Creator Spotlight on Emerging Powerhouse Justin Bodnar (jstngraphics): February 10th, 2023[Behind the Network (BTN)]

A look at the next generation of 3D creatives emerging into the world of NFTs, and the way Render Network is helping them

As has become a rallying cry for the Render Network since its inception, “democratizing creation” has served as both masthead and northstar for the Network in its mission. But just as this democratization has created a diverse community of users which we’ve had the privilege of highlighting over the years, democratization has helped to open the doors for the next generation of great creators to burst onto the scene. In the latest iteration of the Render Network’s Creator Spotlight Series, the Render Network team was happy to dive in with a rising star in the world of online art, Justin Bodnar (aka jstngraphics).

Hitting the ground running

Having already cultivated a dedicated following for his highly detailed art, it’s hard to think that Justin is still only 18 and has been creating at this scale for under 2 years.

Similar to the fantastic, borderline superheroic landscapes he constructs, Justin’s story behind becoming an artist reads like a fantasy origin story: a young athlete growing up, a heart surgery sidelined him for a period of time, where he discovered he had a skill for creating art. Continuing as a hobby, it wasn’t until he began commission work as a young teenager that he realized there may be something more than just passion here for him.

Beginning his journey into 3D and animatics through the end of 2020, he first burst onto the scene during Nifty Gateway’s “Nifty Next Generation” drop, where he was among a slew of young creatives who were featured in a showcase of some of the youngest NFT creatives in the world. As part of a wave of new digital superstars emerging through NFT technology, he and other teenage NFT creators made upwards of 5 figures on some sales, Justin once again took another leap in his creative career, with his attention to detail, striking color palette, and impressive level of realism in his creations catching the eye of his steadily growing fanbase.

Always looking to push the boundaries of what is possible in the world of digital art, Justin’s dedication and drive have kept him going through adversity into wild early success.

Discovering the Render Network

Since the end of 2020 Justin has been using OctaneRender and C4D in his 3D creation pipeline. His artwork creation process begins with either sketching concepts or experimenting in Cinema 4D and Octane Render until he is satisfied with the results. This phase can last from a few minutes to several days, and afterward he either exports it to Photoshop or After Effects for further editing, depending on the desired final product. Despite his hard work and perseverance, the entire artwork process may take several months for some of his more complex projects. While this process has proved fruitful, it is also quite obviously time consuming and limits the number of projects he can commit to at a time.

Like many before him, that’s where the allure of Render Network came. Recently, he became interested in using the Render Network to render a short animation that would have taken several days with his 2X RTX 3090. Using the Render Network for the first time, the animation was completed in less than an hour, improving his workflow over 100x and enabling him to create more art faster. For a young and hungry creative like himself, this improvement to workflow is vital for continuing to grow an already considerable career, and the Render Network has been happy to become a recent addition to the nigh-heroic journey of Justin Bodnar.

You can read more about Justin in his coverage in Artnet and NFT Now, and you can follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jstngraphics, and find his art on https://superrare.com/jstn.

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/