3 Dimensional

Much of the beauty of Web3 lies in its sense of togetherness. Artists, coders, collectors—individuals from all around the globe—have found themselves woven into the rich tapestry that is our community. The space thrives on connection, and we believe it is at its best when talented individuals come together to make something truly special. For the fifth Lvcidia Experience, we’ve decided to showcase not just one, but three immensely skilled artists whose 3D work always leaves us breathless: David Ariew (AKA Octane Jesus), Hayden Clay, and Stuz0r. 

None of these artists’ style is quite like the other, and yet there’s a universality to the emotions they capture. The worlds they create ask you to be present within them, if only for a moment. Simply scrolling past the work is doing yourself a disservice. These are artists who have climbed to the top of their field, the tools they wield now a part of their very beings. Listening to their stories lends a new dimensionality to their work. Take a moment, and let yourself drift away in the current they’ve created. The process is often meditative, revealing, and even healing.

Whatever meaning you find on this journey is yours to keep. 

David Ariew: Galactic Grail

Lovingly referred to as ‘Octane Jesus’ by his community, David Ariew does indeed practice what he preaches. In addition to having an esteemed career as a 3D artist—producing visuals for the likes of Beeple, Katy Perry, Zedd, and plenty more—he’s also become a respected educator for Octane and C4D. His artistic breakthroughs are shared with the world openly, in the form of step-by-step tutorials. There’s no fear of being copied or imitated. To Ariew, it’s the artist’s unique sensibilities that will make their work stand apart, regardless of if they followed the same general process. “I’m not worried about people coming in and taking my job, as it were. I really do just want to help other people.”

“I have several artistic styles because I love to experiment and try out new techniques and workflows. Much of my work is very cinematic, and I focus on the lighting, the camera movement and storytelling, but I also love creating wild pieces for concert visuals that are super tightly synced to the music. “

Galactic Grail—Ariew’s contribution to “3 Dimensional”—is an audiovisual odyssey. Originally designed for VR, he spherized the work on the recommendation of artist Hideki Tsukamoto. The resulting effect is beautiful and compelling. Viewers glide through the space in a trance as the ethereal lights evolve organically around them. As if watching thousands of puzzle pieces move into place, stunning formations are formed out of the disorder. You are always moving forward, the world taking infinite new shapes around you. The visuals are as much tied to the music as they are to your body, your breathing, your pulse. “And to me, it almost gets me comfortable with death… it feels like it could help relieve people’s existential anxiety.” Within the darkness, Ariew’s work assures us that there will always be light.

“Now it feels like I’m actually on the road towards producing experiences that can change people or could heal them… this is definitely the most meaningful [work] to me that I’ve found.”

Hayden Clay: Checkerboard Sea

Hayden Clay describes his style as “feel-good surrealism”, showcasing worlds of impossibly vibrant color and dreamy subject matter. He always knew he wanted to be an artist, but for most of his young life walked down a STEM path instead. It wasn’t until college that he was able to truly explore his latent artistic potential. “That’s kind of when I got seriously into art. I was really into film photography, taking pictures in the same style of the artworks I make now. They were double exposures and very surreal, very colorful, very dreamy,” says Clay. “And I was just obsessed with creating these images and these worlds.”

However, after a few years photography lost its luster for Clay. What had once been a space of exciting experimentation for him was now becoming predictable; he knew how the photos would come out before even developing the film. Furthermore, the environment he was in was limiting what he could capture through his lens. “I had these ideas that I feel like I couldn’t really make with a camera. I was also in the winter in Maryland, and all these trees are dead… it’s all barren,” Clay explains. “I want to make something colorful and surreal and pretty, and there’s nothing alive around me. So I decided to learn how to 3D render.”

“When I make 3D art, I don’t really want it to look like 3D art. I want it to look like a soft illustration, a dream, a film photograph. I want it to have flaws to it.” 

What viewers take away from Checkerboard Sea will vary, and Clay doesn’t want it any other way: “I just want people to feel something.” The ambiguity is part of the fun; the work can take on new meaning for whoever looks upon it. What lies beneath the fog? Maybe the work unsettles you, evoking the feeling that we’re becoming increasingly disconnected from each other. What used to flow as one is now incomplete. Each of us resigned to our own square, being pulled along towards the unknown. We fall, we float back to the surface, and we’ll surely fall again. This stream is endless. But the current will always guide us forward, and we can continue on despite everything we’ve lost.

What path will you take? 

Stuz0r: To Say Goodbye

Stuz0r—the final artist of “3 Dimensional”—is also our most prolific. The words “I can’t draw” adorn his various social media profiles, which may come as a surprise for an artist who has risen to the top of the digital art space. His daily works of art have made him a constant: a pillar that can always be counted on to deliver an entrancing work of art before the night falls. “Creative people, and really all of us, we do [these things daily], whether we think about it or not,” says Stuz0r. “I just make it public, so it kind of keeps me accountable.”

“For some reason, my mind thinks better in a 3D space than it does on a 2D flat piece of paper.” 

“The red cloaked figures… the reason I have the cloaks on them is because I feel like it represents people. It’s not male, female, black, white, anything. I want everyone to be able to relate to these things, to these people” 

To Say Goodbye is the artwork chosen by Stuz0r for “3 Dimensional”. A red cloaked figure floats effortlessly above the ground, their face unknown. Light spills out from the opening in front of them. We don’t know what they see on the other side, nor what they are leaving behind. Ultimately, those details are of little consequence. What the work seems to capture is the moment of melancholic contemplation before a choice is made: the feeling that a new life awaits you, if you can just leave the past behind. Concealing the face of the figure places all of us under that cloak. It holds us in that moment. 

When discussing the piece, and his work in general, Stuz0r emphasizes the importance of sound. “Most people don’t watch videos with sound… if you’d watch it with sound, I think I would change your perception of what you’re watching.” While his subject matter might seem ominous on the surface, the music has the power to recontextualize it. An otherwise haunting image is dyed in sadness, or hope, or longing, depending on the soundscape chosen. It adds another layer of meaning to the work, encouraging you to question what you’re seeing. “These characters, are they powerful? Are they vulnerable?”. Let the work inspire you, and discover your own story.  

Immerse Yourself

We’re honored to welcome these three artists into Lvcidia. Together they showcase digital art’s true potential, transporting us into visionary worlds that have the power to transform us. Once our Unreal Engine platform returns, we will showcase these awe-inspiring works in the immersive environment they deserve.