Sculpture: the highest form

Here are some sculptures I've been working on for about the last 12 hours. I think it is safe to say I am in love with the new features of Zbrush 4. Unlike Maya, the program doesn't fight me at every turn and it is quite intuitive. These are just some practice pieces to get my skills up to par for the two projects I'm working on. I've been watching a lot of kung fu films lately. I must say 36th Chamber of Shaolin is an incredible film and I have no idea how I've lived this long with out seeing it. Sculpture is the highest form!

New Link. New Threads.

I have finally purchased the domain name for this blog so for those of you that have it bookmarked you should update your link to www.prototyp3-d.com. Along with the new name comes a new look! I received some comments that the old site was running slow on some computers so I'm streamlined and simplified to make for both quicker loads and easier navigation. I've been fighting with HTML for a few hours now. It's time to get some drawing done. Maybe I'll post up some pics a bit later. -MD

Community Service!

This week I was in St. Louis for a string of shows with put together by my good friend Stan Chisholm (18 and Counting). I was invited out along side my buddies Dolor and Lorn. Lorn was accompanied by his homie adoptahighway, who I'd been looking forward to meeting for years. Also in the mix were the Chicago based, dynamic and talented photography duo that is Glitter Guts. Four musicians, two photographers and one visual artist surely made for one hell of an experience!

I can honestly say that I have never worked intandem with so many talented individuals, ever! The experience was like no other for me personally. Glitter Guts did an amazing job capturing the essence of the night that can be viewed here.

The first performer of the night was the orchestrator himself, 18AC. As you may know 18ac is already a well established visual artist. However, what you may not know is that recently he has realigned his sights onto the DJ'ing scene in St. Louis. There, he does his duty to inform the unknowing of what they have been missing in the vast, global electronic music scene. Just like with his visual art, communication is a MASSIVE catalyst in his funky scheme.

18andCounting @ Uptairs Lounge in St. Louis from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

Up next was my man adoptahighway! When I look back to his set wow is seriously the first word that comes to mind. I was so impressed by the vast array of sounds he unleashed I spent half the set like a deer in headlights. Mind you, adoptahighway is half of the duo Omega Clash along side Lorn. With that said, it is only logical to assume that he caused a RUCKUS! It twas a beautiful ruckus indeed. Immediately after he finished his set I shamelessly requested his services in a new project of mine. There will be a very big treat in store for you all. I. CAN'T. WAIT!

adoptahighway @ Upstairs Lounge in St. Louis from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

Next, Dolor. I'm half convinced that Dolor actually means dance in some ancient forgotten language and Shawn just isn't telling me. Seriously, this man has an ability to make hips sway and feet shuffle like no other. I almost forgot to shoot a video of him spinning because I was so busy bouncing around! The way he performs it's really more like being at the mercy of an X-man than a DJ. Stay tuned for more of the colab between Dolor and myself!

Dolor @ Upstairs Lounge in St. Louis from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

Last, and for damn sure not least, was Lorn. Before I even continue, I have to say how COOL it is to actually be friends with one of your favorite musicians!! I actually met Dolor as a result of me walking by his room while he was spinning a track that turned out to be Lorn's. Flashbacks aside, the torrent of sounds included in Lorn's set hit like a ton of bricks! If you haven't had the fortune of seeing him perform live I'm not sure what you're doing with yourself. Stop reading and go now!

Lorn @ Upstairs Lounge in St. Louis from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

As awesome as all of the sets were I have to say my favorite part of the whole experience was meeting some extremely talented and down to Earth people. Not to mention that all the time in between shows was hilarious.

The Anthem from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

I'm very fortunate to have the luxury of having such talented friends, who in turn introduce me to their talented friends. It is a cycle that I hope will never stop. You'll find permanent links to adoptahighway and Glitter Guts over on the right nav bar.

Thanks for reading! If you are in or near St. Louis drop by the Upstairs Lounge for a good time, preferably on a Wednesday! I'm looking very forward to my two projects that are in the works and I hope to have some more previews up soon. Ciao.

Winter!

Well, after having been indoors for three days straight and peeking out the window I've realized the fact that it is indeed winter. Snow is everywhere and it's cold outside but 2pak have been kind enough to send some heat our way! My homies come through once again with another smooth jam. Hit the jump and check out the early gift from j.pak and pak.one!

Distracted From Work

So like always, I have been listening to tunes while drawing my life away. Although I have about 50 more story boards to draw out I tore myself away from the panels and started cranking out this uncontrollably haha. I'll stop for now and get back to boarding.

Numbernin6 is 100% to blame for deterring me from my duties haha!

Community Service

Big things are right around the corner in STL for my man 18 and Counting's birthday. I'll be providing some visuals for the evenings happenings with Mr. Ryan Powell. If you're in the hemisphere and are looking for a good time you should make the trek for sure! I'll be traveling down tuesday! Bo!

Storyboards!

I'm swimming in a sea of storyboards! I'm boarding out a music video, three comics and my graduate animation proposal! They are everywhere! Currently browsing my iTunes for the two perfect songs for the last project I mentioned. Decisions. Decisions..

I'm highly considering using this as one of the tunes. For those that don't know, this is possibly my favorite song of all time.

R.I.P

I've had this poster for about 14 years.

I'm sad to say I've received news that director Irvin Kershner has past away. Kershner expanded upon George Lucas's Star Wars universe by directing The Empire Strikes Back. The depth of influence this movie has had on my life is almost indescribable. I lived in a room littered in Star Wars action figures, banks, posters, folders, stickers, notebooks, pillows, blankets and just about everything else you can think of for almost the entirety of my childhood. If i wasn't drawing I was marauding the galaxy with my Boba Fett toy.

Kershner showed the world a side of the Star Wars universe that had been previously unseen. The film has a fun and immediately engaging tone yet is quite menacing at the same time. The pinacle of the dichotomy achieved in the film is the fact that, for the first time that I had seen at age seven, the bad guys win. I wish more writers/directors had the gall to allow such things to happen in their creations. Rest in peace Mr. Kershner!

WRX Animation!

This is an awesome animated ad for Subaru. I won't ruin the surprise with my blabbing but it's very cool! Reminds me of the old CTA blue line ads. I suggest hitting the jump and watching on youtube in 1080p!

R.I.P Bruce

Today is would have been Bruce Lee's 70th birthday. Bruce was a massive influence on me growing up and a man I respect very much. The respect goes much deeper than the fly movies however. Bruce, is to this day, an embodiment of dedication and discipline that I think we could all learn a lesson from. Tao of Jeet Kune Do was quite the read for me back in 7th grade haha! RIP Bruce, thanks for the motivation!

Fresh Paint II

PSA from DMNDTV // Ryan Powell on Vimeo.

A new intro logo animation I've been working on. Still tinkering bigtime.

Prefeature Logo Animation Test 1 from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

Wanderlust

This song came on in the car today! I'd forgotten how much I love this song and video. Like many of Bjorks vids it is super inspirational!!

AE Magic

I'm always doing things when I'm not supposed to be. I just started making a cinematic intro for myself out of no where. I'm quite happy with it thus far though I will admit. Full 1080P too! Stuffs rendering on thing 1 and thing 2 so i might just finish this while I have the time.

Follow my blog with bloglovin

A Taste of What's to Come.

Finalizing the piece for the show currently. Then the next order of business is continuing work on the visuals for the show with Anti, Dolor and Lorn. But the project after that is going to be really special. Working on a music video with Anti and Dolor. I think its gonna be pretty solid. I'm not too focused on it right now but like any good DuPree I'm planning two steps ahead. Check it out.

Dolor Strikes Again

My friend Dolor has unleashed yet another sick remix upon the world. Check it.

Top Secret Secretness

So I have started a long term project with one of my best friends and favorite artists. You will most definitely want to stay tuned because this is going to be...shocking!

HOW DOES MY COMPUTER NOT HAVE HELVETICA INSTALLED!?!?! GRRRRR

FRESHPAINT

Here is the official flyer for the Freshpaint show in Saint Louis. If you're in the area you should most definitely go check it out. There'll be dope art and tunes. Check it!!

Chromacrobe

Hello world! I'm currently lined up to be in a show in STL in a few weeks.Sadly, I have had the hardest time figuring out what I want to present. I've sloshed around about 3 different ideas around in my head for the last two weeks and just recently settled on one.

The title of the piece is called Chromacrobe. It's a short non-narrative 3D animation showing the mundane lives of Chromacrobes (haha) What are Chromacrobs you ask? Well, I am a lover of science and am often influenced by all of its mysteries and there is one mystery in particular that I am quite fascinated with. LIGHT!

I am playing around with the idea of light as microbial lifeform. What would it look like? what would it do? Does light have to eat? Well for that i suppose you'll just have to wait and see. It's rendering on my PC right now and if my calculations are right, and they seldom are, it will be done sometime Friday night! Well the renders will be done at least. And thats just the first shot! If you are in STL you should definitely check out the show, which I will be posting up info for soon as soon as I have the official flyer! I'll post up a sneak peak straight from the renderbatch just so you guys can get a taste.

I've Been a Bad Blogger Lately..

I have to apologize for being digitally MIA over the last month. I've relocated to Michigan and am currently working on pieces for two shows I have coming up in St. Louis. I'll have some new pics soon. I think this was the last thing I drew.. I'm not even sure anymore.

Spiritomb Redesign

Lately I've been sharpening my drawing skills in Photoshop with a series of character redesigns. Here is the first.

Illustration Before Bed

>

Here's a quick little something I started. My apologies for the low res version, no hi res till I'm done. Posting then passing out.

I cannot stop listening to Strung out - Bar9 Song is seriously stupid.

Day 2

The Chemical Brothers show was definitely a hard act to follow. But the second day of North Coast Festival turned out to be a BLAST! The first set I decided to check out was Layedback Luke. I knew nothing about him and had never even heard the name before but the boy threw down some serious bass. I was waiting for Benga's set to start but Luke's wobble lured me in and his drums kept me there.

Luke did a great job getting me hype and I was ready for Benga to tear it up. But as the crew was setting up for the next performer I noticed a guy that looked a whole lot like Daedalus and sure enough it was.

Eventually he informed the crowd that Benga was unable to make it to the states and that he has been brought in super last minute to supply the crowd with the bass they were seeking. As sad as I am that I didn't get to see Benga perform I am thankful that Daedalus was there to entertain. He even opened up with my homie Lorn's tune Army of Fear!

Daedalous drops Lorn- Army of Fear at Northcoast Festival from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

After Daedalous filled the bass quota for the evening I worked my way over to check out Jay Electronica's performance. In my post listing my most anticipated artists I said that I thought Jay would be the surprise of the show. Boy was I wrong. He did more talking than rapping and had a very poor sense of how to control a crowd.

Securing a Front Row Spot for De La Soul from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

BUT after leaving his stage 20 minutes into his show I set myself up for a real treat. Front row De La Soul!

Unfortunately I don't really have any concrete documentation of the De La show. I was too busy having fun. I had forgotten how much fun good hip hop shows were. I even got to shake up with Posdenus when he came down to the crowd. I think I can say that the De La show was the most fun I had all weekend. They even brought out Dres from Black Sheep!! Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. After De La exited the stage we mustered the last of our innerfunk and worked our way over the the stage to catch Boys Noize.

Somewhere in the midst of the blinding light on stage Boys Noize switched off and Moby took over! I can't believe that he got me to dance that much when I was so worn out from De La. I know I stated previously that Boys Noize knew how to throw a party but Moby illustrated an even greater command over the forces of body movin'.

Day 3 was short and sweet. I'll post up soon.

Day 1

These are some pics from the Chemical Brothers show last night. It was beyond words. Sick tunes. Sick Visuals. Crazy crowd. This was my first show of this scale and i must say it shattered my expectations.

Chemical Brothers Rock North Coast Festival Chicago from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

North Coast Festival Sept 3-5!

North Coast Festival, the closing event of the summer that I have been waiting for, is finally here! With the pathetic line up for Lalapalooza it's nice to see that there is a music festival in Chicago with a desirable line up. There are many others performing but the following are the artists I am looking most forward to!

BENGA

Benga is one of my favorite dubstep artists and is the only artist of the genre performing at North Coast.He is one of the first dubstep artists that I found and remains at the top of my list. I'm still recovering from the heart attack I suffered at the DJ Krush show when he dropped Benga's tune 'Roller'

CHEMICAL BROTHERS

This is the world famous duo that ushered me into the world that is electronic music. I have been waiting many years to see these guys. I was so excited when I saw them headlining the festival that I just stopped reading the flyer immediately. Star Guitar is in heavy rotation when I'm working, I LOVE that song.

FLYING LOTUS

I remember back when Fly Lo only had 3,000 plays on last FM, 1,500 of which were split between my friend Leonard and myself. With out a doubt Flying Lotus has now become a huge name in the global music scene. His unique sound is worthy of much praise despite his recent slump in my opinion. Can't wait!! Rickshaw is SUCH a sick song!

JAY ELECTRONICA

I honestly hardly know anything about this dude, but every song I've caught wind of has been righteous. It is very nice, and rare, to find a spot on MC in the sudden swarm of bubble gum crack head rappers that have taken over this country. I think Jay will be the X factor of the whole festival.

BOYS NOIZE

I have listened to his studio album Oi Oi Oi quite a bit over the past few years. However, I've had the opportunity to seem him live about four or five times now and for what ever reason I have always passed. But from what I've heard the kid knows how to throw a party so I'm eagerly awaiting. This guys Fiest remix is probably one of my favorite remixes in my iTunes.

The Chemical Brothers!!

Findings in the Field!

So remember all those posts I used to make way back when I used to go draw in the Field Museum? Well I'm still doing the drawing. I just haven't been doing the posting. I was in the museum today for about four hours and walked in with a blank page and walked out with this.

Went back to the Field to work on my newest study. I spent a little too much time in one spot. Gotta move around the piece more!

Sculpt Changes

Haven't be able to work on the project as much as I'd like to due to unsuccessful job hunting but I've decided to make some changes to my pisspoor designs.

Edited the post for a more updated multiangle view of the sculpt.

Extrusion

Finally extruded the body suit from the original mesh. I've actually never made a fully clothed figure before, as I tend to stick primarily to machines, but the process was pretty painless. Originally i was just going to make the outer most suits. However, I've been listening to the Inception soundtrack nonstop and Han Zimmer really has transformed my ideas of what i want this animation to communicate. Therefore I require a little more detail. The tacky linework was is going away. I was just practicing.

Captain Leonard.....IN 3D

Hopefully this time around this post will go through. This is the current version of the Captain Leo model. He's still a tad bulk. I'll be posting more updates soon.

Captain Leonard

Progress

Here are some pics from my ongoing project. I have decided to combine all of my various works into one larger more ambitious piece. So.. here are the fruits of my labor thus far!

Welcome to Chicago

Heads Held High

As sad as I am to see my favorite team (Ghana) exit the World Cup I must say that this has, and is, one amazing tournament. I've been telling a lot of people for a long time that Ghana was going to go all the way and I could not be more proud! The US vs Ghana game was a tough one to watch but I actually wound up rooting for Ghana more than I did for my own country. I respect heart and hustle above all else and I think that Gyan and the gang have displayed copious amounts of both. It's great to see one team unify a continent in such a respectible fashion. This team embodies something truly special and although Ghana is out but the cup isn't over. I still can't believe the Netherlands won... But it seems this cup has been capitalized by unpredictability. There are still many good games to be played! I guess I'll be rooting for Argentina now? Drive it home Messi!!

CS5 is Dangerous

Kind of Blue

Now that things are starting to finally die down I've gotten the chance to start a little new project. The goal is simple. Redesign the covers of some of my favorite games, albums and movies. I'd like to effectively communicate my connection to the selected works through my redesigns. First up is Mr. Miles Davis.

A Conversation Among Friends