Behind the Network (BTN): June 24th, 2022
In this week’s edition of BTN, we wanted to shine a Spotlight on one of the Creators from the Render Network community
José Noriega is currently an event producer based out of Madrid, Spain, who could be described as a “professional” hobbyist, using his digital creation skills to craft stunning works of art, which over the last few years have been made and sold as NFTs. But how does one go from a novice to the level of production seen below? And what makes an artist like José tick? All and more can be found in this week’s Creator Spotlight.
A Humble Start
José began his journey in an unlikely location: in front of the glowing screens of a “cyber coffee shop”, what is sometimes more commonly known as an internet cafe. Working in this coffee shop at the turn of the century afforded José regular access to machines that he might otherwise not have, where he was able to teach himself Photoshop and other early creative programs. While he had always shown an aptitude for art as a child, it was primarily a self-taught passion outside of a more formal career oriented pipeline such as through an art or design school. The early 2000s would see one of his first significant forays into professional design work, when he began creating art for Metal bands and early music websites. He’s continued to work with bands such as Algörythm in recent years, blending his history of work with his passions for futuristic design.
Pulling from the Future to create in the Now
As José himself puts it:
“My artworks are always inspired by touches of science fiction, horror. Sometimes I love to mix themes to create different things.”
In line with his passion for science fiction, José was drawn to increasingly more realistic means of creation, leading him down the path of photorealistic production and ultimately, 3D rendering.
Naturally José found himself drawn to Cinema4D. While he’s been self-taught in learning motion graphics and hyper-realistic rendering, José was able to link up and learn from luminaries who have since gone on to become Render Network power users themselves, including such names as Andrew Kramer, David Ariew, Andrey Lebrov, Raphael Rau (aka Silverwing), Timo Knoak and Zigor Samaniego. After getting his C4D feet under him, José was off to the races and was able to create and showcase his art to the best of his abilities. His work has shown an eye for duality, with high contrasts of light and shadow, bold colors and textures, and combinations of themes blending religion, mythology, horror, sci-fi and modern aesthetics.
The Render Network Solution
Like so many creators though, José found that his vision was severely limited by the resources available to him. Like fellow Render Network creator Joaquin Vismarax, José faced a large barrier to entry in funding and availability of parts like graphics cards in order to have the machines necessary to create his art. Balancing the time-cost needed to be able to afford to construct these machines with his work as an event producer and caring for his family, all against the breakneck speed at which digital art was taking off over the last few years with the explosion of NFTs, José feared that he was going to miss his chance to make a splash in that world. It was at this point that José discovered the Render Network, and as he put it, it was revelatory:
“I think it’s the best resource a 3D designer can have, 100 simultaneous frames or more is crazy.”
Aside from the sheer power available, José found that the time he was able to save with Render Network vs. offline rendering or traditional rendering farms allowed him to create at a clip and scale that he was previously unable to. Perhaps most importantly, José was able to begin using the Render Network to create NFTs, where he has seen his work explode in popularity over the last year plus. As José himself put it:
“The truth is that it’s a train (NFTs) I wanted to catch and I think I’ve managed to get on it.”
Sneak Preview
José is currently making a collection to drop on Foundation with a cosmological theme — Guardians. This collection will mix mythology and constellations, showcasing 88 characters based on the 88 constellations visible from earth. Every piece is a 1/1, animated and rendered with The Render Network, including the preview piece below Virginis:
“This collection tells the story of 88 guardians who are always watching over us and the safety of the universe.”
“Placed between Leo to the west and Libra to the east, it is there protecting you. In antiquity, it is the representation of Astrea, daughter of Zeus and Themis.”
You can find José’s work on display on his instagram page: Instagram.com/jsnori, and his NFTs on Foundation.app/@jsnori, Rarible.com/jsnori, Opensea.io/JSNORI. Be on the lookout for the release of Guardians and more from José in the future, all from the Render Network.
Upcoming Work
Earlier this week Jules Urbach went live with Multicoin team members Shayon and Kyle to field live questions from the Render Network community! Be on the lookout for a recap of the key points from that roundtable in the next BTN!
Join us in the Rendering Revolution at:
Website: https://render.x.io
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rendernetwork
Knowledge Base: https://know.rendernetwork.com/
Discord: https://discord.gg/rendernetwork
Render Network Foundation: https://renderfoundation.com/
