February 2014 Artist of the Month - stonemason

Each month the Renderosity community votes on the Renderosity Artist Of The Month [AOM] ... February's AOM is stonemason!

We congratulate stonemason for an outstanding collection of works in the 3ds Max Gallery!

Tell us a bit about yourself. Who is 'stonemason' ?

Hi I'm Stefan Morrell, working from New Zealand as an illustrator and content creator at DAZ3D.

How long now have you been working in digital art?

Around late 2002, I got into using 3ds Max and Photoshop.

One Is The Loneliest Number

What are you currently working on?

Working mostly on DAZ3D content, environments, etc.

Your works are incredibly detailed and cinematic. What can you tell us about the work you put into each piece?

My workflow for creating images is to use 3ds Max to build the scene and render. Many of the models are often re-used between renders, so scene setup is fairly quick. I render out multiple passes (zdepth, atmosphere, specular, ao, gi, shadow, light, beauty, etc.), take these into Photoshop and each image usually takes an evening to setup the scene, render overnight as big as I can (usually around 6 or 8k), then spend the next evening color correcting, paint fx, atmospherics, etc.

The Enchanted Forest

Who, or what, inspires you?

Lately, I've been getting into art by guys like maxim revin, AndreeWallin, Sparth, james paick, Nivanh Chanthara. Images that have strong composition and atmosphere always impress me. Websites for inspiration are Pinterest, nuthin but mech, conceptships, conceptartworld, also a big fan of street art.

What software is in your digital toolset, aside from 3ds Max?

Photoshop, ZBrush, World Machine, After Effects, 123dcatch, PoserPro, Daz|Studio, xfrog, xnormal, crazybump, rayfire and many other small scripts and plugins.

SciFi Cityscape 2

What do you enjoy most about 3ds Max?

It's familar. There's other apps I'd like to be using, but haven't got around to learning them (Mari and Octane spring to mind).

What do you think your best piece of work is and why?

Don't really have any favourites. I tend to just see the mistakes in my older images, things I could have done different.

Do you have any tips you would be willing to share on the software you use?

Read the manual.

The Siege

Is there anywhere else that we might find your work?

Aside from the main gallerys at cgsociety & cghub, my main website www.stefan-morrell.com (rarely updated).

How has this online community (Renderosity) enhanced your work, relationships, and learning?

Initially, Renderosity was a great help in getting my content making career off the ground.

Do you have any parting comments, or advice for other artists?

Advice for artists? Umm...dont mix sleeping pills with laxatives?

We invite you to have a further look at stonemason's Gallery!

Be sure to visit:

Artist of the Month is highlighting a talented Renderosity artist that has been nominated by mods and admins, and voted by the community. Recognition is given to this member for their collection of works for that year.

Since we only select one AOM per month, it is not about their works for that particular month. Instead, it is about highlighting a talented artist's works for that year, and they are recognized during that month.

To learn more about Renderosity's Artist Of The Month [AOM] award, and to view our past AOM's, please visit the AOM page.

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