David Austin
motion graphics / 3d artist
Aside from the world around us, there is another 3D world we see every day and may not even realize it. We caught our first glimpse of this digital space circa 1973 via Michael Crichton’s film “Westworld”. Fast forward twelve years to 1985 and more is revealed during Barry Levinson’s “Young Sherlock Holmes”. Culminating a decade later in 1995 as John Lasseter’s “Toy Story” thrust this dimension squarely into view.
Welcome to today! The digital world of 3D is now a part of our everyday lives, just like milk and cookies! We visually consume this world of our own creation daily. It lives on our computers and devices, takes us on journeys beyond our imagination and deep inside our physical world. The tools to access, create and modify this infinite space are easily accessible, downloadable, open source and powerful. Using tools like 3DS Max, Blender, Maya, Solidworks, Unreal Engine and Zbrush we have harnessed a medium to make the physical, digital and the digital, physical.
The foundations of this 3D world may reside on computers and devices using software. However, the monumental achievements created within it, have “morphed” from their binary origins to affect our world in ways unimaginable back in 1973. To fully comprehend the facets of this world within our world, here are some of the many sectors it dominates today…
- Film, Television and Visual Effects
- Computer Games and Digital Entertainment
- Product design and Manufacturing
- Aerospace, Automotive and Robotics
- Geospatial, Data Analytics and Infrastructure
- 3D Printing, Prototyping and Engineering
- Medical, Education and Sustainable Development
- Augmented and Virtual Reality
- Simulation and Visualization
- I can keep going, but you get the idea….
As the future hurls towards us, our physical reality faces daunting challenges. We struggle to find our path and have difficulty navigating a course. Like any sentient species, we seek our place in this dimension founded 13.7 billion years ago. While on this path of self-discovery, we spawned a digital world of infinite imagination, creativity, and possibility. The synaptic enlightenment which emanates from this dimension of our creation, may hold the key to unfound knowledge within.
It is our obligation to continue making discoveries and enhancing our understanding in this digital dimension. After all, our imagination has no limitations. If we can learn from the past, we can certainly affect the future. As a 3D artist, animator, and digital content creator I reflect to James Cameron’s 1991 cornerstone technical achievement and storytelling masterpiece….” Terminator 2: Judgement Day”. A film that charted my course into the digital world while branding popular culture with the prophetic words of John Connor…
” The future is not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.”