Photography & Digital Art
What's the Difference?
There is some discussion about what the difference is between photography and digital art. Since almost all photography and photo editing is now handled digitally, this is an important question.
For our purposes here, we’ll define photography as images taken with a camera and processed so as to get the most out of a photo without substantially changing the original content of the photo. This would include color balancing, retouching flaws, cropping and so forth (traditional photo processing arts) as well as digital processing tools that enhance without altering essential image. An example would be using a denoising or sharpening filter.
Digital art would be art that is essentially created on a computer, either by substantially altering a photograph or photographs digitally or using other digital sources, such as 3D rendering, vector art or painting tools.
Important: artificial intelligence imaging is excluded and is not used by Mark Watkins for the creation of the art here.
What is 3D Rendering?
3D modeling and rendering is used extensively in manufacturing, architecture, marketing and entertainment. With 3D software, it is possible create still and animated views of objects and scenes using computer software, without the expense of building actual physical models. A popular use is to create animated films such as Toy Story.
A typical 3D modeled scene will consist of 3D meshes which define surfaces in a virtual 3D space. Two dimensional images such as photographs can be mapped to the mesh surface, creating the illusion of a 3D image. The scene might also contain volumetric elements such as clouds. Rather than surfaces, these are defined by voxels, the 3D equivalent of pixels, with low resolution for viewing and high definition generated for rendering. Lighting and environmental reflections are necessary to create the final ray-trace, a physically accurate type of 3D rendering.
The Process
I’ve used this software for years, mostly for product visualization and other types of still images as well as all sorts of animation. In the past few years, I’ve explored the use of 3D rendering to create fine art. What follows is a simplified description of my workflow.
First, the idea: I generally choose a concept that cannot be easily photographed or manually rendered, since that is the power of 3D art. This isn’t really a limitation because it opens up whole worlds that were practically impossible to pursue traditionally. With that caveat, I try to pick subjects that are compelling with an underlying narrative that is at once personal, but with common appeal. The wooden boat is a recurring theme of my work, as it lends itself to the medium, with limitless historical, imaginary and fantastic possibilities while having the romantic appeal of an age of craftsmanship. My grandfather was a boat builder who later worked as a prop boat builder for RKO and Disney. He was my hero as a kid, and I like to think I’ve inherited some of his skill and vision and passion for excellence. I also had experience early in my career as a technical illustrator, so 3D visualization comes naturally to me.
Once I’ve settled on an idea, I determine what assets I’ll need. This can be existing models from previous projects, textures that I’ve created or purchased, reference photos (either mine or found online), and blueprints and other drawings. I’ll also need to think about what models I need to build.
Next I’ll compose the scene beginning with my preliminary sketches or photos, interactively experimenting until I’m satisfied with the preliminary image. What follows is a prolonged process of refinement, with multiple test renders and proof prints until I’m satisfied with the result.
Finally, I’ll make a first production print either on metal, canvas or archival paper. If it meets my approval, it becomes the Artist’s Proof (A/P), which is treated as the original.
In some instances, a limited edition series of prints is created on demand. The edition can be of any limited number, but usually from 3 to 25 total prints, numbered sequentially.
Alternatively, for some originals, open-ended (unlimited) editions are created. Prints can be on a number of different substrates, including paper, canvas and metal, and are priced accordingly.