Memory Lane...

While I'm sitting here looking out the dining room window at the snow falling in the back yard - big fat flakes - I was looking in my old files and thought I'd stick up some old work from my more active illustration days.

The last illustration, Galileo, was one I did with a program called Aldus Freehand back for the Lexington-Herald Leader in Lexington Kentucky. Just as I was getting started doing information graphics work on a computer.

The top one is a piece for National Geographic on Greenland's melting ice and the next one is about water on Mars for Scientific American - and some other work from NASA, McGraw-Hill and other clients. Nice to revive those older pieces. Sometimes over the last few years I've forgotten I used to do this more... and personally I think I can do better work now.  Which I am trying to do with my art for Superstock with science and editorial art.

Luckily as of late NASA, Caltech and JPL are keeping me busy. 

Anyway - here it is.  And it's really snowing out there right now! Already sticking! And it's April 9th!  Time to take a hike in the woods with the dog! 

Somebody stop me!

Yikes! Another one - stolen right out of a Blender tutorial and made in MODO!  Blender has some awesome tools I have to admit - I'm going to start exploring that in addition to what I'm already using.

Cheers -

Infected Earth Versions of the Illustrations

Ok - once I created the earth, a dozen versions of the virus - I finally found another thing I could do another take on the concept as an infected Earth - all I have to do is a shriveled up earth next pass.  Through I am getting to the point I need to move on! :0)

Oh - and the little virus model with the MODO material added to give it some character.  Those bumps are made from the fur shader.

Funny how global society is just like an eggshell...

Shattered and Eggshell came together with this one. And then the earth got into the mix and the virus... and here is the result.

Work for a general stock art site

(On a side note) I'm detecting a theme here - most of these images I've posted are spherical. Not intentionally trying to do that! I'll post some non-sphere work next! 

Ok - While I have some time working here at home - endlessly, I have an account on a stock art site www.superstock.com and am working on some editorial art to go with the more scientific stuff previously posted.

These are fun little things to produce - I can churn out a dozen of these in one day. With Stock stuff, I can take a simple idea - play with numerous variations on the idea and then post them all up as variations on a theme.

All made with MODO including the built in camera Depth of Field while rendering.

These are a shattered Earth series from different areas on Earth and Earth as a virus... this virus one was fun to work on.

Enjoy

Chuck

Outer Ocean Worlds Around Gas Giants

Here is a small collection of work I did for NASA - Caltech last year.  These images are all in 3D, designed and rendered in a program called MODO.  They show some of the ocean worlds that exist just below the ICE around the moons of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. What's really interesting about doing this kind of work is the perspective I get from the people I'm working with on the illustrations.  The folks at Caltech are great to work with and the collaboration is more of a learning experience for me personally.

The images started as rough sketches from the researchers, and then I do a few test renderings and we go back and forth until I get the images right and match with what they're thinking.

Creating a housebound illustration of COVID-19

Hey all!  This is my first post on Blogger - chuckcarterdigital.com.  And during my stay at home routine during this pandemic, I'm trying a few new things art wise.  Namely, biology illustration and continued learning of ZBrush. My first attempts at making a coronavirus are included - with the top two pieces being my latest attempts. 

In a nutshell, ZBrush was used to sculpt the various protein spikes inserted into the lipid viral shell and exported - which was done in MODO - the 3D package I do most of my work in. MODO is used to set up lighting and do the final rendering. Then it's brought into Photoshop to do the final composition and touches. 

Being stuck in the house is a bit challenging, but it's giving me time to try new things and for that I'm thankful.  

I'll keep posting new dispatches from the dining room studio as time goes on.  Including how I make some of this stuff... a lot of it is a new process for me so it will be fun exploring. If anything, I'll be improving my skills as an artist during this lock down. 

See you all later with new (And old) stuff!