For the last 15 years I have focused my career ambitions on learning 3D Computer Generated Imagery (CGI). Having the technical skills of a CGI artist alongside my illustration and retouching background has empowered me to take image manipulation and creation to a new level.
As a Digital Artist I can create a final rendering entirely computer generated or make a composite that incorporates different photographic and hand crafted elements. At this stage, I can then add the extra color correction and image manipulation necessary to really make an image tell a powerful story.
Despite how it may seem, creating CGI imagery is not “push button” template-based image creation. It takes artists with backgrounds and skillsets like mine to generate realistic digital assets.
Photo-realistic digital modeling includes an artist’s touch for sculpting objects and hand painting digital textures. That’s why I find it so exciting. CGI and Retouching are two different disciplines that when used together can burst through the ceiling of what we typically believe image creation and manipulation to be.