Explosive 3D art is out of this world

Angel Alonso considers himself a 3D generalist. And while his work brings in many modelling contracts, it's clear from his process that he thinks bigger than simply the model.

"I always try to tell a story in my images," says Alonso. "I am dedicated to not only making the designs of machines and robots, but also the environment and the special effects for the complete story."

The image on these pages is actually the third version of the scene, Alonso began working on concepts in ZBrush, including robotic dogs and tanks, before moving to 3ds Max, V-Ray and then finally KeyShot.

"My way of working is that of an illustrator who uses 3D as another tool. I enjoy watching a 3D sketch transform into the final image. Although I have an initial idea, I like to vary the design," he explains.

One trick Alonso learned from moving into 3ds Max was to create the robots' limbs separately, ensuring he can pose his models as progress is made on making the scene more dynamic. "I added several objects flying in the robot's head, who was killed by the shot," he says.

To render the realistic fire, smoke, explosion and other gaseous effects, Angel used FumeFX. "The intention was to create a scene of total war. So I spared no effort to make an explosive image. Photoshop was indispensable to mix all the components and integrate them with each other."

This article originally appeared in 3D World issue 183.