[Art Attack] 3D artist Danielle Benton journeys from sketches to modern technology

3D art may seem like a fairly new concept by the unfamiliar mind, however, it’s a genre that has been around since 1976.  Futureworld, which appeared in 1976, showcased an animated human face and hand. The before mentioned animated short was produced by University of Utah students Edwin Catmull and Fred Parke in 1972. 

3D software became available for home use later in the 1970s.  Since, 3D art has evolved and is now used for video games, virtual reality, virtual engineering, and the like.

Danielle Benton, also called Dannie, is a 27-year-old graphic artist from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.  Benton started out by being a traditional artist using pencil and pen as her mediums of expression.

She became uninspired and stopped producing work altogether. Her creativity was at an all-time low.

In 2008, her sister introduced her to the program Daz Studio and Benton’s creativeness returned.  She also added ZBrush to her artistic arsenal two years ago.

When asked what the premise was for producing her work and where she sees herself in the near future, Benton explains: “My inspiration is video games since I’m a huge gamer.” “I see myself working with game devs, or making a decent living selling my artwork and doing commissions.” [sic]

Though Benton hasn’t entered any competitions or won any awards, she sees this as no reason to deter her from her craft.

A supporter of Benton commented: “You are amazing. Don’t let no one, and I mean no one, tell you anything less. You doing the damn thing! Wow!” [sic]