Beware The Dentist!

     So, I was at the dentist today, and decided to play around with Daz...  Then once I had a render, I decided to take it into Photoshop...  Then this came out.  Not sure what it is; possibly a companion/villain for Gigawatt?  Jacket by wilmap.

E.H.U.D.: Prelude To Apocalypse

     So, for those of you who haven't been up to date with my other blog, The Realms of Neldak (see sidebar), I've been writing a novel, E.H.U.D.: Prelude To Apocalypse.  The story is finished, and although there's still some polishing up to do, I've decided to embark on an epic quest to adapt it into an interactive web-based adventure.  Think Hinson Totoro, but with more reading.  Anyhoo, I've been working up some artwork for the novel, and this is the background/menu for part of Chapter 1: Ashleigh spilling the tea.  Yes, that's how my 500 page long sci-fi political thriller begins.  Deal with it. The site, along with the first chapter and intro video, should be up soon.  Until then, please check out the book over at The Realms!

Action-y Action Figures...

So, way back in 2008, I began experimenting with stop motion and chroma keying.  Using my old point-and-shoot, I took a series of photos on a blue background, separated them in photoshop, and made the above, then the following.  I never really got back into it, save for a bit of Deadpool and Starscream, but it was fun while it lasted.  Enjoy!

Dungeons & Dragons For The Morbidly Obese...

     So, working for Rhett and Link...  I was recently given the job of finding some pictures for a sketch.  These pictures, that of a Troll, Dragon, Sorceress, and unnamed fourth character, were to be used as new circles on a twister board that in turn would be a part of THE MOST COMPLICATED BOARD GAME EVER!!!!!  (it should be coming out soon...  I'll post a link when it does...)  Anyway, being me, I instantly decided that the best way to "find" pictures would be to make my own.  Well, Daz studios comes preset with a dragon, a sorceress, a warrior (the unnamed fourth character), and I had already bought a troll, so....  Yeah.  I posed, lit, and exported for post in Photoshop.  Hope you enjoy!

Makin' Movies

So, I'm working on a short film (a real one, with a budget!) as a production designer.  During the early parts of development, I was tasked (along with my friend Kelley) with designing the characters' school uniforms, based on some ideas and images provided by our director.  We went out to Goodwill (always a good start) and took some photos of clothes.  I then took those photos, reconstructed the parts covered by hands and hangers, and colorized 'em.  Using Daz, I rendered out a little girl, then warped the clothes over her.  One posterization later, and this concept sketch was complete!  The design was ultimately rejected for something a bit simpler, but I think this 'sketch' is good enough to share (and to just show what the heck I'm up to here in Hollywood).  Enjoy!

Also, if you need a production designer, contact me; I'm good.  See?

Blender Miscellanea

Right then, a selection of items I've made in Blender (save for the first, which was Daz).  I haven't messed with Blender in a while, and have a lot of half-finished projects lying around, but I thought I'd share some renders of what little is finished.  So, in order:

A troll hunting a deer (or an antelope), made in Daz.

A penguin made for a logo design, my first experiment with UV mapping.  Still not totally finished.

A group shot of my two finished and rigged characters, Dan and Sperry, in an office environment.

A shot of Sperry wearing the headset I made him.  Originally planned for an episode of "Deadpool and Starscream," never used.  He also has a poncho somewhere on my hard drive.

In addition to these, I have a half-completed Pockett strip somewhere, and plan on releasing it... someday.  Have fun!

Gigawatt!

Okay, so, way back in like, middle school (early 2000s) I got into doodlin' (as kids tend to do), and eventually drew myslef as a super hero (as kids tend to do).  Then today, I was sitting at work with nothing going on, so I got to doodlin' (as high-paid night shift pencil sharpeners do) and popped out a picture of Gigawatt, my electrically charged alter-ego.  Later, during class, I got to messin' around with a 3-D modeling program (as kids tend to do) and popped out the picture below...

I then brought that picture into Photoshop (as kids--okay, that's getting annoying) and layered the heck out of it, until I got the character demonstrating his powers in a very showy manner.  The little thing in the upper right-hand corner is his logo.  It's supposed to be a lightning bolt crossed with a 'G'.  It's.... a little abstract.  So!  3D done in Daz, using the Genesis figure and various add-ons.  Couldn't get him looking exactly as I wanted, but close enough.  2D done in Photoshop.  Fun fact: There are only 2 lightning bolts generated.  They were merely flipped, stretched, and rotated to create the ELECTRO-STORM!  Hope you enjoy....

Arcadia

Not an image this time, but a link to a series of images...  As the final project for a college course, we had to create an 'interactive'... project.  The majority of the class said "screw that" and made a film.  However, we also created an interactive website/ demi-game to appease the teacher.  That was my part.  Following this link will bring you to that site.  All of the collage images were created by yours truly using photoshop, Daz Studio, etc., etc.  Many hours went into making these beat-up, washed-out photos.  THe navigation scheme (such as it is) was also my work.  Hope you enjoy!

http://www.wix.com/aiclass/arcadia

In the Studio

I like movies. Most people do. I also like making movies. Again, many people can agree with that. But I look at movie making not as a hobby, but as a career. I've got two credits on IMDB already, and hope to add more. Ever since I was 5, I've wanted to be a film maker, and it looks like I might actually be able to some day.

A couple weeks ago, my mom showed me a scholarship opportunity entitled 'Frame Your Future." Basically, you make a piece of artwork showing what you hope to see in your future. So... I did that. I made a little film set, complete with crew. I used action figures from 6 different toylines*, four of which were heavily reworked/painted by yours truly (see Custom Figures by Hrothmeir to the left), photographed them separately on blue screens, and composited them in Photoshop. This was my first success with HDR photography (my older attempts were down without the aid of a tripod), and I really like the results. The background was made in blender, exported as multiple images, and then HDR'd in Photoshop. I then added shadows, lights, etc., etc. in, you guessed it, Photoshop.

Oh, and the camera was made with LEGO; I'm rather proud of it, actually.

*Star Wars (30th Anniversary), G.I. Joe (Rise of Cobra, 30th Anniversary), Indiana Jones, Avatar, Iron Man 2, Prince of Persia

'Pockett' Captain

If you peruse the links along the side of this page, you'll notice a webcomic entitled 'Pockett.' And.. that's my webcomic. Originally done in a traditional/ digital 2D style, I've been trying to transition to 3D, and actually have two different storylines going, distinguished by 2D/ 3D styles. The eventual plan is to turn it into a more realistic style, as seen by the Captain above. The captain is, well... the Captain of the Pockett, the greatest starship in the night sky! He's not yet rigged, or fully finished, but I think he's done enough to show off. Made in Blender.

Darth Vader

This is the companion piece to my previous post featuring my Obi-Wan redesign; in fact, both were originally drawn on the same page. This design change falls a bit more into the story-changing category I alluded to in the last post: this is not merely a more armored Anakin Skywalker, this is an injured and partially cybernetic Darth Vader shortly before the climactic battle with Obi-Wan that robs him of his humanity and leaves him as the black-clad villian we all love to fear.

Again, just like Obi-Wan, the design made the jump to 3D.

Come to think of it, the figures may have actually come first, followed by the sketches; it's rather hard to remember...

Obi-Wan

One of my early inspirations in art (and narrative, and life in general) were the Star Wars films. They... moved me. As these films were such an important part of my life, I was profoundly displeased with the last two films in the series. Due to this, I spent a bit of time redesigning the series in my head, rehashing the story and redesigning some of the characters.

One of the characters was Obi-Wan Kenobi. I felt that, as a Jedi Master and a general in the Grand Army of the Republic, he should look more like a medieval warrior rather than a medieval priest. I drew up the sketch for this sometime in late 2006 (I think) and later scanned it in and colorized it in Photoshop.

I later took this design and launched it into the 3rd dimension by way of a rather basic custom action figure. More information can be found on the figure's entry in the link "Custom Figures by Hrothmeir" found in the links section on the left-hand side of this page.

Flannel

Hello, and welcome to the Art of Hez; I'm Hezekiah Bennetts. The purpose of this site is to provide a repository for my art, as well as some insight into the creations. Now, I will freely admit that I'm no great artist, but I hope that having this public record of my art will push me to better myself and improve further.

I'll be starting this blog with a personal favorite of mine, a 3D living room created with the program Blender. Made in early 2011 for a college video project, it was used as a chroma-keyed background in a faux kid's show. It is meant to evoke a flannelgraph, similar to the backgrounds found in shows such as "Blue's Clues."