Gnomon Limited Edition Holographic Prints

Ten renowned entertainment industry artists created limited edition RabbitHoles in collaboration with Gnomon Gallery in Hollywood, CA. Gnomon Inc. is famous for its school, workshops and DVD series which train esteemed computer-graphics artists for the entertainment industry in particular.

To watch video footage of the event, including interviews with the artists and other industry visionaries, click an image on the right.

Artists Alex Alvarez, Fred Bastide, Pascal Blanche, Kris Costa, Jeremy Engleman, Meats Meier, Laurent Pierlot, Aaron Sims, Scott Spencer, and Taron have worked with all the major movie studios as well as Pixar, Dreamworks, LucasFilm, Stan Winston Studios, and Gentle Giant, on projects including Avatar, The Incredible Hulk, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Iron Man, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Monster vs. Aliens. They are also linked to videogame and entertainment software companies such as Ubisoft, Blur, Pixologic (Zbrush), Softimage, and Alias/Autodesk (Maya), and have received countless awards and accolades from industry magazines, journals, and web forums.

Here is a closer look at the artists who created RabbitHole® 3D Motion Holograms for the Gnomon Gallery series:

Aaron Sims

For the Gnomon Gallery series, Aaron Sims created a 3D model of his personal portfolio character, "Thorn", a glistening and sharp creature looming in 3D space against a dramatic and multi-dimensional red backdrop that evokes the consequences of coming into contact with this particular creature. When interacting with the image, his facial thorns threaten the viewers by breaching several inches off the surface, while the larger and longer thorns stemming from his spine are revealed in full as you see around him inside the 3D space. Sims generated "Thorn" using a combination of primarily Maya, Zbrush, and Adobe After Effects. Click the image to the right to watch the CG Channel interview with Sims in front of his hologram.

Aaron Sims began his career as a teenager in Arlington, Texas, working for renowned illustrator Don Ivan Punchatz. After moving to Los Angeles, Sims’ work attracted the attention of legendary Academy Award® winner Rick Baker, for whom Sims served as a leading special effects artist on Gremlins 2, Batman Forever, Mighty Joe Young, Nutty Professor, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Men in Black.

Working with Academy Award® winner Stan Winston, Sims introduced his visionary process to Steven Spielberg as lead character designer for Artificial Intelligence: A.I. As co-founder of Stan Winston Digital, Sims led the studio as art director and head concept artist on Constantine, Fantastic Four, Terminator 3, Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, and Tim Burton’s Big Fish. As an independent concept artist, Sims contributed to 30 Days of Night, The Golden Compass, I Am Legend, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Chronicles Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Incredible Hulk and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. In 2007, he co-founded White Rock Lake Productions with business partner and long-time friend John Norris while opening his own fully capable design studio, The Aaron Sims Company.

"Thorn" by Aaron Sims is available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

Alex Alvarez

For the Gnomon Gallery series, Alex Alvarez, Founder and Director of Gnomon Inc., created a 3D version of his "Kiss" scene, which depicts two skeleton-like creatures "lip" locked, aglow, and also afloat in a seemingly eternal manner; they are chaperoned by a buoyant quadruped and surrounded by bubbles that define the 3D space with their positioning off the surface as well as in depth. Alvarez generated "Thorn" using a combination of primarily Maya, Zbrush, and Adobe After Effects. Click the image at the left to watch the CG Channel interview with Sims in front of his hologram.

Alex Alvarez is Founder and Director of The Gnomon Workshop, Gnomon School of Visual Effects, and several other extensions of the Gnomon family of companies based in Hollywood, CA. Having dedicated the last decade to educating students and professional artists around the world, Alvarez has helped change the face of computer graphics and design education. He has been published in industry magazines, websites and books, plus he has taught courses at several major trade conferences. Alvarez is president of the Los Angeles Maya Users Group and sits on the Advisory Boards for Highend3D.com and CGsociety. He continues to work on personal and professional projects, recently as a creature development artist on James Cameron’s highly anticipated film Avatar. Prior to Gnomon, Alvarez worked for Alias|Wavefront as a consultant and trainer for studios in the Los Angeles area. He is an alumnus of the Art Center College of Design and the University of Pennsylvania.

"Kiss" by Alex Alvarez is available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

Fred Bastide

Fred Bastide contributed his "Small Invader" piece to the Gnomon Gallery series, which depicts an innocent looking yet guilty seeming extra-terrestrial caught in mid-invasion; and though his figure is frozen, perhaps in hopes of camoflauge with the color-coordinated carpet and subdued surroundings, his eyes subtly and steadily follow the viewers almost as though they were the ones who spotted him at the scene of the crime. Real footage of this print is shown in the Gnomon Gallery video at the top of this page.

Fred Bastide began tinkering with the artistic boundries of computer-generated art some ten years ago. Bastide has a classical arts education, and is a graduate of Ecole Des Arts Appliques de Vevey and Ecole Superieure D’Art Decoratifede in Geneva, Switzerland. Many of Bastide’s figures are derived from personal images — "I like to marry realism with a little bit of fantasy or weirdness… a kind of tempered surrealism". At 36, he currently lives and works in Monteaux, Switzerland.

"Small invader" by Fred Bastide is available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

Jeremy Engleman

Jeremy Engleman created two pieces for the Gnomon Gallery series: "Nape of the Neck" and "Head of a Woman", both photo-realistic female portraits that were, in fact, computer-generated using Maya and Z-brush among other 3D and digital art tools. "Nape of the Neck" takes advantage of the way the 3D holographic space allows viewers to interactively experience different sides of the same object, with one extreme only showing her back and the other offering only a glimpse of her face and figure in profile without ever becoming full-frontal. Alternatively, "Head of a Woman" diminishes the full-frontal with the clever use of a cloak and uses the animation potential of the holographic medium by having her eyes demurely avert their gaze no matter where viewers position themselves in relation to the surface. Real footage of these prints in the Gnomon Gallery video at the top of this page.

Jeremy Engleman has been pushing the envelope in the computer-graphics industry for fifteen years. Engleman has worked in games, multimedia, print, visual effects, 2D and 3D feature animation, and is currently working for Dreamworks Animation. His individual clients include Sting, Peter Gabriel, Evans and Sutherland, Dodge, Penguin-Putnam, and Disney. Engleman has contributed to award-winning and hit projects such as Sting’s All This Time, Peter Gabriel’s EVE, Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester, Riven: The Sequel to Myst, The Patriot, Sinbad, Shark Tale, Flushed Away and Bee Movie.

Both prints are available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

Kris Costa

Krishnamurti Costa, a.k.a. "Antropus" contributed a 3D animated version of his "Old Tribal Woman" to the Gnomon Gallery series. In this 3D animated hologram, the extreme viewing angles depict a life-less woman with her head prone and appearing in black-and-white; then, as viewers interact with the piece she comes to life and is revealed in full-color. Real footage of this print is also available in the Gnomon Gallery video at the top of this page.

Kris Costa is an award-winning Brazilian CG artist who worked as a character animator, texture artist and/or digital modeler in productions such Pan’s Labyrinth, The Mist, Evan Almighty, and The Barnyard among others. His favorite tools are ZBrush and Maya, used both for his personal and professional work. Costa has won the 3D Grand Prize in two CGTalk Challenges: MachineFlesh and Master & Servant.

"Antropus" has his works, texts and interviews published on several websites, and in a number of books and magazines. He also created a series of free tutorials to help artists learning modeling, texturing, shading etc.

"Old Tribal Woman" by Kris Costa is available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

Laurent Pierlot

Laurent Pierlot developed a full-3D version of his "Fly" scene for the Gnomon Gallery series. The hologram depicts a rather loonie and rotund gentleman in red velvet being pushed at speed in a gilded antique buggy down a long hallway by his top-hatted assister in matching attire, all in pursuit of a giant fly that is narrowly leading the fray and is all aglow in what might be the light at the end of the tunnel?…the frozen 3D moment in time never reveals the fly’s fate, however, it gives viewers a bold use of the z-plane with the fly hovering several inches off the surface and the hallway stretching the environment far into depth. Real footage can also be seen in the Gnomon Gallery video at the top of this page.

Laurent Pierlot is an alumnus of ESAAT, art school in Roubaix, France and Supinfocom, 3D school in Valenciennes, France. After finishing his student movie Baecktopur, which combines live footage and 3D characters, he worked at SPARX Vietnam as a modeling and lighting artist. Pierlot also worked at Attitude Studio in Paris before joining Blur Studio in California as a character modeler and CG supervisor. At Blur, he works on lighting, rendering and compositing, with contributions to game cinematics for BloodRayne 2, Area 51, The Punisher, Hellgates, Rise of Legends, WarHammer 2, & Gentleman’s Duel.

"Fly" by Laurent Pierlot is available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

Meats Meier

Meats Meier originally created his iconic "Animation Mother" character for the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival, and also released her as a limited edition as part of the Gnomon Gallery series. In this fully 3D animated hologram viewers experience the transition from a nearly invisible Animation Mother at the extreme left viewing angle to a full-color floating figure when moving across the print. As she becomes visible, the tendrils of her hair, bodice, and skirt grow and unfurl into full form while her hands delicately conjure the teapot out of an orb (symbolic of the original 3D computer graphics modeling image), and all the while her piercing blue eyes calmly gaze at viewers. Click the image at the right to watch the CG Channel interview with Meats Meier in front of his hologram.

Meats Meier is an artist and animator living in Los Angeles, California. He has been studying 3D since 1993 and has worked as a video game artist, feature film compositor, and independent illustrator represented on more than 30 magazine and book covers. Meier was the first 3D artist to print his artwork as RabbitHoles® and as a true pioneer should, he pushes the boundaries of the medium in new directions and farther dimensions with each subsequent image. Meier was named a Maya Master in 2003 and has created package art for Maya and Zbrush. He is currently working with bands TOOL and Puscifer, creating live concert animations, music videos, and cover art.

"Animation Mother" by Meats Meier is available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

Pascal Blanche

Pascal Blanché created a 3D version of his "Kalima" character for the Gnomon Gallery series. In the 3D environment, Kalima is perched atop a hub of pistons, pipes, hoses, and other cylindrical parts of varying girths and lengths, each directing the eye into a different direction and dimension of the 3D space; Kalima herself is coated with orange and blue camoflauge and has evident appendages that make her a suitable attaché to the mechanical assortment. Real footage of this print is also available in the Gnomon Gallery video at the top of this page.

Pascal Blanché is a world-renowned digital artist who started on the path towards a career in art/design for games at the Art School of Luminy, Marseille, France. Following art school, he freelanced for TILT magazine, an early videogame magazine and then worked in the videogame field for twelve years at companies such as Virtual Xperience, Xilam, and also with Sony, working on the first French/Canadian full CG movie Kaena: the Prophecy. As an illustrator, Blanché won the prestigious Grand Master Award for Exposé 3. He draws inspiration from everything related to Science Fiction and Fantasy Art, is fond of 80s SciFi and Heavy Metal magazine covers, and respects the work of fellow illustrators Moebius, Druillet, Brom, Arthur Suydam, Katsuya Terada, and Wayne Barlowe among others. Blanché is presently an Art Director at Ubisoft Montreal, one of the biggest videogame development studios in the world. His first title in the studio was Myst IV: Revelation, and more recently Naruto: Rise of a Ninja for Xbox360.

"Kalima" by Pascal Blanché is available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

Scott Spencer

Scott Spencer converted his "Holloween Boy" sculpture into a 3D scene for the Gnomon Gallery series. Spencer took advantage of the story-telling capacity of the holographic surface by showing viewers a boy that slowly and without expression removes his rather cleanly carved face off of his head, revealing the inside of his skull. Also visible in the scene is the boy’s tool of choice, a bloodied knife wedged with purpose into the wooden table on which sits a more commonly carved face, that of a pumpkin; in the background purple bats and cats complete the cleverly adapted Halloween theme. Click the image at the left to watch the CG Channel interview with Spencer in front of his hologram.

Scott Spencer holds a BFA in Animation with a minor in Drawing and Anatomy from The Savannah College of Art and Design, and further studied classical figurative sculpture at The Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy. He works in various media creating digital characters for film, broadcast, games as well as physical sculptures for concept design, promotion, and other applications, with credits including Iron Man (film and game), Golden Axe, Species4, Pumpkinhead 3, and others. Spencer has worked as a Digital Art Director at Gentle Giant Studios in Burbank, Ca, and is currently employed at WETA Sculpture Studio in New Zealand. He is a leading Digital Sculptor in the entertainment world and is very involved with the education and development sides of the industry as a longtime beta-tester and consultant to Pixologic, the author of ZBrush Character Creation and several popular video tutorials, a lecturer at WETA Workshop and Pixar, as well as a teacher of popular classes in digital sculpting and human anatomy at The Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood, Ca.  

"Holloween Boy" by Scott Spencer is available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

Timur "Taron" Baysal

Timur "Taron" Baysal created two original pieces for the Gnomon Gallery series: "The Hide" and "Growth", both taking advantage of the depth and animation potential of the 3D holographic surface.

In "The Hide" viewers experience an extreme use of the z-plane both deep into and far off of the print surface as the gnarled and gangly creature twitches in his cell just before its soul escapes and leaps at viewers; Baysal describes this cataclysm as caused by the television in the upper right corner of the cell breaking, a subtle commentary on the grip current media has on souls in general.

"Growth" is graced with commentary as well, depicting a gloomy yet ethereal setting for the hybrid heroine that holds in one hand a delicately balanced glass globe she is watching over with eyes that illuminate, while her other hand is bound as a branch to the tree (of life?) which she has either grown naturally from or more invasively onto depending on viewers’ interpretations.

Real footage of these prints can be seen by clicking on the image at the right to watch the CG Channel interview with Baysal in front of his hologram. Also, Baysal describes his process of creating the "Growth" RabbitHole® hologram on the ZBrushCentral forum.

Timur "Taron" Baysal was born in Germany in 1972. His first professional projects were in 1987 for M.I.T. Friedrichsdorf doing CBT and later multimedia productions including advertising games and presentations for clients such as BMW, Mercedes, Dannon, JVC and several banking institutions. Baysal officially became a freelancer in Germany in 1991, doing movie projects until moving to the USA in 1997 to join Station X Studios as a visual effects artist on various projects, including the movie Dogma. In 2000, he moved to Computercafe (now CafeFX) working as lead animator and animation director on projects including Battlefield Earth, Spy Kids 2, Imposter and many others and eventually becoming head of R&D for creating Hollywood’s first fully digital fire effect on the movie Gothika. In 2004, Baysal joined pmG worldwide, after deciding to focus on software development for Messiah:Studio, an animation and rendering software; the position at pmG as Director of Rendering Technologies and Digital Content Manager also engaged him in a number of high-profile movies including Syriana and Ghost Rider as well as several independent films.

Both holograms by Taron are available in two sizes: 14×20 inches (1600$US) //AND// 7×10 inches (400$US).

If you are interested in buying any of the above prints, please fill out the form below, indicating the name of the print, size, and a description of the environment in which you plan to display the RabbitHole® so we can provide you with the proper lighting and mounting parameters for optimal viewing of your hologram.