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This particular "Artist's Pedestal" focus is none other than...our own Lyne from Lyne's Creations |
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Do you have any non-3D hobbies you'd like to share? Well, actually I am a "closet Trekkie" - in the literal sense! I have in the past, built doll house-like rooms for my Star Trek Action figures, setting up all these rooms on shelves in my closet! This was before computers took up all my "play and work" time, but I still enjoy my hand-made Trek houses showing off my favorite of the Trek shows: Next Generation, DS9 and Voyager. See my Trekkie stuff here Even before that period in my life I was privileged to finally own my own horses, a dream come true! I enjoyed every aspect of owning a horse, from the cleaning up to the trail riding! Currently my real relaxation hobby is to make "kitty flowers" in photoshop! Using layers I put cat or kitten faces into flowers just for fun! It's very relaxing for me. See an example here Whatbrought you to PlanIT3D? My friendship with Daryn (Fitzy) and his generosity in offering a home for my freebies, when they lost their previous home! PlanIT3D has really grown since I came on board. I consider it one of the best places on the Internet for 3D resources, information and freebies ;) and now with the Forum, a wonderful place to meet and talk with friends in the 3D community! How long have you been so artisically inclined? My entire life! As soon as I could hold a pencil I began drawing - horses mostly, and then leaning toward fantasy art subjects. How many mediums have you worked in over the years? Well, as I said, pencil to start, along with crayons if you go back far enough. Then soft pastels and oils for animal portraits, with a lot of miscellaneous crafty things thrown in every now and then. I made paper mache animals at one time. Pretty much all my art has been animal themed. I also got into photography as a natural side line when I needed to photograph animals for portraits, and later for model references. I am pretty much self-taught in all mediums, preferring to learn my own way in each. What non-3D artwork of yours are you most proud of? My pastel Arabian horse portraits. I did them just for the love of these "artistic looking horses" as well as for portrait commissions. Where has your art been featured or displayed, both digital and non-digital. In 1998, I was interviewed by PixArt on line magazine for their section on "Digital Women", and I had a cover or two at the Science Fiction Weekly ( 1, 2 ) on-line magazine site. Otherwise my digital art has been used all over the web, on other sites, on "on line" stationery, and even a couple of school banners! It was actually a big thrill to have my King Neptune art image used for a real life "Equator Crossing Certificate" that the folks on a ship print out for persons crossing the Equator for the first time! (aka - Shellback Day) I am very open to people asking me for permission to use my art in various ways. I feel it is a compliment to be asked, I find new friends this way plus it is nice to have links to my web site on other sites. How long have you used the internet as a vehicle for your art? 8 years. The Internet has been the very vehicle that has given me this amazing direction in my life! It has allowed me to meet so many new people who have contributed to my 3D education. I have discovered fantastic software to use in my commercial projects (or just plain have fun with!), as well as gaining life long friendships with fellow artists. It is such a joy to me to see folks give my "babies" a home in the fantastic art they create, it keeps me going and stretching my abilities! When and what brought you to working in 3D? I wanted for years to find a way to make my art more exciting for my mail order stationery business. This lead me to computers for creating color graphics. Before that I was doing pencil shaded drawings for stationery and coloring books I sold, with a high end copy machine! As the computer software for PC's improved, and the printer quality improved I expanded right along with them. From there I found Bryce, when it very first came to PC, and I was hooked but good. I left the stationery business behind and dove into 3D with a passion. What program did you start off with? As I said, Bryce for PC. I was enthralled with my first experience in 3D "space" and broke all the rules while playing (rather than just "learning") with Bryce. For example I put materials for the ground on other objects, just going wild with it - doing "abstract" art for the first time in my life. It was very "freeing"! I credit Bryce with giving me the basic understanding of the concept of 3D graphic space.I feel once you know the concept in one program it is easier to go into other programs. What are your favorite 3D programs now? Poser 4 and Vue d'Esprit 4 are my favourites at this point in time. Vue stole me away from Bryce with its "vegetation"! Great trees and plants add so much to a landscape! A place of "flora" for my "fauna"! (animals and bird models) I am also getting more into using Poser 4 for scene creating, now that there are so many things to use IN this program to create landscapes as well as building interiors. I love any program that allows me to work FAST in creating art scenes, because of my limited "play time". Besides, Poser IS the starting point for all my career projects! :) What was your first 3d project, as in not just an image, but an actual model or morph pack. OH my gosh! It's been so long, let me think! I think it was a few face-enhancing morphs for the Poser horse. Opening it's eyes more, creating stronger cheek bones, getting some movement in it's ears. How long has Vista Internet Products been in business? We have been in business since June 2000, offering my own 3D models, morphs and maps as well as the creations of several other talented people. We started out with animals, birds and fantasy creatures, soon expanding into other complimentary things for the 3D world - food items, toys, trees, buildings with furnishings, and so on. Our customer base has grown each year, with folks not only becoming repeat customers but dear friends too! In our third year, we are still delighted with the large amount of NEW customers who continue to give our store a try, with many becoming loyal customers. What has been your favorite commercial product to develop? Well none are favorites while the process is going on! I tend to swear at them at several points in the process. It is hard work... but after it is all done, and I can sit back and observe what came out, I would have to say my Herons and Egrets. It's funny because I never saw myself as a "bird person" even if I did have a dear parakeet as a pet. I just started out by teaching myself modeling with birds and fell in love with the shapes, colors and textures! Then again, I am very proud of my reindeer models too. To be honest I think my favorite project is the one I just finished....and then I am ready to move on to the next, something even more challenging so I can learn and experience still more in this wonderful CGI world! Where do you draw inspiration from for your models? From my love of animals, and obviously now, birds - in real life! I see them at the zoo or park and I want to "do one"! Do you take pictures of them for reference or do you work from memory? I have photographed animals for years for the sheer fun of it, and for "work", saving every photo I have ever taken. It's fantastic to live close by to both a Zoo and a Wild Animal Park! My photos have served me well for my projects both as reference for the shapes of the subject's body parts and for the way that animals/birds move or "pose". People ask me how I can sit there for HOURS pointing my camera at an animal or bird, but for me it is all pure pleasure. Every model I do feels like I have started a class on that particular animal or bird because I study them so hard. I read about them in books as part of the process as well. I do watch animals and birds very intensely but I rely on photos to remind me of every little detail. What color socks do you prefer? What? *blinks*.... uh when I wear socks, I just wearwhite.... the material is more important than the color! *laughing* White cotton socks! I understand you have several outstanding awards and achievements, would you like to share some with us? Well I do have some Bryce Select Gallery Awards for many of my early Bryce art. (I say early because it has been so the honor of getting the Bryce Groundbreaker award for my tutorial on creating Bryce bumps and fur, as well as an Achievement Award from 3Dkidscape. We understand you also give awards out, please elaborate on that for us. I have been on hiatus from giving out my Bryce Awards as life has been so crowded with many other obligations, but the Award Galleries are still up. I started out with my POSTCARD PERFECT ~ PARADISE BRYCED award inspired by the Bryce landscape art I have seen over the years. These images have so entranced me, I was overwhelmed by the desire to GO THERE! These images range from photo realistic scenery and colorful fantasy lands, to wonderful rooms that I would love to be in. Then my fellow judges saw a way to expand on the awards to encourage new Brycers. We developed the BRYCE BEGINNER'S SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT award, together. We would give out this award for any type of Bryce art that showed that special talent that was just blossoming. Care to share any teaser info on upcoming products that you're excited about? Well loving cats as much as I do, along with horses, I am in the midst of completing a set of "wild cat" Morphs and Maps for the new DAZ Millennium Cat. I have already completed a Cougar (also known as a Puma or Mountain Lion) a Bobcat, and the South American (both the orange and black coats) Jaguars & Clouded Leopard as well as the African Caracal cat. I just finished one more "spotted cat" that folks asked me for - the Ocelot. I want to give one more wild cat a try but I never say which publicly until the map is done to my satisfaction - so I don't disappoint myself or my customers. You see I don't EXPECT a project to work out, as it is more like a process of giving birth and being surprised by what comes out. And I have a standard that I must meet for myself as well. What goals have you set for yourself in the 3D community? To always grow in my craft and "surprise myself" with what I can learn, as well as enjoying the creations of other modelers and texturers! What are a few of your favorite sites and why? OH gosh, how to choose!! My Favorite Links "Page" is so huge it has become three sections! I have a "Resourses" section and an "Art Gallery" section, as well as my "Special Interests" links. I list out the sites with active links as well as a bit of an explanation of what you can find there. When I first got onto the Internet I spent three months in obsessed overwhelm, visiting every site I could find with 3D art, and of course spinning off into other sites! I lost a lot of sleep until the Internet adrenaline ran out and then I just had to "pace myself"! What advice would you give to a beginning artist today, in whatever format? PLAY!! Thank you Lyne for all the great freebies you've hosted here and for the wonderful interview. You've certainly covered the gambit in the art field and your experience is obvious in the terrific models you produce. We hope to see many more from you and look forward to them at PlanIT 3D Interviewed by Ben_Dover
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