About Ricky Colson

Ricky Colson is a visual artist known for his paintings of miniature people, animal silhouettes, and Welcome to Autumn series. A native Texan, he's also lived in Pennsylvania and Virginia, where he rediscovered his love for architecture, history, and nature. Cat whisperer, Mexican food addict, and proud idealist.

Second Empire Mansion Estate – test1

In order for me to make sure my library scene is designed well, I needed more information surrounding the house it’s in.

Therefore, I’m taking a little detour and creating the mansion estate for my tycoon character. This “house” was built in the 1860′s following the Civil War in the French architectural style called Second Empire. I’ve personally been a huge fan of the style ever since I lived in Philadelphia and first saw City Hall. The style is more well known now as the haunted type of architecture because of The Adams Family, Psycho, and The Munsters.

Here is the first test render in Blender, just a bunch of shaped blocks to get the overall form. Because my story takes place in Virginia, the backyard of Jeffersonian architecture, the facade will be red brick. I haven’t picked the trim color yet.

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Victorian Marble Fireplace – test2

Here is the marble fireplace mantel further along. I created the molding at the top and started adding the decoration. I used some of the decorative work from an artist on blendswap.com which is very helpful since it is very detailed sculpting, and I can concentrate on creating the rest of the structure.

I also started texturing the mantel with a white marble and the inside with a red brick. The mantel has very subtle subsurface scattering applied to look like real marble, which is the effect of light entering an object and bouncing around (like wax or skin).

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American Double Pedestal Flat-Top Desk – test2

Here is an updated version of the flat top desk I’m working on. I added black walnut wood grain, mushroom turned wooden knobs, inset metal keyhole surrounds, and a decorative element underneath the kneehole – all historically accurate.

Also, thanks to the advice of Hannah, one of my friends and patrons, I went with the green leather and gold inlayed desk top.

For now I am moving on to my next part of the room, the fireplace, but I’ll come back to the desk if I need to. There are little adjustments to make it more real, like dirt and general wear and tear. I would also like to rig the model so that I can open and close the drawers.

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American Double Pedestal Flat-Top Desk – test1

I’m working on a home library for my main character, the tycoon. I haven’t decided on a scene yet, but it’ll be nice to create a virtual stage. It’s also a great way to research the era because I have to learn about the history of every object I create.

Here is the first test render for the library desk. It’s just the blocking in stage, without details or textures applied. It’s called an American double pedestal flat-top desk, circa 1840-1880, a similar style to the one made in England at the time.

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Autumn, Virginia Located!

I’ve been scouting a real life location for my fictional city, Autumn, and I think I’ve found it. Sneak peak of the terrain!

This image is a section of real Virginian topography where the downtown location will be. Disregard the green color. To the left and right corners are mountain ranges and a river is meandering like a snake to the left.

The actual location will remain a mystery, unless you try and figure it out yourself, because my fictional city is supposed to represent a few different real life locations. This image will be used for sculpting the environment and generally setting up the mountainous background.

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Train Station – Early Digital Painting Sketch

This was an early test of combining a 3d model with a photograph for reference. Instead of working from photographs only, I wanted to test my digital painting skills and my 3d modeling. Original figure reference is from an old Time Magazine photo of a soldier during WWII. Photoshop CS3, Intuos 4 + Google Sketchup

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Steam Train Locomotive 3d Model – Clay Render in Blender

I love old steam train locomotives, always have. Since my story will feature a railroad tycoon, I decided to try and model a 3d train engine. It gave me a chance to have a point of reference for future scenes and also to understand the mechanics of the machine. This is the clay model I sculpted using Blender without any textures or colors.

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