November 26, 2018

Meet David Lyons

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Lyons.

Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I’m a 3D artist from Dallas, TX. I’ve been drawing ever since I was a kid and I’ve been doing web design and development since 2001 as a hobby so that I could put my art online where anyone can easily access it. I took 2D art and computer science classes all four years of high school while I was making Flash animations and custom layouts for Neopets and MySpace.

In December 2010, I graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Visualization. The classes were a mix of visual art and computer science, mostly for VFX and 3D animation pipelines for film and games. The courses focused on the theory behind technical art, computer graphics and the design process so that the concepts could be applied to any software or medium. I started with 3DS Max and later switched to Maya, and took classes for other things like painting, graphic design and motion graphics.

After I graduated, I started doing front-end web development professionally at two different ad agencies in Dallas, working on big brand responsive websites with large teams, while practicing digital sculpting in ZBrush and 3D printing at the Dallas Makerspace in my personal time. When web browsers stopped supporting Flash around 2010 and started supporting WebGL in 2011, I was inspired by my coworkers to learn Three.js. These new tools were a mix of both worlds: 3D and the web. Soon after the release of the first Oculus Rift developer kit in 2013, WebVR was created to use VR devices in a web browser through WebGL. I researched WebVR as much as I could, and then in 2015, I moved to LA to pursue an opportunity to do software engineering and 3D user interfaces on WebVR projects with a virtual reality startup here.

Currently, I’m getting back into more 3D art while continuing to improve my front end, 3D and VR/AR web development knowledge so that I can combine all of my skills and find a creative and technical balance.

Please tell us about your art.
Toy Story was the first movie that inspired me to go to school for 3D animation. After playing with Blender in high school, I started making my own 3D models and animations with Maya during college and started digital sculpting and 3D printing with ZBrush and a Cintiq drawing tablet shortly after I got out of college.

I love creating characters of people, animals, and creatures for entertainment purposes. Today I continue to be inspired by animation studios like Pixar, Disney, Dreamworks and Cartoon Network, video games, collectible toys, and figures, as well as experimenting with the intersection of art and technology in emerging mediums. I’m also inspired by concept artists and like to translate 2D concept art into 3D.

As for the web, I’ve always seen accessibility as the biggest advantage of the web, and that’s why I continue to learn as much as I can about web development. Regardless of the medium or the format, I want to use the web at its full potential to be a platform for accessible, expressive, compelling, interactive experiences.

We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
LA has a lot of great galleries, museums, schools and venues for art. Attend any events, conferences, meetups or shows that interest you. Share your work online and in person. Reach out to other artists that inspire you. And be positive! 🙂

How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My portfolio website is davidscottlyons.com

I also post my art to Twitter and Instagram
Twitter.com/davidscottlyons
Instagram.com/davidprismatic

If you’d like to support my work, I’m currently available for commissions and freelance work. Let me know if you’d like to collaborate on a project.

Contact Info:

Website: http://davidscottlyons.com
Email: david.scott.lyons@gmail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davidprismatic/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidscottlyons

Image Credit:
Bearded man concept sketch by Max Ulichney.. All other art created by David Lyons.

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