For more than a decade, graphic designers have experimented with advances in lenticular imaging to produce large-format advertising graphics that look three-dimensional. Now, LexJet customer Jeff Hazelton is part of new class of artists, photographers, and designers who are at the forefront of bringing 3D imaging into the world of art.  

Using Autodesk Maya and Photoshop CS4 software and LexJet Sunset Select Matte Canvas on an Epson Stylus Pro 11880 printer, he has converted some of his digital art into large-format canvas art prints that appear three-dimensional when viewed through specialized 3D glasses.

The art is part of an Avatar to Art exhibition that has been on display at the G.WIZ Science Museum in Sarasota, FL since July 2. The show features 14 large-scale, 3D images with the largest measuring 8 x 25 ft.  The exhibit was originally scheduled to close Aug. 1, but due to its popularity, has been extended through Sept. 19. 

It is difficult to appreciate the full effect of Jeff’s art shown here. But just try to imagine feeling immersed in this surreal landscape with the abstract forms seeming to float around you. The compositions also combine microscopic anatomy and “automatic drawings” from sketches Jeff drew while sailing to New Zealand and other islands in the South Pacific.  

A spokesperson for the gallery observed that the 3D environments in Jeff’s art seemed to extend the walls of the exhibit space and create a viewing experience that was totally unique.

Jeff Hazelton is a painter who turned commercial artist in the 1990’s. His company, BioLucid, produces medical animations for physician education and marketing at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Jeff has been studying computer graphics and digital art since the mid-1990s and acquired formal training in 3D animation in Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood, CA in 2000-2001.

According to Jeff, the texture of the LexJet Sunset canvas didn’t affect the 3D effects of the prints. He notes that, “As a painter, I prefer the look and feel of canvas when producing fine art, and I like to gallery wrap my work.” He stretched the prints himself using custom-stretchers he built himself and used LexJet Sunset Gloss Coating to protect and enhance each print.

To ensure that the final prints would have the look he was going for, he made smaller prints first.  Each of the 14 works required an average of two to four smaller prints to test for 3D parallax and color.

With the art displayed at the G. WIZ museum, Jeff explains, “I wanted viewers to feel like they are part of the artwork, like they have been transported to a new place or are sharing a room with strange objects that are purely a product of their brain’s amazing comprehension of space.”

Overall, he says, “Feedback has been positive. People don’t mind wearing the glasses, and most observers say they have never seen anything like what I have produced.”

He is continuing to produce new works and is preparing for his next solo show in November in San Diego.

For more information about Jeff’s work, visit www.3Dfineartist.com. Or you can search for Some Guy’s Studio on Facebook.