3D art is the process of creating artwork using digital processes that allows the flat surface of a page to contain a complex multidimensional image. The three key components required for making 3D art are geometric shapes, polygons, or NURBS curves. The manipulation of these three elements allows the artists to create realistic 3 dimensional shapes, objects and images.

There are several forms of digital 3D art including everything from original creations to highly modified-renditions. Likewise, digital art can either be created solely using computer-generated images, where the entire piece of art is made on, by and using the computer, or, alternatively, in digital art the computer can act simply as a mode of display as in instances of scanned photography or painting. In both instances, whether the art is created directly using the computer, or the computer acts to preserve and display the artwork, both forms fall under the digital art categorization.

Though it is not necessary for it to gain the digital art classification, modifying a scanned image using the computer is another popular form of digital art. When a scanned or uploaded image is rendered or modified from its original, the artist, who is often times a different person than the pieces original artist, is said to create an entirely different piece of art that has its own subtleties and significance. Whether the original is heavily modified or just slightly modified does determine the amount of credibility, as a slight modification would not elicit an entirely new image. The accessibility and popularity of photograph manipulation software has generated an immense and creative collection of highly modified images, many having little or no indication of the original image.

The use of geometric shapes, polygons or NURBS curves gives 3D art its realistic and dimensionally proportional capability. NURBS stands for Non Uniform Rational Basis and is a process of mathematics where an exact representation of a curved surface can be created. By implementing any of these three techniques digitally, helps to create the expanding field of 3D art. At Imagekind, we feature an extensive collection in our 3D art gallery and have several member artists on the forefront of this genre, some even creating the increasingly popular 3D planet art. Browse the gallery and see the captivating and mesmerizing lifelike images of 3D art.