Art of Justin Slick

My online home away from home! Sculpts, snippets of writing, sketches, ideas, WIP images, etc. In other words, all the little stuff that doesn't make it onto my portfolio page!

[justinslick]

I made a next-generation space telescope concept.  It kinda mixes the shape of the Chandra observatory with the cool segmented mirror of the upcoming James Webb telescope, and uses a huge tethered mirror like those recent design studies from Darpa and CU-Boulder

I struggled so bad with lighting and materials on this, but honestly... I’m just reallly happy to have finished something.  I need to learn how to make scenes like this more realistic, but for now I’m content with a semi-stylized kind of approach.

[justinslick]

It feels like the only art I ever make anymore are strange abstract glowy things.  I guess because the stakes are so low?

[justinslick]

I need to make a bunch of cloth based models for work--blankets, curtains, towels, etc.  Figured it would be fun to make a bunch of geometric patterns for textures, so I picked up Hexels for the first time in a looong time.  Loving the new x-els mode!

[justinslick]

Man, I really haven't done much personal stuff lately, but last night I was setting up a test scene to render some curtains for work and just started going wild.

I seriously don't ever read or watch horror, so I have no idea what compelled me to turn an underexposed test render into a spooky comic panel.

SketchUp, SUPodium, PS

[justinslick]

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Fantastic. Nothing else to say, really, except that all the hype is well deserved. 

It's an expansive, enormously original story. It's framed as a space opera, but saying that it's just a space opera would be like saying The Iliad is just a poem about a war.  Thoughtful ideas, super impressive world building, confident execution.  Plus, that gorgeous John Harris cover art...

This might actually be the first time in my life I've read a sci-fi title the same year it was released.  I still have a huge backlog of stuff I want to get to, but I'm incredibly happy to have caught this one from the beginning. 

This is Ann Leckie's debut novel, by the way, which makes it all the more impressive and promising.  I wouldn't call it a perfect novel (few books are), but it was damn good.

Verdict: For me, I'd say it was a 4.5/5.  But in the wider context of science fiction--who knows--if it manages to snag a Hugo or Nebula it could very well be a future classic.

Similar To: Of all the authors I've read, this probably falls closest to C.J. Cherryh.  I've also heard people mention Ian Banks, but I haven't read him (I know, I know).

Next Up: Leviathan Wakes (Because, oh shiit, I'm into space opera now.)

*edit* - Started Leviathan Wakes.  I'm like half an hour in, and WTF the set-up for this is like 98% indistinguishable from Pushing Ice.

I'm sure they diverge, because Pushing Ice is batshit bonkers, but having read it so recently the similarity is slightly off-putting.  I hope this is ultimately a better read--Pushing Ice has cool ideas, but the execution is so, so, uneven.  Jesus, I could rant about that book for a thousand words... I need to stop before I start.

[70sscifiart]

(via Looking Back On Tomorrow | Modern Mechanix)

[justinslick]

Funny that this piece came across my dash... Sherman Fairchild left a significant endowment to Dartmouth college, and a physical sciences building was built in his name.  It has this diagonally layered four story atrium that's sort of a cross between late-modern and early 70s brutalism, but it was updated with floor to ceiling glass .

It's such a beautiful, fantastic space... I used to go study there at night and it felt like some after-hours corner at EPCOT center. 

Anyway--because of that building I've always associated Fairchild with retro-futurism, so this article feels oddly appropriate.

[justinslick]

A recent bust that I made.  Pretty stereotypical, but I wanted to practice some things.  I may have pushed some things a bit too far post... maybe I'll have another go at it.

[justinslick]

I’m not really a photographer, but I think going out and shooting is a really good habit to get into.  Guys like Simon Stalenhag and Scott Robertson have both said that they regularly use their photography to inform and aid their illustration and design process, and if Sparth does it it must be right.

So anyway, I went out and took some pictures around Bellingham late last night.

***Also - Just want to say thanks to all the folks that have followed, liked, reblogged, and all that in the past week or so.  Means a lot!

[justinslick]

I was playing around with some new techniques last night and came up with this.  Actually, it was just a test render that I decided to do some post-work on... I've been doing little thumbnail studies of Sparth's work recently, and the way he plays with light/shadow and scale is just mind-blowing.  So I guess this is me trying to capture those qualities a little better.

I didn't plan on this being something I would post, but I really kinda liked where it ended up.  Wish I would have spent more time modeling and arranging the little settlement though.

[justinslick]

Red Thunder - Today's spitpaint.  Botched the foreground... I really need an hour on these.

[justinslick]

Melting Gate - Today's spitpaint.  Happier with colors today, but didn't really have time to work out the planes and shapes .  I definitely need to do a longer piece soon to work on my finishing skills.  Maybe this weekend.

[justinslick]

Ash Giant - For the daily spitpaint group.

Pretty happy with the shapes, not so much on the colors and values.

[justinslick]

Sketch dump? Sketch dump.

About once every 3 months I see something that triggers my deep seated desire to get better at Warner/Disney style line-drawing, which looks deceptively simple but is so incredibly challenging (imho) to do well because you have to have such a confident line to pull it off.

Like, you guys have seen those expression sheets from Frozen, right? Best. Fucking. Drawings. Every mark is literally perfect.

Anyway, I actually do like some of these (some of 'em are preeetty wonky though), but you should see my rubbish pile : )

I think I just need to slow down and think about where the lines go, and practice for like ten thousand more hours.  I seriously tip my hat to the people who can do this style well.

[justinslick]

A sketch from tonight...

[justinslick]

Thanks for the follow! Your models are great! I love all the saturated colors in your portfolio, especially in your game stuff!

Thanks, dude!  Really like your stuff too... that Creaturebox sculpt is so cool!

[justinslick]

More hexperimenting.

[justinslick]

I’ve been super inspired by Etall’s recent hexel animations, so naturally I had to try it myself.  Just a little idle cycle for Wan Shi Tong from Legend of Korra/Avatar.  I thought I was gonna want rotation, so I did the animation in After Effects instead of PS to make it easier, although apparently that didn’t pan out. Anyway this was ridiculously fun and I definitely want to do another one soon.