3D Self Portrait - Design and WIP 1

I'm on a mission once again to rebrand myself as the other one feels very out of date and I have a better understanding of good branding now. The talented Rachael Holyhead designed this portrait of me by mashing up a few styles I took a liking too on instagram.

Designed by Rachael Holyhead

Below are some of my first WIP pics of my progress over the weekend using ZBrush.

 

Also here's a webinar from Access VFX I watched a while ago about personal branding that I found very useful!

Inner Kintsugi

A few months ago at the beginning of lockdown, my aunt gave me a book that she thought would help me cope with the circumstances we have all found ourselves in. That book was called Ichigo Ichie by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles and is about making the most of the present the Japanese way.

In one chapter it discussed 'Kintsugi' also known as golden repair. It is a Japanese pottery fixing technique in which the broken parts are reattached with gold, as a way of creating beauty from imperfection and damage. In another part of the book, it talked about the Buddhist perspective of compassion, and it doesn't mean feeling pity for someone but rather a profound empathy that allows us to put ourselves in the situation of the other to understand their motivations and, if necessary, their mistakes.

"Just like delicate porcelain, the human heart can be damaged but concealing the damage out of shame isn’t the solution, damage is part of our history and has brought us to where we are. Just for this, it deserves the brilliance of gold, reflecting a light that is our own. Having problems is part of being alive. Our difficulties and how we face them more than our periods of contentment, are what shapes us throughout the course of our lives." - Ichigo Ichie, 2019

These two ideas got me thinking about my Mum and our relationship. Everyone has good and bad moments in their lives. Every obstacle she has faced, in her moments when she should have been weak, she always showed strength and resilience. All her wounds have shaped her into the woman she is today, and that is someone I couldn't be more proud of. She deserves the brilliance of gold, reflecting a light that is completely her own.

I've always felt like my Mum has been fiercely protective of me and stricter with me than my sister. As I've reached adulthood that grip has loosened, but growing up I often resisted it. I created this painting as a reflection, and as a reminder, of the understanding I have towards her motivations, and of the compassion I should have when I feel that urge to resist. Everything she's done has been to prevent me and my sister developing our own cracks, but when we inevitably do, she's been the one to show us how to turn those cracks into radiant gold.

Below are some WIP images: It took me a while to get my Mum's face right, also, the screen I was working on was a lot warmer than my mac's screen so some colour correction was done.

St Paul's Cathedral 3D Art (Personal Work)

Every Christmas Eve I would spend with my Great Nanna, last Christmas I showed her my latest project - What If Metropolis and she loved it so much she asked if I'd make her a picture like that of St Paul's Cathedral so as a surprise for her 100th birthday in October I made her this... 

  

She passed away on Friday 28th July 2017 ...

St Paul's Cathedral Model - 3D Art WIP (Personal Work)

 

 

Blog Redesign!

It's been a long time coming but I've finally got round to redesigning my blog! 

When people look at my blog I want them to get a sense of who I am, so I did a stylised painting of me holding my cat. I also have a new blog address now too.

 

Digital Painting Practice (Personal Work)

Digital painting is something I want to get better at and do faster, so I used the Art Of Loish book as inspiration and used her tips. Putting it into practice, I've done this painting for my Mum, of her when she was younger. I'm trying to develop my own style so this is a semi-realistic painting, it's not supposed to be 100% accurate.