Quote of the Day - 10/29/11

"We all have exactly the same amount of time, whether we're a millionaire or a pauper. All of us have 24 hours - Every. Single. Day." --Zig Ziglar

©2011 Primer Magazine

Senior Project - Fallen Heroes Memorial Gallery

Early idea for a logo

As some of you may know, I'm (finally) in the last semester of college. One of my final requirements is to complete a professional-level capstone project, from concept to published digital media. In other words, it's time to prove that I'm ready for the real world.
For my final project, I've decided to create a digital memorial to the American troops that have lost their lives while serving our country since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. I want to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for those they love and care about.

Quote of the Day - 10/11/11

"Joy's soul lies in the doing." -William Shakespeare

Here's another bit of wisdom from Mr. Shakespeare. I recently came across this quote while reading The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt. Simply put, we get more pleasure from making progress towards our goals than we do from achieving them. When I'm working on a project and get "in the zone",  I often experience a somewhat euphoric feeling, simply because of what I'm doing. It's what keeps me coming back and getting up early on my day off so I can make more progress, so I can make things happen. If we can discover the joy in the process, then those tight deadlines and late nights staring at the computer screen can become less stressful (especially if you're using f.lux, which I discussed in my last post).

F.lux: Free Software to Make Your Life Better

Does this scenario sound familiar? It's late, you're at the computer working on an assignment or project, your eyes hurt, and your brain feels like it's throbbing inside of your skull. You need sleep, but have to get this work done. You finally reach a stopping point and crawl into bed, but your mind is still racing a mile a minute from staring at the bright computer screen for so long. A restless night ensues.

I know that I've been in this situation way too many times, and I can safely guess that I'm not the only one. F.lux, a free piece of software, fixes this.

3D Bust - Final Image and Process Overview

The final rendered image

After what was probably way too long, I finished up the project I've been working on for a number of weeks. It's a bronze bust of an American soldier, and it was created entirely in 3D. I modeled, sculpted, textured, and rendered the model using modo 501, and I did some post-processing in Photoshop CS5.

Quote of the Day - 09/28/11

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."
-William Shakespeare, "Hamlet"

Here's an in-progress render of a project I've been working since the middle of summer. It's a 3D digital bust of a US soldier, created entirely in Luxology's modo 501. I'm hoping to have it completed in the next week or so, and I'll add a more in-depth description of the project and process once I finish it up.

Hello, World!

Welcome to the blog of Paul Howells, 3D digital artist. This is where I'll post my (mostly) design-related thoughts. I enjoy sharing knowledge, whether it's something I find online, hear on the street, or devise in my own mind. While some posts may not be directly connected to design itself, they will aim to provide information that can help all people (and from what I've heard, just about all artists and designers are people). I hope that my posts will enlighten, inform, or at least entertain you, so check back often!