Interview With 1stAngel

David Jackson

Welcome to the Artists Blog

When did you first become interested in art?

I think I’ve always been interested in art of one kind or another. But it wasn’t until the advent of the computer until I really found my form.

What style of art do you use most?

I guess my art would be called Scifi, Space or Fantasy all computer generated..

I’m an avid fast reader, I read all kinds of fiction, I can read a paperback novel in a day (8hrs) so I take my reading to a newer level by adding stories and poetry to many of my creations.

Green Hills Of Home

Has your style changed from when you first began as an artist?

mmm a hard question! but I think, yes, I think I have moved to a new higher level in my art.

I sometimes miss the old style,but everything evolves!.

What medium do you use?

Computer generated images, rendered and sometimes enhanced with photos and buildings rendered in Bryce.

Do your ideas come from life or imagination?

Well,I could say from life,but then humans might want to carry out tests on me.

So my ideas come from my huge imagination, I have done lots of photography over the years. I still keep coming back to computer creations, that seems to be the medium I need .

Fortress Of Nimmbl

How do you choose your images and colours?

The images and colors are what the Alien Landscapes look like in my imagination at the time of creation. I think there is no limit, it is after all MY imagination they pop out of.

They may even be real worlds, it might be as my alien friend Zorind says’…

“All of the Alien Worlds presented here by the human known as Alienvisitor are real, I project them to his brain with a mind link while he sleeps!.

He believes they come from his dreams and imagination, but he is, after all only …………………………………………………… human !.”

Who is your favourite artist?

I really think I am my favorite, having said that, there are artists on RedBubble and Renderosity that really blow me away ………. but not really any favorites.

What is your favourite piece of work by yourself?

I would have to say my early piece “Running the Vortex”, it was one of the first images I created before I started rendering. I posted it on a photography site and got all kinds of favorable comments.

Running The Vortex

How much time (on average) does it take to complete a work?

Another hard one!.

Maybe the following would explain it better.

My main software is Artmatic Voyager & Artmatic Pro + Photoshop.

Infini- D for building ships,space stations,buildings etc.

I use Poser 6 for DA people, animals.

Deep Space Explorer and Starry Night Pro which are software I use with my telescope,this for the REAL galaxies, planets, nebula, suns and star systems.

The main filters I use are Color Efex Pro 2.0, Sharpener Pro 2.0, Liquid, Mystical_TTC, plus on and off a number of other photoshop filters.

I have 100’s of folders in which I have collected ( for the last 20 yrs) bits and pieces of photo’s and creations, everything from moons, planets, seas, skies, mountains, nebula, star systems etc. Everthing I might need now or in future DA’s.

I have one folder that I use for my workshop.

I also use a Bluenose Wacom Tablet.

I first select what I may use, everything is on a transparent background, then I build the shot, which can take from 3 hours to a week or more.

I’ve being known to spend 2 days inside a single program, getting a certain sky,landscape or planet, until I achieve my goal.

In some cases I have done a built over 3 days and ended up deleting it and starting again!. Mostly that happens when too many ideas colide.

Red Dwarf Revisited

Once the build is to my liking I save all the layers into a folder, ( I have had up to 46 layers so far) then crop and save as a .jpg into another folder, then clear the screen and reopen the jpg.

Now starts the path to the finished DA, I try different effects until I get what I want, the mist or fog in my DA’s is created using the Fog filter in Efex Pro, the nice thing about this set of filters is that the effect can be painted on and off just where it is needed.

I use the Liquid filter and feathering to blend the edges of each layer, it also gives a nice paint effect, which I think adds to the DA.

When I finally have the finished produced then begins the render. I have a fast machine but it can still take 8 hrs or more.

How well do you take criticism?

Criticism many times hurts, but is also needed if we are to learn.

So it is taken in and I move on hopefully having learned from the comments..

What do you do to overcome a ‘block’?

I sit down and read a couple of novels and usually an idea forms. I work it through in my mind, then act.

How do you know something is ‘finished’?

It just is!

Sometimes its not easy to walk away, but the longer you keep at it the more chance to break the flow, so you just have to walk away.

Have you had exhibits in galleries?

No exhibits. I do dream though, it would be nice.

Starship Limitless Journey

Have you any exhibits in galleries planned for the future?

Its only in the last year since joining the RedBubble community that I’ve even thought my work was good enough to sell. I now know it is.

I have no exhibits planned at this time. I would like to maybe try some scifi conventions with my art, or even book covers!

What are your plans for the future?

Just to continue my creations and hope they will take off.Maybe think about promoting myself more.
I have produced a book of some of my creations which I’m trying to market, but scifi has always been a hard sell.

Thank you SO much for taking the time and sharing your thoughts with us.

To view more of David’s great images visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/alienvisitor/art