Dante's Game

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing a close, personal friend of mine, James Blach (that’s not him pictured to the right–he’s much less curvy). James creates some really great 3D fantasy art and currently hosts his work on www.renderosity.com under the name, Grimmwysh. You can also see some of his work here in the gallery section of dantesgame.com. James also created the 3D rendering on the home page of my other site, www.safehavengames.org.

Dante: James, good to speak with you. How are things?

James: Could be better.  The Detroit job market depends mostly on the automotive industry and the Big Three are very near to bankruptcy.  As a Quality Engineer for the industry, I have had to rethink my skill set.  One of my hobbies was CG (Computer Generated) art, and that is where GrimmWorks comes in.  I am now hoping to take my hobby into the next phase: making money and hopefully, a new career.

Dante: You’ve been pretty productive lately with your 3D renderings. Why don’t you tell me a little bit about some of your latest pieces?

James: I generally like Fantasy, and this is the subject matter that I tend to have the inspiration for.  Right now, I am focusing on portraits of characters.  Some are inspired by past gaming experience or just from personalities of people I know.

Dante: Tell me a little more about “character portraits” if you will.

James: Portraits of characters, or “avatar images,” are a graphical representation of your favorite RPG character or online personae.  It is my interpretation of what your idealized character would look like for placing on your website or desk-top printing at home, to show off your developed, imaginative creation. For instance, if I were to create an avatar for Dante, it would be a Latin archetype with a roguish flare for the dramatic.  For Darkoath Dave, a friend and gamer, the character would be a drunk dwarvish warrior type with a devilish side.

Dante: What kind of programs are you using to achieve the kinds of effects and renderings showcased in your gallery?

James: I have Poser, Bryce, Carrara and Photoshop as of right now.  I also draw upon Ray Dream Designer and Anim8or for basic items and meshes.

Dante: Some of this stuff is amazing. Just like things you’d see in some of the hottest 3D adventure or fantasy computer games. Are you doing any work for hire or are you available for freelance work?

James: I can’t take all the credit for what you see.  Poser has loads of content to use for creating a character.  The idea is to take the existing content and mix and match to give a new character idea or composition.  I also bring in some of my own objects, simple ones for now, but I hope to keep moving towards complex objects and textures.

Dante: So this sounds like a mash-up of original creations and commercially available content–models, textures, backgrounds, and other elements?

James: In regards to content, they are broken down into various types for use in your scene, or for “dressing” the character.  There are basic body meshes, skin textures, hair choices, clothing, props and lighting.  These basic items can further be modified by “morphs.”  For instance, a popular, commercially available body mesh call Michael can be morphed into a slim elven archer with pointed ears or a muscle-bound barbarian warrior.  Applied skin textures can include beard stubble, tattoos, or even scars and wounds.  Eye color can be matched to hair color or nail color.  Morphs also include extremes, like Nosferatu, Gargoyles, Frankenstein’s Monster, or Goblinoid types.
My own content, for now, is mainly objects such as weapons and jewelry.  They are created, textured, and saved as files for import into Poser to interface with the character.  So for instance, if your character wishes skull inspired earrings, I can create the item, import it into Poser, and attach it to the character.

Dante: What’s next for you and this really great art?

James: What’s next…good question.  I have a vision to make GrimmWorks a freelance graphics website and business.  Like all struggling artists, I focus more on the art and improving my skills then on the business model.  The future holds many paths, choosing the right one is the challenge.

Dante: How can folks contact you if they’re interested in hiring you for projects?

James: Right now I have an email through your website at Purgatorio.com, grimmwysh@purgatorio.com or if you visit renderosity.com and look up Grimmwysh you can see and comment my art.

Dante: Thank you, James. It was great speaking with you as always. Best of luck to you with your venture.

You can get in touch with James Blach via his email address: grimmwysh@purgatorio.com or through his gallery at http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/browse.php?username=grimmwysh