3D

A 3D model I made in 1999 of a statue of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god of Central America. My version, modelled in 3D Studio Max, was based on the real statues that still adorn the Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacan, Mexico.

The main image with the pyramids in the background, and an actual featured serpent flying in the sky, was my entry into the March-April 1999 round of the Internet Ray Tracing Competition. It placed 10th out of 67 entries, which I was pretty pleased about. Still, I regretted that the statue model actually looks way better in the starkly-lit test images than in the final picture, which is less well lit and let down by some frankly half-assed work on the pyramids and ground.