I Raytracer

I have always liked the idea of letting others know what it means to be a ray-tracer. I don't know if it comes through in this work, but it gives me great satisfaction. In the original sketch I'm sitting at the computer, but I thought it more compelling to show the ray-tracer watching a spectacle of nature — a sunset over the sea — and then running to the computer to reproduce it... just as painters did with palette and canvas: only the medium has changed, the spirit is the same. I neglected a few details of the sketch, but the rendering is certainly better than I had planned it. This image took part in IMMAGINANDO 1997 and appeared in its publication. As a technical note: it is my only work involving 3D Studio Max — the room and the glazed terrace were rendered in 3DS Max, the outside environment in Imagine, and everything was then composited in Photoshop, where I also softened all the shadows.