• 18Sep

    Sculpture by Charles Csuri

    Early Sculpture

    Early in my career I saw computer sculpture as an art form. Created in 1968, it may have been the first 3d sculpture. Professor Leslie Miller, a mathematician and member of my Computer Graphics Research Group wrote the code which included control parameters. I was able to experiment with parameter settings and after many versions I selected a candidate for the sculpture. All of this was done with an IBM 7094 computer using punch cards. I found a local company with a 3-axis numerically controlled milling machine. As a curiosity they took on my project and helped me to produce this work. I could not continue to move forward with sculpture because I did not have the resources.

  • 13Sep


    Digital art by Charles Csuri

    lilySQ_0101

    The path to the realization of visual structure and color is different from painting with oils than working through a color monitor.  The mediums requires different approaches to realize similar goals.  At the outset oil paint is a messy substance and a dead medium to which one gives life. Initially it is flat and opaque. Through the  mixing of colors you build color saturation and intensity to represent something. For some painters this  process may require the juxtaposition of complimentary tones of color to achieve a quality of light.

    The emitting light from a color monitor can give colors the same degree of saturation. Dealing with color saturation and intensity through the monitor is like reverse engineering. You do it backwards. Over saturated color needs to be taken down and brought under control. Sometimes I use atmosphere or transparency to soften a color. The use of ambient light can help with saturation.  It can give more life to darker colors. Intensity is affected by the setting and position of the lights. A shader enables me to modulate a color across a surface. It is always a challenge to keep a sense of a color field.

  • 09Sep


    LEOSlo on Vimeo.  See it on YouTube here.

    I first used a tool to fragment a 3d object. A 2d version of the fragmentation tool was developed for my Hummingbird film in 1967. Then I made copies of the fragmented object and created groups. The animation has several groups which move independent of one another.

  • 07Sep
    Categories: Technique Comments: 0
    Digital art by Charles Csuri

    Digital art by Charles Csuri

    Instead of using a scanned image as a texture map, I generated the texture map with a relatively simple technique. I first generated the ribbon like structure with a set of random numbers. A bspline through the points provides the curvature.  Then with a standard wrap texture shader mapped the first image onto the head and the background. Although the idea is simple enough I tried many variations before the texture worked especially around the eyes.