I have used computers to produce art for many years and as technology has changed, so has my digital art. When the COVID-19 lockdown began in March 2020, I wanted to develop some fluency using Google Tiltbrush, and so began my exploration of a drawn line in 3D space.
I planned to spend some time every day in Tiltbrush drawing human heads. I am interested in the interpretation of how we read faces and their connection to physical reality – even when in a digital space.
My daily exploration of a line drawn in a 3D virtual space began. I made a mark and drew a line… mapping movement in a chain of control. From the base of my feet to the tips of my fingers, I’m fully involved as my head and eyes constantly move to track the mark, a dance between hand and eye.
Using Google Tiltbrush I produced an outline, just as I would sketch a frame for a life drawing or create an armature for a sculpture. I produce standard form `Renaissance’ heads based upon those found in the Italian `How to Draw’ series of books. I then dropped into Paintbrush and used oil paint textures and tone to achieve 3D structures.
I added lines, moved, adjusted and removed lines, as too much description can detract from the story. What are the characteristics of an individual? I tried comic head frames based on the classic Marvel pattern square grid. I built from the grid to achieve a 3D head but found there were too many lines. I reduced this to a side and front elevation to explore the minimum number of lines needed to create a recognisable 3D head.
I now had a virtual wireframe around which to wrap the descriptive lines. By adding and manipulating the drawn lines and rotating the frame, I added more lines to see how the lines link to produce a jaw, an ear, and a nose. The egg shape evolved into the `Iron Man’ mask – on a `stick’ – which makes it easier to hold.
I reduced the frame to 2D planes which I took into Tiltbrush and used as the base pattern to create 3D representations.
As I worked, I referenced a 2D black and white photographic image of the writer and placed it within the 3D digital environment. The planes of the face using the front and side elevation are used to paint the structure of the face as planes instead of lines. Known as `hulls’ these create solid blocks based on the shape of the planes.
I add lines, move, adjust and remove lines, as too much description can detract from the story. What are the characteristics of an individual? How much can you leave out? What must be included to make it the face of an individual rather than a generic face?
Viewed within a Virtual Reality environment these lines gained a presence, they created an emotive link such that when I removed the headset I found myself absent-mindedly looking around, surprised that the lines were not there.
When I view the finished piece as a rotating 3D animation on a 2D screen, it asks questions about how we see and what we see. When, where and how do we learn to translate these lines into heads and arms, skin and hair, textiles and texture?
By rotating the 3D drawn line, the perception of the face changes as it revolves, and when the animation stops the drawing flattens and returns to a 2D line. The animation depends upon our perception of the flow of time and the sense of a drawing as a 3 object.
The appearance of the `hollow face’ illusion was an early delight. I called them HOLLOs and decided to draw sci-fi writers. My favourite genre of writing. This HOLLO image now influences the production of the drawings and the presentation of the work. 3D technology offers a shadow-play of virtual spaces. This is not about computer modelling: it is about creation with hand and eye.