I work continuously to try to improve my expressive and technical capabilities. I like to explore styles and techniques in my attempts to develop and portray ideas, which (I always hope) might have the potential to entertain, enlighten, or encourage new thinking in positive and memorable ways.
I periodically revisit certain themes and motifs I have explored before - not with the intent of doing what has already been done, but to attempt to improve upon the expression of concepts or to approach other aspects of ideas and to seek out new visual and interpretive possibilities. I enjoy hearing from people and how they might interpret some of these visual creations of mine.
This is all part of a steady learning process, a lifelong journey of discovery and new understanding. I believe an artist always has something to learn, especially for digital artists, whose techniques and technologies are always somewhat in a state of newness as a result of being part of the digital domain and the ever-changing world of computers.
I compose and record my own sounds and music. I also write in a variety of modes (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama), program in various languages, create websites, Web services, and search engines. I continue to be very deeply involved with the library world, where I work full time to empower people informationally and try to help develop and advocate critical thinking, information literacy, and quality public access to good information resources and reference services. I want to help and inspire as many people as I can!
The main software I use for my 3D work is Blender, an amazingly powerful open source 3D program capable of generating professional results for both stills and animation work. With Blender I can create anything that comes to mind, whether it's abstract, organic, photorealistic, toonish, technical, surreal, or something else. My work is regularly posted at CG art websites such as CGTalk and Blender Artists.
Other software used in the creation in some of my images include GIMP, mainly for occasional post-processing and compositing. Audacity (for audio) and VirtualDub (for video) are other open source programs I've incorporated into my workflow. For my 2D work I sometimes will work with programs such as Corel Paint or Inkscape.
I participate in various graphics challenges, most frequently the Weekend Challenges at BlenderArtists.org.
My interests extend well beyond the computer graphics world to subject areas such as information science, literature, art, philosophy, mathematics, mythology, psychology, history, astronomy, and more.
My Digital Art Links
- Images: Digital Art, Experiments, Studies (2003 - PRESENT)
- My Poetry (2019 - Present)
- Image Checklist for Artists: A List of Possible Considerations
(free web/PDF guide; rev. August 2014) - Music @ SoundCloud: my musical works (2012-present; newer/more selective)
- Music @ Reverb Nation: my musical works (2012-present; cumulative)
- ArtStation Portfolio
- Older CG Society / CG Talk Portfolio
- Some past digital project highlights (to 2015)
- Phototopias - Digital Photography (2008)
- Thrall.org (site, searches, guides with colleagues, some databases, more)
Thank you for your interest in my work, Robert
