Sunday, June 29, 2008

3D Illustration


Hey friends, I've been waiting a long time to share this with you and I couldn't be more excited about it. Now you'll know what I've been up to lately.

Imagine this....What if you could see an image in 3D without the need for 3D glasses?

When was the last time you looked at an illustration or painting?

I mean REALLY looked at it and experienced the artwork by getting completely lost in it? My new book "DEPTH CHARGE, 3D Illusions" does just that. It will debut at the Comic Con in San Diego (table B8). With this book you will be able to experience the images contained in it not as images on a flat surface, but you will perceive them as if they exist in space. You can pre-order it HERE.
You will also be able to get it directly through me in a short while at SCULLERY PRESS.

"What? Did you just.....what?"

I've spent the last while breaking through the boundaries of the page and finally I can tell you about it. Above is one of the images from the book, an easy one to get you started with, and I hope you get the same feeling I did when I first created 3D Illustration.

One of the most important things I learned when I started animating was to think of the page, not as a flat surface, but rather a cube that you have to sculpt an object out of with your pencil. When you learn to see the images in my book, your mind will see things like a multi-plane camera, and you'll be able to explore the space contained within the image and be able to jump from one area to another.

Now I don't usually write too much in this blog, so to keep things easy to digest, here's a "Quick Start" guide to seeing the 3D illustrations. Yeah, I know, who ever knew you would need a quick start guide for a illustration book. I'll leave the long version inside the book, but this should get you up and running for the moment. As usual, click on the images for a bigger version.



Okay. At first it's just a little tricky to get the hang of, and it will feel really odd at the start, but once you "get" it, you REALLY get it. Here's some tips....

When you look past the image and can feel that there are three images, just think of the one in the middle as if it was a real image or object. Shift your focus to that
middle image (you'll still see three images, but that's the one you're to look at.)

If the middle image is a little blurry at first, it should come into focus after a short time. Once it does, it will jump off the page both in front and behind the image plane.

The longer you look at it, the more your eye can look around the image and jump through the space.

The further away from the image you are, the more depth there will be. Sit back in your chair to give you more visual space.

That first Eureka moment will never be forgotten. Now if you can see the image above in 3D and think that that is cool, just wait for my next post. I've got more surprises for you, and the next one will hopefully blow you away.

So, if you've gotten down this far, here's what the book looks like. 56 pages of
3D goodness. I'll let you know next time what to expect on the inside pages.





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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whoohooo! Can wait for everyone to see your awesome work in 3D.

Congrats it looks amazing

Josh Parpan said...

Wow, another book! Thats really impressive donnachada! I can't wait to see it!

Lovelace said...

Nice work! Very cool.

Daisy Church said...

wow! very neat! Love your drawings- your line work and caricatures are just so elegant! Are you going to have copies of "Crush" down at Comic-con as well?

Unknown said...

OMG!!!!!! That is pure genius!!!!

That's soo coool! hehehe save me a copy!

Bitter Animator said...

Just wanted to pop in to compliment you on these. This one is wonderful and I love the 3D on it. I've always been fascinated by 3D and even used to draw 3D images in red and blue pens back when I was a kid - the drawings were rubbish but the 3D worked. Also tried the same idea in a Flash cartoon once but, like almost everything else I do, it went unfinished.

Anyway, love the work and good luck with the book!

Kei Acedera said...

Ahhh that's sooo clever! I can't wait to get my hands on this, it looks awesome. Pls save me a copy too!

Justin Ridge said...

Well done! I gotta get a copy and see your beautiful 3-D-alicious drawings!

Mark Behm said...

I stuck w it for a minute or two and...WOW! That is REALLY fun!!!
I'll see you in san Diego.

Anonymous said...

It's amazing!
I've never been able to see a 3D image, but your image appear to me nearly instantly.
And the effect is really impressive!

donnachada said...

Thanks everyone. Really good to know that this works for you. That makes me happy and your reactions made my week!
Daisy, yes, I will have copies of "Crush" with me at the Comic Con.
Drop on by an let me know you commented here.
Can't wait to show all you guys in person. Looking forward to it :)

Anonymous said...

I must confess that for me it doesn't work. I've tried several times to dive into 3D but I wasn't successful. But I am sure it works for other people. By the way, nice idea.

donnachada said...

No worries Rene. I go into much more detail in the book on helping everyone see these.thanks for letting me know.