Digital Art Masters is now into its fifth year and is a testament to the niche that it fills.
Upon picking up the book, one is first struck by the caliber of work that adorns the pages
and this does only apply to the principal pieces. Each artist has been afforded space to
showcase a cross-section of their portfolio, meaning that while we are able to appreciate
a single work of art we are also treated to a slice through a much larger picture.
Arguably, the best selling point of these books is that they are a series of volumes aimed
at those interested in the arts, and composed entirely by those people concerned. As
such, we are provided with direct and untainted expression by the authors concerning
their own methodology and approach to their work, as opposed to a critique.
Each of the five volumes is a record of the many nuances that affect the trends within
the artistic community in both the world of 3D and for the digital painter. Artists naturally
reflect the development of new software and the evolution of additional tools, and this
book traces these fluctuations and mirrors some of the wider issues affecting the ebb
and flow in the related industries. The boundaries between 2D and 3D have been slowly
eroding over recent years and what this book shows is the ever-growing overlap and
how artists are now embracing a more versatile set of tools.
Post-production has become more a part of the 3D fabric and programs such as Maya
and 3ds Max are now often married to Photoshop in the path to producing final stills.
The cross-pollination of what were once two distinctly separate disciplines shows that
it is often difficult to unravel current processes and
see the blueprints behind the final result. What this
book provides is a firsthand account of the techniques
used to produce a final composition and an informative
look beneath the veneer, revealing the weave of the
tapestry on display. It is the artists who grace these
pages that ultimately provide the insight into their
creative processes and provide an honest appraisal of
what motivates and inspires them. It is this aspect that
probably serves as the single most valuable part of this
book and the Digital Art Masters series as a whole.
