June's Artist of the Month - SkoolDaze

Jun 04, 2001 at 12:00 am by vette


SkoolDaze's Gallery (Renderosity: Who is SkoolDaze?) My name is John Girouard and I was born in Belleville, New Jersey, but now reside in Las Vegas, Nevada. I am 38 years old and happily married. I am currently employed as a Senior Programmer/Analyst and work in the service industry. When I am not spending time with my sweetie ;) I enjoy listening to all types of music, doing furniture restoration, reading, surfing the web and creating digital music, art, animation. I used to paint, draw and doodle as a child and was set to go to school for commercial art when I became a teenager, but life had a very different plan for me (as it so often does) and so it took almost 25 years before I started doing art again. I am so glad that I found this place (or it found me) and re-introduced me to one of my first loves. (Renderosity: How long have you have you been rendering?) A couple of years back I played with around with a friend's copy of Bryce and Poser 2. Tried to do a couple of images, but never really continued with it. I have also played with some other 3D demos, but again, I was not inspired to take it to the next level. Then back in January of this year I stumbled across this site and was in awe of all the fantastic art and artists. The concept of an online community devoted to graphic artists intrigued me to no end. All of this amazing talent in one location was so inspiring I decided to purchased Poser, Bryce and Photoshop and learn everything I could about them. I was hooked. I started posting images and never looked back. (Renderosity: What are you currently working on?) My skills. Since I have been doing this on a steady basis for the last 5 months, I feel that I have only scratched the surface of what I want to do. I want to learn more about 2D computer drawing and composition, 3D modeling/creation, texturing, etc... There are so many talented artists here that make my jaw hit the floor every time I see their work. I aspire to one day be able to create images that are just a fraction of the quality I see here. I am currently working on some new textures, models and characters for Poser. I am also working on, by request, several tutorials on hair and post processing techniques. I hope to have them done soon ;) (Renderosity: What software do you use and why?) Bryce, Poser and Photoshop and a bunch of shareware and freeware utilities. Why do I use them? I think they are fantastic tools. and besides, they are all I can really afford at this time ;) I have been checking out some other higher-end 3D packages (3D Studio Max, Lightwave and Maya) and hope that one day I can afford them and use them in my work. (Renderosity: Why do you like 3D art?) I like 3D art mainly because of the flexibility and creative power of the medium. I love the ability to create an image or a scene, sit back, look at the end result, then go back to any point in the creation and take it in a new direction. It allows you to experiment and flex those artistic muscles in ways that are completely different than conventional art tools. Undo is one of my favorite features ;) (Renderosity: What inspires you?) The awesome images and creations of the artists at Renderosity are a never-ending source of inspiration for me. The characters, textures and models I use seem to have a part of their creator in them. When I start working with these model or textures, that part of their creator generally dictates the direction and tone of the image I am working on. I am also inspired by everyday life! I know that sound so clich but it is true. When I am working on an image, there may be a part of someone I saw that day that ending up in it. It could be an expression, a smile, their hair, a mannerism, or just some little mundane detail that sticks with me. (Renderosity: How has this online community (Renderosity) enhanced your work, relationships, and learning?) The images I create reflect the combined efforts of many talented artists and modelers in this community. Much of what I do would not be possible without these gifted individuals (you know who you are!). Their knowledge, support and talent have allowed me to grow as an artist and to accomplish things that I honestly thought I could never do. It is these relationships I have formed with the people here at Renderosity that keeps me posting and coming back everyday :) I viewed all the galleries of the artists who were nominated this month (as I do every month) and every one of them deserve to be recognized and honored for their amazing vision and outstanding work. I am honored to be voted AOM and I want to thank everyone here at Renderosity for his or her support and inspiration. Every person I have met here has been so kind and generous with me. This community is such an amazing place and I am thrilled to be a part of it. Thank you! SkoolDaze's Gallery SkoolDaze's Online Store
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