Foreword

There are rare moments in history when a renaissance is conceived and the whole paradigm of a particular medium is changed forever. Through the celebration of subtractive carving or additive sculpting, these various art mediums have established a whole new cultural iconography and have created treasures through the art of sculpture.

A new artistic renaissance is quietly unfolding around us, establishing a medium of art no less powerful than those that have developed before it. As the unique artistic tools that are Photoshop, Painter, the tablet, and the stylus have forever changed the conceptual designer’s palette of techniques and injected a freedom and spontaneity into artists’ work, so has the development of 3D modeling packages given sculptors another wonderful tool.

As each new renaissance delivers to the world master craftspeople and artisans operating at the pinnacle of their chosen discipline, Scott Spencer has chosen to master the medium of 3D digital modeling and become a master craftsman in his own right. Scott is an exceptionally talented person who draws from an innate gift and understanding of the sculpted form and pairs this with his complete grasp of the technical complexities of software packages, digital technology, and cutting-edge 3D software. Scott has become well recognized for his work within the high-end creative merchandising field, while working within Gentle Giant Studios (one of the world’s leading merchandising and collectibles business). But he has also carved his own distinct career with the tutoring of 3D digital modeling and sculpture to students and professionals alike.

I have had the great pleasure of getting to know Scott over the past four years and have watched in awe as his skill and artistry has tasked the 3D modeling tools at his fingertips into creating dynamic figurative sculptures worthy of any gallery. We are now pleased to have Scott as part of our design studio here at Weta Workshop.

It is, therefore, a wonderful thing to be invited to write a foreword for Scott’s book on ZBrush and the art of 3D modeling. I find Scott to be an inspiration as he wields his craft. It is Scott whom I have turned to when considering our own artists at Weta Workshop becoming proficient in the field of 3D digital modeling, as I know there is no better tutor from whom we can all learn and who is part of this amazing new renaissance within the art of sculpture.

—Richard Taylor

Weta Workshop

Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand

Richard Taylor and his partner Tania Rodger began what would become Weta Workshop Ltd. in New Zealand in 1984. Taylor has won five Academy Awards© for his work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, for which Weta performed the gamut of digital production from compositing to animation of CG creatures, and King Kong. Over the past 20 years, the company has provided physical and digital effects for films, advertisements, and television shows, including the Hercules and Xena series, Master and Commander, I Robot, Van Helsing, The Last Samurai, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Legends of Zorro, King Kong, Daybreakers, 30 Days of Night, District 9, and Avatar. In 2010 Taylor was awarded Knight Companion of the Order (KNZM) by Her Majesty the Queen for his services to film.