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York!  The center is a large outdoor sculpture garden, including works by Alexander Calder, Henry Moore and others, and includes some rather large works of art.  My main impression of the artwork was that it focused solely on very minimalist and abstract type sculpture, which was pleasing and restful to look at.  However, I felt that the place could use some more detailed and intricate works, to further engage the viewers. Perhaps something with more of a human element to it, something more to relate to, would have been good.  My other recollection of that day, is that it was one of the hottest, most humid days I had ever seen.  I remember my traveling partner making me run uphill to stay with her, as she was searching for a restroom, and I was thinking that running in that heat was probably one of the silliest things I had done in some time. Wow, was it miserable outside!  Fortunately, a rain shower came after a while, and I also got to rest my pale skin in an air conditioned restaurant. After I got back home, I didn't go outside again for several weeks. 


Anyway, here are a few photos that I took of the Storm King Art Center.  :)

Pow! Sock! Crack! Ouch!

I don't have time to play many console games these days, but I'd like to make an exception when "Batman:  Arkham City" comes out in October.  Of course this is the sequel to "Batman: Arkham Asylum", probably one of the best games ever made.  I like games with hand-to-hand combat (guns bore me, I don't want one), and it's clear to me that the Arkham Asylum game (along with another game, of supernatural bent, "Bayonetta"), had some of the most dynamic and innovative combat to be found in a while.  It was GREAT fun lurking in the shadows as Batman, studying the movements of various opponents and, one by one, leaping out of the darkness to pummel someone with fluid kick and punch combos.  The growing apprehension of Joker's thugs as they gradually fell victim to an unseen assailant, made for a realistic and very satisfying atmosphere. 


I don't recall where I saw it, but one of the worst game reviews I ever read, pretty much said that Batman was a wimp for resorting to stealth tactics when dealing with armed thugs in "Arkham Asylum".  Well, what's an unarmed man supposed to do?  Batman doesn't have bullet-proof skin.  The fact that he can defeat a room full of armed villains using cunning and martial arts moves, is about as good as it gets. What's also cool is that Batman never bothers to pick up and use any of his opponent's guns.  He's bad-ass enough as it is, and he's not there to kill anyone.       


I have to wonder how the Joker and Harley Quinn could ever be on the loose again, after what they did at Arkham Asylum, murdering so many prison guards.   But I'll look forward anyway to wiping the floor with them again!


Speaking of Batman, here's a cover of an old comic book that I've had for years.  An interesting and unusual encounter with the Hulk!

That's just brutal

One of my favorite series of Peanuts comics strips (which appears in the 1973-1974 edition of "The Complete Peanuts") revolves around the well-intentioned Linus arranging a testimonial dinner for Charlie Brown.  He does this on the notion that Charlie Brown has shown great dedication to his baseball team, and thus deserves a dinner to honor him and thank him.  This might be one of the cruelest stories that I've seen in Peanuts, at least so far as senseless conclusions go.  It didn't have to end the way that it did, but hey, Charlie Brown can't win! 


In spite of some zippy and derogatory comments by Lucy, the dinner plans go well at first.  With Peppermint Patty acting as the chairwoman of the invitation committee, everyone is soon on board with the dinner. They even arrange for Charlie Brown's favorite baseball player, Joe Shlabotnik ("last-round draft choice of the Green Grass League"), to attend the event.  With great pleasure, Peppermint Patty calls up Charlie Brown to tell him about the dinner plans.

So Charlie Brown is about as happy as we get to see him! Unfortunately, on the night of the party, Marcie of all people, stirs up trouble.  

What ensues is a train wreck of an evening for Charlie Brown.  Not only does he get no dinner, but it's confirmed that no one, not even Linus, has any faith in him.  Everyone goes their separate ways, not even bothering to consider the fact that even though Charlie Brown is a horrible baseball player, at least he cares and always tries his best.  They could have given him a dinner.  I felt that this series of strips was one of the most negative commentaries on Charlie Brown that I'd read (or rather, the most negative portrayal of the people that Charlie Brown has to live with)! The fact that the betrayal comes from the three characters who may respect Charlie Brown the most (though secretly for the most part) gives the story even more bite.  Indeed, normally vicious Lucy is floored to see the evening go up in smoke for Charlie Brown.  


I never get tired of reading Peanuts strips.  If you haven't read the above story, go look for it!  :)

The most profound obscurity

In the book "Joan Miró" by Carolyn Lanchner (published by the Museum of Modern Art, New York), I was reading today about the experience of surrealist artist Miró during World War II.  Miró was in Normandy for a bit when the war was in its infancy, but with the sudden attack of the Germans on France, Miró was compelled to leave France and return to his native country of Spain (unlike many other artists who fled to the U.S.).  Miró, who was described by Surrealist leader Andre Breton as "one of the most outstanding examples of character", led an uneasy existence in Europe during the war. Meanwhile, reports from the artists now in America were quite rosy, regarding the acceptance of their work by the population there.  But Miró was not overly consoled, and lamented of his conditions,"One must be ready to work amidst total indifference and in the most profound obscurity."  The Germans of course did not think highly of the "degenerate" artwork produced by Miró and his peers, so the future looked bleak indeed in Europe.  


I look at the artwork of my favorite artists with such a fondness, that it's easy to forget that they often had to deal with situations so much worse than anything we are dealing with, what with an ailing economy and seemingly endless bickering in government.  Miró did not accomplish much painting between 1941 and 1944 due to the difficult conditions in Europe (paint supplies were not easy to obtain, and a low profile was best).  But his spirit was not broken, he merely bided his time until the creative door was open again (Miró returned heavily to lithographs, painting and ceramics at some point in 1944).  


I thought I had it bad, I had to make chili today without beans.  I have two cans of beans that have been expired for seven months.  Anyone want them?  

I bet I could paint that (mmmmph...)!

When I was in Spain a few years ago, I had the good fortune to visit the Museo del Prado in Madrid, the internationally famous art museum.   One of the best things about visiting a museum for the first time is when I encounter works of art that I appreciate, but which I didn't realize I'd be seeing.  :)  I had one of those "woo hoo" type moments when I saw the large and wonderful "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymous Bosch in all its glory. In great error I didn't have my camera at hand when I visited the Prado, but here is the painting courtesy of Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons:  

This triptych was painted around the year 1500.  I would wager that no other painting in the world gets more scrutinized than this one, given the amount of detail and deep symbolism which must be absorbed while standing in front of it.  I wonder who has looked at the right hand panel of this painting and hasn't thought, "Jeepers, is this where I'm going to land one day if I don't straighten myself up"?  Bosch was just a man of course, but it's easy to feel that this painting was divinely inspired by God (or rather is a warning from God).  It must certainly be an image that helps give shape to many a person's impression of hell and life outside of our earthly existence.


Wikipedia notes that the central panel is rather ambiguous, in that we don't know if it's a paradise that might have been, or is it a representation of surrender to temptation?  The original intention of the painting's creation is also not known for certain... It may have been commissioned by a lay patron.  Something tells me that the lay patron got his money's worth.   

David Hartman

I figured I would have written a post on him sooner... Artist David Hartman (at www.sideshowmonkey.com)  is one of my favorite contemporary artists, producing the type of slick horror art that would have appealed to me as a youngster (had I known him then).  His work is similar enough to the style of the"Castle Dracula" Colorforms art which I so enjoyed as a boy (see post dated 3-25-2011)!  Hartman has created art for film director / musician Rob Zombie, but I wasn't really familiar with him until I saw that he is a friend of Bryan Baugh, another fine horror geek whose instructional drawing books I have purchased.  Hartman and Baugh seem to make a point every year, to create their own Halloween costumes.  I would salute them for staying true to the meaning of Halloween (in my opinion) in that they dress like HORRIBLE SCARY MONSTERS, and not like salt and pepper shakers, or fuzzy dice, or some other silly thing as people are wont to do.  :)   


Saturated colors, damsels in peril, and shredded body parts are common features of Hartman's illustrations.  (To the degree that they are not common, they should be).  I love it!  Plus, as I noted yesterday about Richard Sala, Hartman doesn't have to draw hyper-realistically in order to be successful.  His artwork represents the very heart of horror.  I may have to wipe bloody goo off my glasses after looking through his gallery, but I figure that I have running water for a reason.  


I hope you enjoy Hartman's website and gallery, as unfortunately I don't know of any good salt and pepper shaker websites.

Richard Sala

The LuxRender kitchen gave me grief today.  It seems that I'll have to do a lengthy render just to see if the textures are properly corrected, and that wasn't going to happen today!  Mapping in Blender is sometimes easy, but I never find it easy in LuxRender!


Check out this guy's website.... horror artist and author Richard Sala.  As horror artist Bryan Baugh has alluded to, Sala's work is refreshing in that it focuses not on detailed, highly polished images (as is so common today), but instead takes a more light hearted approach,  with focus on mood, character and story.  I love Sala's simplicity in his art.  I hope that one day I can look back at my art career and know that my work told a story that I wanted to tell, rather than just being an effort to impress someone with technical mastery of linework, color, anatomy, etc.


A further enjoyable list of artworks by Richard Sala can be viewed here. One of my favorite images here is "The Dollmaker's Daughter", which is a fun work done in ink and watercolor.

Boo boo's abound

Here's an early look at the LuxRender version of the kitchen scene, rendered for just a short amount of time (about an hour or so)!  

If you click the image to enlarge it, you can see specks and dust in the image, which is a result of not letting the scene render for a proper length of time.  But you can also see some of the nice effects that LuxRender provides, in the reflection on the floor, and in the shiny chrome of the trash can lid and the water faucet.  The challenge now is to get the lighting more evenly distributed, so that the hutch is shown in sharper relief, without the overexposure of the sun in the window and on the walls.  Also I might have to get specific with LuxRender on how I want the texture maps to lay on the objects (this is called "UVW mapping"), as it has stretched my wood grain textures, and scaled the tiled floor up considerably (compared to the image in yesterday's post)!  Actually I kind of like the large colored triangles on the floor, maybe I'll leave it that way.  Also, the plates inside the hutch are meant to have patterns on them, not just flat color, so that's another mapping boo boo. 


Be sure to tune in tomorrow, for another boo boo ridden attempt at creating this kitchen!  :-) 

A blinding light

Another update on the kitchen scene!

I still need to add materials to a number of objects.  I also need to set up a "mesh light", which will act as the sun when I render the scene in LuxRender.  The image here was rendered inside Blender, using an area lamp and ambient occlusion as the light sources.  An area lamp is a focused beam of light, seen coming in through the window, while ambient occlusion is a general level of light in the scene, having no direct source, but which exists everywhere and illuminates objects not struck by the area lamp.  A combination of area lamps and ambient occlusion is one of the best ways to produce a realistic looking scene in Blender.  However, Blender lacks global radiosity, which is the effect of light bouncing off objects in a scene, scattering light and color onto nearby objects.  That's why LuxRender is used for the final render, as it has global radiosity capability, and makes for a decidedly better looking scene than what Blender can produce alone.  


But there's a cost for such realism:  Luxrender can take several days to render a scene, while Blender rendered the above scene in less than a minute.


I also have to put what's called a "portal" outside of the window, which won't actually show up in the scene, but which will help LuxRender to more efficiently direct and calculate the effect of sunlight shining in through the window.  The portal is simply a flat plane which tells the LuxRender engine, "Hey, shine a light through this hole in the wall!"


You might want to know, where's the refrigerator?  Ummm... it's off camera.  Yup, off camera and yet assuredly keeping our beverages and produce nicely chilled.  And now I will end this post before you can ask about the microwave oven and dishwasher.