On your computer screen, a pixelated image of a peacock is an eyesore. But in meatspace it’s a pretty incredible sight. Sculptor Shawn Smith renders peacocks, mooses and more in tiny plywood cubes, showing the world pixelation in the round.
Smith, a Texas native, has been working in 3D pixels for years, exploring the “slippery intersection between the digital world and reality”.
In my building process, I start with a full sheet of material like plywood or MDF and cut it into 1/2″ strips of varying lengths—typically 1/2″ to 2′ long. I then hand dye each strip of wood individually with dyes mixed from ink and acrylic paint. I mix each colour by hand to create a huge palette of colours in order to give the sculpture more depth and visual interest before assembling the object.
Thankfully for us, his compression algorithm is still pretty lousy. [Shawn Smith via Fubiz]
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Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 6:44 PMI know it’s been said, but I would have loved it more if it was made out of legos. However, that doesn’t take away from the beauty if this project. But seriously, Smith, remake the peacock with legos. Pahlease!? 3D pixels are actually called ‘voxels’, and yeah, I don’t understand why he didn’t use Legos. I suppose it’s a bit more impressive.