Welcome! My name is Jonathan Kaplan. I am a Designer, Animator, 3D Artist, Graphic Specialist, Web Guru, Illustrator, Painter, and overall Creative Consultant. Currently I work in the Architecture and Interior Design Industry as a 3d Artist and Animator but I am also interested in Marketing, Special Effects, Game Design, Film, Animation, and Music. This is my work and inspiration. Checkout my company website www.kaplandesignlabs.com or email me at jonakap1@gmail.com :)
By donating you make it easier for me to post more often on more topics and give me the ability to spend more time answering your questions. If you enjoy reading or have found any of my posts valuable feel free to let me know.
I want to share some renderings from a 3d Product Visualization gig that I had a few months ago.
I don't want to get into the particulars of the functionality as the product is still in development; however, I am rather proud of the way these images turned out as there were some particularly complex shapes involved in the model (such as the organic base shape and fabric like umbrella top.)
Product Visualization is very fun but can be quite difficult as a lot of the time you are creating the first photo-realistic renditions of an object that has yet to be conceived in reality.
If you are interested in learning more about 3d Product Visualization feel free to leave comments or contact me via my website at www.kaplandesignlabs.com for more information. If you have an invention or a product that you would like to develop or market checkout my friend's website at www.EddyPham.com
I want to share a couple of Architectural Illustrations/ Landscape Paintings & Drawings that I made recently. Each one of these was done within 20 minutes to an hour including paints/ markers. Both of these were sketchbook entries to refresh my drawing "chops." Sometime this week I would like to do at least another one or two pieces in more detail, perhaps on canvas.
Landscape painting is my oldest artistic passion going all the way back to when I was about five years old when my grandmother first started teaching me how to paint. I had originally learned on oils as a child and later made my way to acrylics and watercolors as I got older. I know most artists start with acrylics or watercolors and make their way into oil paints as oil painting is supposed to be the most difficult medium; however, I feel if you first master oils, acrylics and watercolors come easy.
As I mentioned these were quick studies rather than attempted masterworks but I want to get into the habit of drawing and painting more often. I used to draw everyday; however, since graduating art school, digital platforms and corporate art have distracted me from more traditional mediums.
Architecture Study- Postwar House- Pen and Watercolor
Architecture Study- Beach House- Pen and Prisma Color Markers
While I spend most of my time as a 3d artist these days, working in the architecture and interior design industry has renewed my passion for more traditional mediums. I am lucky to be around several talented 2d/ traditional artists in my office who keep me inspired.
Feel free to let me know what you think and make sure to checkout my online gallery at www.kaplandesignlabs.com for frequent updates. Thanks!
In the spirit of trying to post more often I have a couple of 3d renderings of some towers I recently designed when playing around in 3ds Max.
Arial Rendering of "Kaplan Towers," an original design by Jonathan A. Kaplan
At work I am heavily relied on for creating a lot of interior spaces. Because of my limited opportunities to get to build out exterior scenes, I decided to put together a scene from a building design I recently created in a little down time I had. Below is the base design before adding context such as the forest, roads, cars, ocean, HDRI sky, and additional buildings:
Original Building Design before Context
I was very happy with the design I came up with and I received a lot of compliments from our senior Architects and Designers who happened to see my building on my desktop wallpaper.
In the future I hope to be able to add more camera angles and continue juicing up this scene as I have more spare time. I will be sure to post if I do. after designing the bones of this building, I have realized how far my understanding of architectural design has come in the past couple of years while working for my current employer and I am inspired to continue creating my own designs in the months to come. Thank you for reading!
To me, this was the pinnacle of creative design, as architects and designers of this era were intent on imagining what the future was going to look like and incorporating this creative thought into the buildings and homes of all Americans. This style of architecture has also been referred to as "Space Age" and "Atomic" because of it's forward thinking inspired designs. From the huge fins on classic Cadillacs to the houses that sprinkle the hills of Palm Springs, Mid Century Modern Architecture made a major impact on both American and international culture, especially in architecture and interior design.
Process:
1) I started this project while practicing my tufting skills by modeling the Knoll Barcelona chair which is very common in many interior designs (the pink bench in the middle.) After modeling the Knoll Barcelona, I decided to run with it and create a full scene which would compliment the chairs I had modeled.
2) From there, I envisioned a color palette which included grey tones and shades of pink complimented by vibrant selections of blue and green which really pop against red as green is the complimentary color to red.
3) I used this great website I found for furnishing selections which is a marketplace for antiques, especially those of Mid Century Modern designers:
https://www.1stdibs.com/ ; however, I did not limit myself to the colors found in the original reference images.I used this site to pick the lamps, side tables, and chandelier. While I often incorporate my own designs into my personal 3d renderings, for this project I wanted to get the authentic, period look.
4) Once the focal furnishings were established, I picked a retro brick texture for the back wall and vintage fabrics and patterns for the pillows and rug. I accented the design using the Mid Century Modern, egg style, "swan chairs" which I had previously modeled when developing my 3d modeling skills.
Designer Chairs previously modeled for practice
5) Finally, I added some V-Ray IES Lights to the back wall to give the room a moody but realistic feeling, and of course, living in Las Vegas, I picked a great photo of the original Sands Hotel and Casino as the cherry on top of this vintage inspired 3d rendering.
Ruel is one of the most talented artists I have ever met, and I consider myself lucky to of had the privilege of his tutelage. He has spent the past couple of years working on Star Wars (the video games and movie I believe) for Disney Interactive.
Anyways, seeing as how I am an Animator with a Bachelor's of Science in Media Arts & Animation, and being that Van Eaton Galleries is one of the world's premier Animation Art Dealers, I couldn't help but to browse their catalogs for nostalgic purposes.
I was on vacation at the time and wasn't actually planning on buying any artwork; however, once I was there flipping through original works by Chuck Jones, Disney's Nine Old Men, Hanna Barbera, etc. etc, I just could not leave the gallery without my very own piece of Animation History for my private art collection.
That being said, I ended up purchasing two original Yogi Bear keyframes/ poses, as well as this Silly Symphony's Little Hiawatha compilation sheet of Action Sketches/ key poses.
Little Hiawatha has always had a soft spot in my heart as this was one of the first animations I remember having watched as a child back when Disney Channel used to actually play archival animations and films (if you are old enough to remember this).
Little Hiawatha is a 10-20 minute film from the Silly Symphony collection. It is about a Native American Child who is hunting a baby bear through what appears to be the forests of the Pacific Northwest. As "grizzly" as this sounds, it is filled with hilarious antics and exemplifies the 12 principles of animation at every second.
Below is the full length version of the Cartoon I found on Youtube. If you are not familiar with the Silly Symphony collection this is a great introduction to the series.
Feel free to comment and share your thoughts about Little Hiawatha. I hope you enjoy this animation as much as I do :) Also, If you are ever in Los Angeles, I highly recommend visiting the gallery. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and there are always new galleries of contemporary artwork as well. This sheet of Action Sketches is something I truly treasure and brings a smile to my face every time I see it hanging on my walls.
By donating you make it easier for me to post more often on more topics and give me the ability to spend more time answering your questions. If you enjoy reading or have found any of my posts valuable feel free to let me know.
