Logan Gardner; 3D Artist
Hi, I’m Logan, I am a 3D Artist. I come from a film & video background but I have always had an interest in content creation of all types. I make 3D visuals. I work with music artists, clothing brands, and social media influencers to tell stories, create art, and connect with people all over the world through the short form visual medium.
Q: What specifically got you interested in doing 3D art?
I have been creating my whole life. From a very young age, you would find me drawing characters and scenes. By middle school and early high school, I started making YouTube videos, short films, and action-packed skits. When I found Blender, my software of choice, I was about 15 years old. I was instantly captivated by the fact that I could create anything in my imagination from nothing. Going to film school for me seemed like the natural path. I studied Film & Media Arts at Temple University, but I quickly realized that I was more interested in short-form content rather than full-length films and the Hollywood route. I continued to dive deeper into the digital landscape learning more and more about character creation, environment design, applying my newfound knowledge of traditional film, camera motion, editing, and lighting. Whether it was an image or a short video, I found that my traditional education in the film has helped me understand composition and storytelling and pushed my visuals to the next level. I started posting my work on my Instagram in 2018, as I found it was a great platform for this kind of thing. I even find that the platform itself has influenced the content that I am making. I continue to push myself to learn more every day and keep venturing down this path in the 3D Art Community.
Q: What is your favorite kind of piece to create, more animated or realistic? Why?
I really enjoy creating the more stylized characters rather than shooting for human-level realism. When I shoot for realism, I find myself landing in the “uncanny valley” where characters may look too creepy (in an unintended way) being that they are almost realistic but still not all the way there. When doing stylized characters, I am owning up to the fact that this is indeed animated and I am not intending to make realistic humans/characters. On the flip side, I tend to make my environments more realistic if I can. It is a nice contrast I like to pose in my pieces between the environments and the characters that dwell in them. I think it’s even helped to define my style in some way.
Q: Where did you learn how to create these pieces?
I learned a lot of the technical side of things from the internet. I have always had a mindset that there is nothing you can not teach yourself now with help of YouTube. I have learned so much from the online 3D community and continue to learn more every day. However, going to film school helped fill in that “theory” gap. The theory questions aren’t as easy of questions to simply google search. What makes a good composition? What colors help convey what emotions? What color combinations tell a story? How does the camera move make the audience feel? How does a character move? These are all things that can only be learned through practice and studying. This is also something that can be learned online as well, but for myself, going to film school really helped me ask those theory questions that I may not have otherwise asked.
Q: How do you decide on the scene you want to create with your 3D pieces? Where does the inspiration come from?
I love to “sample” from the world around me. If I have recently gone to a museum and seen architecture that was interesting to me, or I am listening to a new music artist at the time that gives me a different emotion than I have felt before. I always try to channel that when I can. My artwork always starts with the “vibe” or starts with the “emotion” that I want to convey with it. Usually, that involves listening to the music that I know this inspiration is being drawn from. I love to sample scenes from my dreams. When I am in an abstract place in a dream or a daydream. I try to take a mental note of that place. I have a very visual mind so I often find myself daydreaming or thinking of characters, or environments. It comes very naturally to me. I try to capture the inspiration in Blender immediately. It’s all about that first step of getting something down in 3D. After that, things tend to write themselves. I start filling in all the blanks by asking simple questions. I think of what does this character do? Why is the environment like this? This process of world-building helps to fill in an environment really quickly and before you know it, I have created a whole scene. Often slightly different than what I originally imagined, but to me, that’s the creative process. It’s all about the initial spark of an idea or concept. It’s like a domino effect of ideas after that.
Q: Do you think it is important to connect your art with what is going on around you?
I do. Most of the art I make is not political in any way. However, I have done some work with clients that has been political. Recently, I had an amazing opportunity to experiment in the Augmented Reality space to help create a piece to support Black Lives Matter. Seeing the response online really is a reminder that art is inherently reflective of the world around us. I believe that art has the power to change the world and that your voice matters.
Would you like to be featured?
Q: Who is your inspiration, in and out of the art community?
I am heavily inspired by Pixar. Toy Story was my favorite movie when I was a child. I was mostly shocked at “how they did this.” I remember seeing somewhere along the lines behind the scenes of “Chicken Little” and learning about 3D software and the way this process worked. Learning that people can make 3D animations was a crazy concept to me. I am also very inspired by a YouTube channel called Corridor (formerly Corridor Digital). From them, I learned and continue to learn that there’s nothing you can not create by yourself on your computer if you just put in the effort to learn how to do it. I still watch them all the time and I’m very inspired by them.
I am inspired every day by my Fiancé, Maddy, and my family to be the best I can be. Frequently I will bounce immediate ideas off of her to see her initial reaction and see her thoughts.
Q: Where would you like to take your career?
I want to continue to work with brands, musicians, and other influencers and grow my personal brand. I started a YouTube channel to teach Blender and 3D art on my own accord. I plan to keep pushing forward on the art path. It is very interesting to watch my brand grow and meet new, amazing and talented people along the way.
Q: What kind of animation do you like the most? What about this anime do you like?
I love Pixar. The way they tell their stories and characters is unmatched. I also really enjoy finding new artists on Instagram and YouTube platforms. Creators like David Firth and Ian Hubert consistently build unique worlds of their own. It is so interesting to me watching their content because it feels like I am directly tapping into how their brains and their creative processes work! It is also a testament to how content is being created and shared in today’s internet world. It proves that you do not need to have a million-dollar budget to create, and you do not need to be backed by investors. This type of content proves to lower the barrier to entry every day.
Q: What kind of materials do you use? Have you ever used materials that you will never use again?
I use my computer, my camera, and a Wacom tablet. I love to take textures from real-world sources using my camera. I find “the hunt” to be so fun. Sometimes I will go out on photo adventures just trying to find unique textures, walls, floors, doors, and have the feeling of “I captured this”. As for my tablet, I think it is the greatest piece of technology I own because it feels so natural. To me, there is no greater way to input human thought/idea onto a physical medium than a pencil on paper. It is quick and easy and has been done for a long time. Using a mouse to me is clunky and it does not feel like a true expression of thought into the computer. So whether I am sculpting, or taking notes, or placing 3D objects, to be able to use a pencil-like device right onto the screen, is the most natural translation of thought.
Q: Random Question: What is your favorite TV show? Why do you like this show? Is it binge-able?
I would say that one of my favorite shows to watch currently (and this changes a good bit) is Rick and Morty everything from the character design to the world design is amazing. Not to mention the creators are so funny. The concepts in the show are so well thought through and it messes with your mind when watching it. Rick and Morty is so binge-able and it is not a hard watch. While you need to know the plot on some level, I think you could be thrown into just about every episode and find enjoyment out of it without knowing what’s going on. This makes it a great show for active and passive watching.