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Alvin Ylaya

Case Studies: Bryce 6.0

One Artist - Diverse Imagery

Digital fine artist Alvin Ylaya's "Coconut Forrest"

Coconut Forrest
by Alvin Ylaya

Digital fine artist, Alvin Ylaya lives in a quiet city called Loma Linda, California. He graduated top of his class in Computer Networking but later decided that it wasn't what he really wanted for a career. As of now, he's a student working on a degree in the Medical Field and he intends to earn a degree in Fine Arts and/or Visual Arts in the future. No matter what else goes on in Alvins life, enjoying and creating art is a constant.

What impresses us at DAZ about Alvin is his amazing range of topics and styles - stunning plant life, plush outdoor scenes and beautiful indoor settings, all with incredible lighting. We know that whatever Alvin creates, you'll want to see - and then see it again.

Digital fine art titled "My Best Friends"

My Best Friends
by Alvin Ylaya

Digital fine art titled "Esuoh Redrum Eht"

Esuoh Redrum Eht
by Alvin Ylaya

Flores de Bryce
by Alvin Ylaya

Greens
by Alvin Ylaya

Mecha
by Alvin Ylaya

What was your path to becoming a Bryce Master?

I had been a traditional artist before I was introduced to the computer; As soon as I got my first computer I just got hooked on digital art; First it was 2d and web graphics, eventually I became increasingly interested in 3d. I was so excited when I first got Bryce, but at that time I didn't know anyone else who used it. Later on I started looking at other people's works online and realized just how vast and varied Bryce users were. That was the point when I decided to try to learn the program more seriously. Eventually I joined some online communities where I met so many talented artists who inspired and helped me learn even more techniques with Bryce.

Has learning Bryce helped your traditional art?

Initially I wanted to learn Bryce in order to improve my view on space, lighting, color and composition in drawing/painting, and it really helped me. Now I use Bryce as an independent medium to create digital art instead of just using it as an extension to my traditional art. I should also mention that I do a lot of studies on specific areas such as lighting, texturing, modeling etc. Sometimes I end up using my initial studies to make a complete scene.

How do you approach new projects?

In every project I decide to start on, I always try to apply a new technique I've learned recently, or improve on a technique that I'm weak at. I often use Bryce for making landscapes but when I feel like making a bigger, more elaborate project, I plan my work more carefully and start Boolean modeling whatever needs to be modeled. I also spend quite a lot of time on creating my own textures, that's always fun. Another thing I did was use Bryce rendered images in conjunction with 2d elements in a website; this really gives a site more character and depth.
I also use Bryce in conjunction with imported items such as Poser or 2d images. I have used Bryce generated animations imported into Poser as background for character animation and it works great.

What are some examples of your well-known works using Bryce?

No matter what else Alvin does in his life, he will always be an Artist.

Esuoh Redrum Eht– a moody interior scene all made and lit in Bryce.

Coconut Forest – I used Booleans to create my coconut trees plus a number of my own Tree Lab recipes, this whole scene was made in Bryce.

Mecha – One of my early attempts at Boolean modeling a robotic character.

Greens – A study on applying scans of leaves that I collected locally, and applied it to my Bryce plants.

Flores de Bryce (Flowers of Bryce) – I used lots of terrains on this image; Terrains for flower petals, for tablecloth, and for drapes. This image was all made in Bryce.

My Best Friends – A lot of my friends seemed to like this one. One of my objectives on this was to create that shimmering light reflection on the water.

Why is Bryce still your 1st choice?

I chose Bryce because of its amazingly easy interface; I'd say it's the most user-friendly interface I have seen in a 3d software. The price is very affordable while allowing me to digitally realize my imagination.

What I enjoy about Bryce is that it's very easy yet after years if playing with it, it still surprises me with the new things I learn. Plainly said, it's such a fun program to work with, I often use it simply to amuse myself as supposed to playing video games or watching TV. It can be as easy yet challenging depending on how far you want to take it. As an artist I see it as a very convenient way of expressing oneself visually without having to buy a canvas or paint.

There's so much information and tutorials available out there so there's always something new to learn and be excited about. Best of all I get the opportunity to meet more Bryce users (and interact, learn, and share with them) than users of any other graphics software I have ever used.