How Can 3D Software Enhance M.C. Escher Art Reproductions?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the use of 3D software to enhance reproductions of M.C. Escher's art. Participants share their experiences with various software tools, challenges faced in rendering human figures, and the complexities of creating original scenes. The conversation includes both technical aspects of 3D modeling and artistic interpretations of Escher's work.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant discusses their journey in reproducing Escher's art using DAZ-3D, noting improvements in rendering human figures but also encountering new challenges related to scene creation.
  • Another participant suggests creating 3D images that utilize colored or polarized glasses, proposing this as a modern extension of Escher's concepts.
  • Concerns are raised about the appearance of the "Ascending and Descending" piece from different angles, with one participant providing previews from alternative perspectives.
  • A participant shares a video of a kinetic sculpture inspired by Escher's Waterfall, indicating a creative exploration of Escher's themes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express admiration for the artistic efforts shared, but there is no consensus on the effectiveness of different 3D modeling approaches or the feasibility of stereoscopic versions of the artworks.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention specific software tools like DAZ-3D and Hexagon, highlighting limitations in scene creation and the need for multiple programs to achieve desired effects. There are also references to artistic liberties taken in reproducing Escher's original works.

Who May Find This Useful

Artists interested in 3D modeling, fans of M.C. Escher's work, and individuals exploring the intersection of traditional art and modern technology may find this discussion relevant.

Janus
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I've been a fan of M.C. Escher's art for a long time, and ever since I got into doing 3D rendering, I have done various attempts at doing reproductions of some of his pieces to varying degrees of success. One of the problems I had was doing realistic looking human figures. I recently came across a some new software(DAZ-3D) that made this a lot easier (Though it did create other issues I needed to work through.)
Here are my latest versions.
First is Relativity. I've done other versions of this before,, but as I alluded to before was never happy with the figures.
relativity.png


Next is Ascending and Descending. This is another one that I've done an earlier version of.

ascend_descend.png

This presented one of the new issues I had to deal with. While DAZ-3D works great with the human figures, you can't use it to build the scene you want them to appear in (the program only comes with some pre-loaded items that you can use). Anything original has to be made in another program called Hexagon and then imported into DAZ. This involved learning a whole new modeling program.

The next three are works I've never attempted before.

Another World

anotherworld2.png

I took some liberties here. The original had birds with Human-like faces, But DAZ had the dragon as a existing figure, so I thought I'd substitute. The cratered landscape is from a NASA photo of the Moon's surface.

Belvedere

belvedere.jpg

This one posed another problem. Basically it had to do with not being able to match up the view seen here with the view available in Hexagon during the building the model.

Last is Drawing hands

drawinghands3.png

This actually involved multiple software programs Hexagon and DAZ-3D for the hand and pencil model, Moray and Pov-Ray to create the effect of the going from wire-frame to 3D solid, and Paint-shop Pro to put it all together to create the final result.
 

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From a fellow Escher enthusiast, these are wonderful!
 
I have long been a fan of Escher's works myself, and these are wonderful! Great job!
 
PetSounds said:
From a fellow Escher enthusiast, these are wonderful!
StatGuy2000 said:
I have long been a fan of Escher's works myself, and these are wonderful! Great job!
Sounds like we were thinking in sync :biggrin:
 
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Have you considered making 3-D images that use colored glasses or polarized glasses and 3-D displays? That would be a modern version of Escher's drawings, and I bet he would appreciate the extension of his concepts... :smile:
 
Very cool.
Does the "Ascending and Descending" look weird from other angles?
 
lego_relativity.jpg


You can see it from other angles here.
 

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BillTre said:
Very cool.
Does the "Ascending and Descending" look weird from other angles?
Of course, as does Belvedere

Here's the preview versions of them from a different angle.

asc-desc.png
belvedere2.png

For at least for these two, Berkeman's suggestion of stereoscopic versions would be difficult at best.
 

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Janus said:
Of course, as does Belvedere

Here's the preview versions of them from a different angle.

Very impressive!
 

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