animation

studio update

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Here are a couple of things I’m currently working on in the studio. Both represent some long term ideas coming together with many different mediums with the end goal of telling more stories about an envisioned dystopian future. I’ve been wanting to make a container for one of the Eternal Vision drone minis for some time. This first version came together well and has inspired some upgrades to the next version… I’ve also started a short book with text and images that showcases The Last Operator diorama. Below is an image from the book.

Endless Ocean Drone Container, laser cut plywood box with magnet closure for 3d printed figure.

 

The Last Operator, mixed media with 3D printing, 9 x 6 x 7 inches, 2024

Photographed with printed backdrop

killer drones are here to stay

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Drone swarms are real and it is only a matter of time before we see them in action. This is something that has been in the works for a long time and is only now becoming more of a public conversation. The “collective mind” has been a theme of science fiction for even longer. If you are interested in learning more, check out these two written pieces about this reality.

New York Times piece on killer drones from 2023 HERE

Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists article from 2021 HERE

history repeats itself

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Actual history, an alternative history or even a completely invented timeline, they will all eventually repeat themselves. I find that as time passes there are patterns in what make. Specific ideas that are reoccurring, each time becoming more articulate as I learn new ways to recreate them. I am not just doing the same things over and over again. Both of these images are about similar repeating ideas, but are so very different in how they appear. They both evoke thoughts of searching, a form of future surveillance within a disorienting landscape. One presents an atmosphere so thick that it could be concealing any possible danger. The other creates a similar sense of unease within the landscape, however this time it is vastness that creates the sense of awe or unease. Both are simulated worlds seen through a screen. The first of the two image is of one of the original miniature drones. It was made of kit-bashing model parts and photographed in a glass tank with “practical effects”. The second image is a more recent version of a drone, 3D modeled with the dual intention to 3D print them for miniatures and to use them in digital animations. I think it is import to take note of these kinds of reoccurring ideas that we attempt to resolve or explain over and over again in the studio. Keep searching.

Inquest Model 006, Digital Photograph 2007

Endless Ocean Drone 1001a, 3D Rendering 2023

aquatic observation

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I’ve imagined the drone 1001a as the aquatic version of the original all seeing model 1001. This drone hovers quietly over the ocean or just on the very edge of the shore. It exists in the time of the endless ocean. Long after our technological demise, the inevitable consequences of climate changes come to light. There is nothing. A hopeless horizon extends in every direction. What fragments of land remain are scattered far apart with only empty waters between them. The detritus we leave behind will always remain. Now it is mostly seen as sun bleached plastics that float on the surface or wash up like an artificial red tide. This drone constantly patrols the water, searching for anything that breaks the pattern of emptiness. How far does the ocean reach? Is there anything at all beyond the horizon?

Drone 1001a Augmented Reality test. Click to play the video with sound.

Right now this specific work is moving in two distinctly different directions. The physical 3D printed versions of the drone are being used to tell this part of the story through hyperreal miniature landscape dioramas/scenes. The 3D model has been painted, textured and animated, so it can appear digitally in augmented reality. Each direction has its own unique set of concerns and potentials. Together they will help tell a more articulate story that has the potential to spill out into the world around us.

progress in the studio

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Self-directed research and learning is not always as fruitful as I anticipate. So far with this project things are far exceeding my expectations. With the amount of information, examples and tutorials online, I am happily finding the answers I need to feel like I can experiment freely. I still do not know exactly where this work will lead, but the possibilities become more clear each day. I hope to include sound and movement in this work as well. I believe that will allow me to create the kind of immersive experiences I am hoping to create. As this work in the studio progresses, the stories from these places also become more clear to me. I am looking forward to using these tools to share some of the moments I’ve imagined and to answer some basic questions. What has happened in these places since our time? How could surveillance, ai and autonomous drones reshape the landscapes of the future? What can be learned from the romanticisation of these ideas?

drone 1001a 3d rendering 2023

some ideas are destined for the future

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In the studio I work on many things, often moving in many directions simultaneously. As I do this, I’m always focusing on the idea first and then what materials or medium to use to best articulate that idea. Because of this, some ideas get set aside for a future version or iteration. Usually those ideas resurface when I see a potential in a new material or most often a new piece of technology. It has been about 15 years since I first took a took a class to explore the medium of 3D modeling. At that time my ideas and the technology didn’t align for some reason, time was shorter back then. Since that time I have used traditional sculpture and photography to articulate many of my ideas. Using analog techniques to create hyperreal views of what could be simply described as miniature movie sets. But now I find myself in that familiar moment again, when an idea resurfaces through exciting exploration in the studio. My recent research into 3d modeling, painting and texturing those models, 3d animation and augmented reality has really got me thinking. I can start to see some complex ideas coming together within this space. I also believe that asking questions of this digital work and how I can employ it will only make my analog work more dynamic and articulate as well. Check back to see what emerges from the past.

drone 1001a 3d landscape sketch

the clues are all around us

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Cellular communication towers, patriot missile batteries, primitive spears and lances, radar dishes, the ostankino tower and nike missiles, antenna of all types. These are a few of the of the very specific things you will see in my landscapes. Everything I include has a purpose and everything relates to the content or the ideas that I hope these places inspire in the viewer. I have been told at times that these ideas are prescient, but how I see it, this is how it has always been and will always be. The feedback loop is the same, the technology is what advances. Is this not what we always desire?

mini card detail