The Digital Art Masters series was born from a realization that there
was missing from the market something that showcased not only high
quality gallery images, but also shared the thought processes and
creation techniques behind such stunning imagery. Since Volume 1
we have seen a huge growth in the popularity of this series, which has
been demonstrated not only in the sales of the books, but also in the
support from the CG community and contributing artists. We had over a
staggering 1100 art submissions for this fourth volume in the series ? we
could have very easily created a book at least fi ve times the size of the
one you are holding right now with images all of the quality that you will
see as you make your way through the following pages.
These books are collaborations; they are the product of many months
of labor and many nights and weekends spent, not in the sun, but at a
computer desk behind a glowing screen. Each volume of the DAM series
is an emotional rollercoaster ? from the very moment that I email artists
to confi rm receipt of their submissions, to the judging process with the
3DTotal team and our guest judges, through the ups and downs of the
content creation to the fi nal moments before sending the book to print.
I would love to be able to measure the amount of energy that goes into
one of our volumes ? not only from the 3DTotal team but the physical
and mental energy that each artist devotes and contributes. The hours
that the artists give to us are priceless, and I never fail to be moved
by the sheer warmth of the CG community; the way in which groups
of artists from all corners of the globe will come together to create
something beautiful, such as this fourth volume in our DAM series. This
year in fact we again boast artists from Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania,
Europe, North America and South America, making this volume yet
another diverse collection of talents from, quite literally, all around the
world.
The CG community is buzzing greater than ever with the most wonderful
artwork ever being created, making our task in the judging process as
painful as it possibly could be when having to make a decision to take
one image over another. As this year?s guest judges found, the task is
not an enviable one, but at the same time you could not help but be
overwhelmed and feel honored by the sight of an entire room literally
fi lled wall to wall with the most gorgeous collection of work you could
hope to see in one place at one time. Just fi fty of those images are
here today in this collection, making this just a tiny taste of what the CG
community has to offer. The articles that you?ll fi nd as you move through
the book have been created by artists, for artists. We are the mere
compilers of the stunning artwork and write-ups you?re about to see and
read, and we produce these books to give the artists within these pages
the exposure and merit that they deserve, for they are each in their own
right a Master of their digital art. And it is on this note that I?d like to thank
each and every contributor to this volume of the DAM series: the artists,
the translators, the guest judges, the friends and families who have
supported the artists through their late nights and weekends at their
computers, as well as the publishers who have made Volume 4 possible.
Finally, we thank you, the reader, for investing in the DAM series; we
hope you?ll thoroughly enjoy this latest offering and that it may lead to
the creation of your very own digital art masterpiece
