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[Comments on the prize-winning work]
Inspired by the Japanese folk tale that opening each drawer shows miniatured four seasons. These are my desire to touch untouchable matters. |
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| When did you start using computer graphics to create art works? |
| I don't know if it can really be called computer graphics, but I started when I bought my first Macintosh in 1998. I was amazed by the functions of Photoshop and Illustrator, and although at first it was purely entertainment, later I started work that I found on the Internet that involved creating images and learned how to use 3D and other software. |
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What first led to you to use computer graphics?
I originally bought the Macintosh for my wife, who is a clothing designer, but as I was setting it up, I was captivated by how interesting it is.
My first contact with computers was when I specialized in block prints as a student. I was looking for a new form of expression, and I bought a Fujitsu FM-77 AV on the recommendation of a friend. Even using pure graphics software, however, I was extremely limited in what I could do, and issues related to processing speed and storage methods made it almost impossible to output large block prints. I was extremely disappointed.
After that, I had no contact whatsoever with computers for more than 10 years, and I immersed myself in producing works by hand. When I tried using Photoshop on my wife's computer, however, I thought it might be possible to create works that surpass what I wanted to do, so I started using the computer. |
What motivated you to submit a work to the DCA?
I became aware of DCA about three or four years ago. I knew that the quality of the winning works is extremely high and some works are even submitted online from overseas, so I wanted to give it a shot someday. I was finally able to create a work on the computer that I thought truly expressed my own artistic personality, so I submitted it. |
| What aspects of your winning work, SSFW (Seasons) were you particularly exacting about, and what aspects did you find particularly difficult? |
When I was producing works by hand, I never thought it was necessary to draw on a rectangular canvas or piece of paper, and I sought to breakaway from that idea. As I was wandering about, searching for new materials, techniques, and display methods, at times I completely lost sight of the essence of what creating images means to me.
With the current work, I reorganized my thoughts, which had thus become too diffused, and attempted to confront issues such as "the figure/ground relation," "contrasting textures," and "narrative." |
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The screening committee members described your work as having "tremendous formative strength and clearly being worthy of the grand prize." What is the theme surrounding the symbolic object that you chose as the motif? Also, how did you create the motif?
The objects that appear in my work are things that I have continued to use as sketches from my "analog period," but they are common, everyday items that do not have any particular symbolic significance. I select things with the simplest possible forms.
The objects that serve as the materials were created, from the modeling to the rendering stage, using software called CINEMA 4D, but when I create the objects, I take objects that I made earlier, merge them and modify and combine them. In my analog period, it wasn't possible for me to do this as soon as I had come up with a conception.
I have a database of 2D materials that I created in my free time using Illustrator, Photoshop, and Painter, and I select from among them according to the theme. Ever since I purchased my first computer, I have wanted to pursue the collage method of expression, and I believe that this method suits me.
I arrange the completed objects in a manner that forms a "dissonance" that I find pleasing, and I use Photoshop to add 2D materials and textures. |
Has anything changed after you won the DCA? (Have your friends told you that they've seen your work, or have you become even more enthusiastic about your work?)
Some of my friends and acquaintances have congratulated me. Also, I am extremely happy that winning this award has shown my family that even when I am doing things other than work, it is not simply to amuse myself.
This is also the first time for me--in both my analog and digital periods--to win such a prestigious award. I feel that my relationship with art itself has been rewarded, and I am extremely grateful. |
What types of art do you want to create in the future?
Since I've learned how to use a computer, I haven't stuck to a single style as I did in the past. Even so, the things that one creates are an expression of one's humanity as a creator, and because the speed with which I can develop and complete one idea has increased, it is now possible for me to try various different things.
In the future as well, I don't want to concern myself with sticking to what I've created in the past, but to express my "true self" at a given moment. |
Works are now being accepted for the DCA 2005. Do you have a message for artists who are planning on submitting works?
The digital art community is not made up only of people who are specializing in painting and sculpture at art schools as seen at exhibitions in the past. There are also many people who are active in photography, design, advertising, and completely different fields. There is much to be gained through contact with new ideas and values, and I believe that there is tremendous potential for creating something new.
If you can create a work that you are satisfied with, you should definitely enter the contest, as everyone has an equal opportunity. |
The 8th -- Winner of the Grand Prize, 2004
Name: Hisaaki Yamane
Sex: Male
Occupation: Artist
E-mail : nykuma@mac.com |
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| Click on each picture to enlarge it. |
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1. Object modeling and rendering done using CINEMA 4D software.
Items that can be seen everyday were used as objects, but when modeling, actual objects or photographs were looked at as infrequently as possible and the model was created by relying solely on memory.
After determining the surface textures and lighting, the object was rendered using Photoshop.
At this point, multipath output was selected, and the distance, illumination intensity, depth of the shadows, object alpha channels, etc. were written on individual layers. |
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(Right) Object after being written in Photoshop. |
2. A range from the depth channel (distance from the focus) was selected and shaded off the background.
To give a different look to the texture, a portion of the object was copied to a different layer and motion blur and other effects were applied. This was followed by the use of a synthesis method, such as a "screen," to place the layer. |
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3. A photograph of a church taking while traveling was rotated 90 degrees, and just the church portion was removed.
The image was copied in reverse and made into a layer, and then a Gauss blur and a motion blur were applied to make the original image as unidentifiable as possible. Here effects, such as a selection range for the clouds, were used, and that portion was copied onto a separate layer, with the intensity changed and gradation added to avoid monotony.
It is easy to get the desired results with gradation by changing the tone little by little while monitoring the look.
The layer mode "multiplication" was used to fade the object into the background. |
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4. The flat-textured objects created in Illustrator were read into Photoshop.
Because the edges were too sharp, filters were used, such as brush strokes, to soften the edges.
Warmth was added, by adding noise to flat surfaces for example, objects were further blended into the background by changing the transparency and using a synthesis method. |
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| 5. A photo of a spoon shot with a digital camera was cut out, the tone and shadows adjusted, noise added, and the image was positioned using Hard Light. |
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6. A watercolor touch quick mask was applied to a photograph of a dirty wall shot using a digital camera, and this was placed in the forefront using Soft Light.
Two or three layers of texture were added to the wall while observing the way the layers stacked up. |
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| 7. A watercolor image of dripping water created in Painter and a scan of garbage attached to a cleaning roller were also added. |
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8. An alpha channel was created using appropriate brush touches.
All the layers were combined into a single layer, this was copied to the front, and a quick mask was applied to the alpha channel mentioned above, and these were combined in "screen" mode. |
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| 9. Variations were added to portions that were too dark, thus completing the work. |
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