Art Studio - 1/03
Issue: Volume: 26 Issue: 1 (Jan 2003)

Art Studio - 1/03



Flowers These blooms, modeled in 3ds max, are among several 3D elements Vitale created recently as background imagery for a company's Web site.





Prophets Workshop This image, one of the artist's earlier works, earned second place for illustration in StrataUser Magazine's 3D Media Contest. The modeling and rendering were done in Studio Pro 2.1.1, and all the textures were generated in Photoshop.





Wolf 2001 Working closely with Phil Saunders, a conceptual artist at game developer Presto Studios, Vitale generated a digital mechanical wolf for a product brochure using Maxon Computer's Cinema 4D and Photoshop.





Postman Caterpillar An earlier example of Vitale's work, this caterpillar was generated for a Studio Pro tutorial called "Mastering 3D Graphics, Creepy Insects Issue," which covered modeling and inverse kinematics.





From digital illustration and motion graphics to animation and visual effects, professional artist Frank Vitale of Phoenix has done it all while working in the film, broadcast, gaming, and publishing markets. A formally trained artist, Vitale now works only with digital software. "Using the computer as an artistic tool is so different from using traditional media that I can't even compare them," he notes. "With the computer, the final output is what ultimately counts; it's all about the piece you've developed. Conversely, with painting, sketching, or even pottery, it's more about the processes and the journey, rather than the end result."

Currently, Vitale's work is concentrated within illustration and game development, two vastly different disciplines. With illustration, Vitale says he is free to explore software features; with game development, he must adhere to strict image guidelines while producing compelling imagery. For the game development and illustrative work, he primarily uses Discreet's 3ds max and Adobe Systems' Photoshop, though he has used Strata's Studio Pro extensively in the past. For generating corporate animation and motion graphics, he also uses Adobe's After Effects.

In addition to creating digital content, Vitale also lectures at trade shows and schools. For further information about Vitale and his work, visit his Web site at www.vitalef.com. —Karen Moltenbrey

Wolf City





Wolf City and Truck were used in a car audio manufacturer's product literature to illustrate the company's "evolutionary" technology with images of alien planets. The pieces were executed in 3ds max.





The Entrance This scene was created as a tutorial on generating a natural environment, which was done for Strata's "Mastering 3D Graphics"series. The image was modeled in Studio Pro and textured in Photoshop.