“trueSpace was made for me, and my style was made for it.”—Chris Tyler Chris Tyler, 47, has lived a life as rich and full as his artwork. A self-proclaimed “child of the sixties,” Chris explored his options at a young age. At 18, Chris left his home to attend Virginia Commonwealth University to pursue a degree in art. Though Chris says now that his studies of art were “as in pARTy,” he was exposed to a “great diversification of artists and styles.” After working as a carpenter for 20 years, Chris says he found what he was looking for spiritually and artistically. Finding that “sex, drugs, and Rock &Roll was a costly way of life,” Chris realized his lifestyle had “stifled and stunted his creative edge.” Chris found his spiritual quest completed when he became a Christian, getting “priorities right; God, family, and church.” Chris now serves as a pastor for a growing congregation. In the interim, he has found that because of faith, his “art has a new meaning, as does everything else worthwhile.” “I love drawing and was best with it. Painting was fun and a challenge but I never seemed to be able to make it do what I saw in my mind.” After exploring these mediums along with sculpture, woodworking, and even some animation, Chris found computers. Chris decided to search for a 3D tool that would allow him to make .gifs for his website. “Having bigger dreams than deep pockets,” Chris found trueSpace2, “a clean app with a great user interface.” Chris found that he could draw, paint, design, and animate with one product. “I spent a lot of time in the past figuring out ways to paint with light, and here, with trueSpace and a monitor, light became just like another paint in a tube. I was in love.” Chris immersed himself in trueSpace, learning the tools, texturing, modeling, paint programs, photo manipulation, the user interface, and animation. “Everything I wanted to be able to do—I could now see the possibility of happening. That’s quite a wish fulfillment.” Chris credits a portion of his artistic growth to the other members of the trueSpace community. “ I have always been amazed at the readiness of the other artists in the community to constructively critique, help, advise, and encourage each newbie and old-timer without personal jealousies or competitiveness. Art there works like it should. One work inspires others.” In this gallery, you can see examples of the growth of Chris’s work from tS2 to the present. Chris has found tS4 to be the best tool yet, creating his artwork using bones and skinning to their potential.  Chris sees his artwork as having matured. “I have striven through tS2, then with the quantum advances in the tS3 versions to stretch its and my boundaries to achieve what I consider real art.” As for the future, Chris will continue to find beauty and satisfaction in his art. “From what I have learned of other apps, we have an amazing base of plug-in developers and inventive users that we end up with something that can compete with most anything else out there. I look forward to advances in animation, even more bones and skinning, and also the surprises we get with each new build that makes trueSpace an exciting program, so that I can say with expectancy-‘We ain’t seen nothing yet!’” .avi animation .avi animation .avi animation email Chris Other places to find Chris on the web: Chris's Graphics Site:https://home.comcast.net/~gctz/graphics.htm The Secret of Life: https://home.comcast.net/~gctz/index.htm The Tabernacle: https://home.comcast.net/~gctz/holy1.htm One Man Show Index