The Art League of Long Island will be hosting a digital art experience on Sept. 20, featuring an interactive digital art workshop and a demonstration of digital sculpting. Visitors will also be able to view a graphic art exhibit of up and coming young digital artists in the Art League’s Strolling Gallery.
The exhibit opens Sept. 9, and runs through Oct. 7. On display will be cutting edge works created by Krista Biedenbach, S.Y. Lee, Eric Hutchison, Brian Richardson, Michael Dylan Ferrara, William Levenberg, Chris Pugliese, Lauren Forman, Amanda Reilly, Chris Dandrea, Roxanne Sostenuto, Chia Chien, and Harun Eggleton.
David Miller will run a hands-on workshop that will give beginners the basic skills to start creating 2D art in Photoshop, and will provide intermediate Photoshop users with some of the more commonly used shortcuts to help you work faster. To practice all of these skills participants will be invited, one at a time, to join in the creation of a surreal, digital collaboration of art. The subject will be determined by the participants at the workshop.
Miller is a science fiction and fantasy illustrator and an instructor at the Art League. He has created art for Dungeons and Dragons, Topps Star Wars Galaxy II, and many various genre related RPG books and magazines.
For several years Miller was the senior art director for U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala. He also attends science fiction and gaming conventions throughout all of the U.S. and conducts art workshops and demonstration at those venues. In 2011, Miller was an artist guest at the Bram Stoker Weekend and, in 2010, was artist guest of honor at I-Con, the local Long Island science fiction convention held at Stony Brook University.
Digital Sculpting, also known as Sculpt Modeling or 3-D Sculpting, is the use of software that offers tools to push, pull, smooth, grab, pinch or otherwise manipulate a digital object as if it were made of a real-life substance such as clay. From the completed 3-D model, an actual 3-D sculpture can be created using a 3-D printer. Brian Richardson will be using the 3-D modeling software, “Sculptris” and he will have some of his 3-D printed sculptures on display.
Richardson is an award winning artist and a senior at Farmingdale State University, where he is enrolled in the visual communications program. He is also employed as a graphic artist at Drive Medical Design and Manufacturing. His interest in digital art has culminated in a graphic novel which he has been working on for the past two years (deadgraphicnovel.com).
“Over the last five years my art has evolved from drawing with traditional mediums to working entirely digitally. I find this medium most in tune with my artistic ideals as there are no limitations to the designs I can create,” Richardson said.
The digital arts experience will take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is part of SPARKBOOM, a collective initiative to create vibrant events and opportunities that foster Long Island’s emerging creative talent.
SPARKBOOM is a project of the Huntington Arts Council funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The Art League is located at 107 East Deer Park Road in Dix Hills. For more information call (631) 462-5400 or visit www.artleagueli.org.
