The Ravages of Time
I usually don’t like the straight edges of polygons. They feel too mechanical. I use a simple edge enhancement program called Crack to modify edges. It introduces extra polygons distorting the straight edge. The extra polygons are scaled and they can be made to grow or shrink. This image could represent what’s happening to my face over time. It’s a mess. Each year I have a more difficult time recognizing myself in the mirror.
astroTEX
A fragmentation tool enables me to shatter or displace the polygons comprising an object. I can specify and shatter a section of the object. There are parameters to set distances and the size of clusters of polygons. Rotation is a random feature. Often I accidentally find something interesting. Here I wanted great detail without confusion. Probably 30,000 fragments from numerous copies of the same fragmented object.The color of a fragment is determined by its location in space. I divided the world space into regions of color. Like many of my images I wish we could see it at 12 x 9 feet. I get the sense of layers of debris floating in endless outer space. It’s fun to see something like this moving through space as animation. I can’t wait for my new PC to arrive.
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.
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.
