GIGS // BLOT @ Counterculture / 26 May

PRESS // Making it to an in-flight magazine

never thought we would be on the Air india In flight magazine..the writing is a bit sensationalized for our liking but whatever :-)

Artwork // Frog formerly known as Prince

Somewhere in between a frog, a prince, a grasshopper and an anorexic. Hands are not that nice. Still figuring out the software but its fun. Tried animating it in Cinema4d. Will post samples.

VIDEOS // BLOT fashion preview / Anaglyph 3D

ha ha is all i can say for now >>

ARTWORK // Angry Old Man

Exploring Z Brush some more..its great! Of course the detailing and form explorations have to improve manifold, but its amazing to see how one can explore 3D sketching quickly to identify new ideas and directions for characters instead of drawing on paper. These were made directly on the computer in about 1 hour.

ARTWORK // Exploring Digital Sculpting

So I have been exploring ZBrush - the amazing digital sculpting software that is pretty much the industry standard right now. I have to say, its been less than a week since I started tinkering around with this, but it is an amazingly intuitive software and surprises with how much freedom it actually gives to 3 dimensional expression. I cant wait to get better (which should take about 1-2 years) and get back to my toy design roots. One of the directions we want to explore with this is 3D Printing for creating moulds for making own little toys and collectibles. Inspired! :-)

ARTWORK // The Mangroves in Havelock

I was just sitting and dreaming about our recent trip to the Andamans - to Havelock Island, the beautiful mangroves self organizing themselves to leap up and catch the sunshine on blue oceans.

ARTWORK // Stereoscopic Wallpaper for Nightclub

Get your 3D (red-cyan) glasses on and check out this series of stereoscopic wallpaper that we are working on. Partly inspired by a baroque sensibility of maximalism, and partly by electronic music, this is the first beta test for a new nightclub we are designing in Delhi with Mumbai's award winning studio The Busride. More soon.

ARTWORK // A Watchman in Florence

Here is one of the artworks I made (in a real rush as always) for our gallery showing in Delhi last month. Its the start of a project thats being brewing in my head since we visited Florence last year. The ceiling frescoes and art at the Uffizi gallery were amazing, and I have been wanting to create a digital video / mograph interpretation of these ceilings as my project for 2012. Of course, my 3D skills really need to get up to the next 4-5 levels for anything that comes remotely close to the mastery of the old school. Yet we try. This one's called 'A Watchman in Florence' >>

Here are some of the earlier developments while making it >>

And here is the final artwork as it got printed on canvas (4ft x 3 ft approx)

ARTWORK // Exploring Stereoscopy

So I have been spending some time exploring anaglyph / stereoscopic artworks. Have to say upfront that nothing I do or have even seen in contemporary 3D visuals compares to some of the pioneering work done in the 19th and early 20th century, such as these amazing works below (you will need Red-Cyan glasses to view these in their anaglyphic glory) There are thousands of such stereo-cards that we were shot a century or more back, and I find it pretty amazing that the 3D visual really has regressed since then. Even with present technology and its advanced state, I do find myself completely humbled by not just the quality of the image making / production, but also the relevance and ethnographic perspectives in these pictures.

Cut to 2012, and I have been exploring the stereoscopic camera in Cinema 4D. Must be said my own skills are only improving slowly given my lack of time, but its a start. I went on a trip to the Andaman Islands, and the first snorkeling and scuba experiences really got me inspired. Get your 3D glasses (red-blue) and take a look at what I have been up to. These are mostly graphic elements / motifs for a stereoscopic wallpaper set I am developing for a nightclub in Delhi. More soon!