Tell us a little about whwhitney? I'm a 33 year old Chicago artist who lives to reach that moment of creativity where time stands still. That creative place that we only realize we've been to as we're coming out of it. Where five hours of painting can seem like five minutes. But the time I spend in that creative zone comes second to the time I spend with the love of my life, my wife Ixchel :) I believe I was in the second grade when my mother showed me an old box of drawings done by my older brother David when he my age. I thought it was magical. The idea that someone I knew could actually create life on a page. This was my first inspiration to create art. Over the years, my drawing skills increased at a steady rate. No matter what class I was in I was always the best at accurately reproducing what I saw. This was not necessarily a good thing because it made me think I was better than I actually was. The greatest moment of my life was visiting the American Academy of Art in Chicago. This was my epiphany. The student artwork on the wall reached out and slapped me in the face with the truth. The work on the walls was good. My work at the time was mediocre at best. Coming to this realization was the real beginning of my artistic journey. I learned that day to view my work with an objective eye. Of course like most things I do, I took this to the extreme. My objective eye became a critical eye. Too critical. I still have many an unfinished painting that I started during this time. Unfinished because there was always something I could do to make it better. So I would end up with an overworked, unfinished piece. My Illustration teacher let me know that if I didn't ease up as far as this was concerned, all I would have would be a portfolio of overworked, unfinished pieces. After a few more overworked, unfinished pieces I finally got the message. I'm happy to say that now my artistic abilities exist in a place that allows each piece I do to become what it was meant to be. As artists that's all we can hope for. How did you get started in 3D art? Does anyone remember the slogan "I adore my 64"? My first computer was a Commodore 64. It didn't have much in the way of art related software at the time. I did have one program that let you draw on the screen, but it was very crude by today's standards. Using it was like painting a tiny highlight in an eye by dipping your thumb in the paint instead of using a fine brush. Then came the PC. POV-Ray was the first real 3d program I used and I loved it. I absorbed the manual and made the syntax a part of my vocabulary. Looking back I have to laugh. I studied that manual like I was studying for the LSAT. I amassed the knowledge to create worlds, but all I ever created were images of spaceships, drones, and geometric landscapes. Go figure. What software do you use and why? My story is similar to that of many of the members here. I own Poser 1-4. I can't exactly remember where I purchased Poser 1, but when I did my life changed. All of a sudden I had a model at my disposal. Granted, I had to fill in the details when using the Poser 1 figures as a reference for illustrations, but that sharpened my artistic skills that much more. With each upgrade there was less work required to fill in the blanks when using a Poser figure as a reference. With the advent of the millennium figures and the creative lighting discoveries that have occurred, Poser 4 has taken a big step beyond the limitations of the rendering engine. It is now a legitimate means to an end in the creation of realistic 3D art. I also purchased RayDream Studio and a few upgrades. I don't find myself using this as much anymore. For post render work I use photoshop. Where do you find inspiration for your products? Life. I probably have close to thirty marketplace/freestuff items in progress. When the ideas come I like to get started, and the ideas come all the time. Everything around us is an inspiration. From the way the people around you on the dance floor move to the music to the way your neighbors body language changes when he looks up and realizes it's you saying happy new year to him. There is inspiration all around us every moment of every day. All we have to do is notice it. That said I should answer in a more practical way. Because I do mainly poses, I am bombarded with inspiration every time I go out into the world and see another human being. Movement is my inspiration, and it's everywhere. Any advice for getting started in selling 3D work? Pick a category of products (textures, poses, expressions, etc. . . ) and create within that category for a while. No matter how good you think your first creation is, your second will be better. That's the advantage of sticking with one thing for a bit. You can continue to build on what you learned while creating the previous product. What is most important though, is that you set and maintain a standard for yourself. That you create products that you would buy if someone else had created them. How has this online community (Renderosity) enhanced your work, relationships, and learning? I love this place. Renderosity has greatly impacted my artistic life. The simple fact that a question that may be hindering my progress can be answered within a few minutes after posting it on a forum is still amazing to me. Seeing the work in the gallery is a constant reminder of the infinite possibilities of what we do. In this age of people becoming less social in the real world, it's nice to know that the virtual world is so full of kind and creative people. To Aleks, Azl, Bloodsong, Cake1, DebbieM, Deimos, Destiny, Eric Westray, HMG Designs, kennect, joelegecko, pd11761, ronmolina, Syyd, Tammy, thip, TT, and Xena. Thank you for your kind words, thank you for your help, and thank you for being an inspiration. Thank you. And to each one of you that felt my work could help to enhance your own, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.