[M]ETAL. An Exploration of Form, Stress, and Fragility in Metal
Blender, one of the most popular free 3D graphics tools, is in demand not only in the design industry but also in original artistic works. The audiovisual art project [M]ETAL is an example of such use: it is a series of renders of metal objects, composed into animated videos with an original soundtrack. They can be described as a fusion of biomorphism and brutalism: frozen in space yet fluid, they combine industrial aesthetics with natural ones, the vibrant plasticity of organics with the beauty of mathematically rigorous forms.
Left to right: "Amorph," "Claws," "FE26," "Shape of Resistance"
The project's creator, Dmitry Stulov (pifmgr.dll), works at the intersection of 3D graphics, design, and sound.
A note from the author:
"I'm interested in working with form as something alive, even if it appears cold and static. [M]ETAL explores metal as a material and as an image: rigid, unyielding, industrial, and, in places, alien. At the same time, it retains a visual tension and fragility—qualities not typically associated with metal. Through nine objects and 27 renders, I explore form, volume, surface, and how digital interpretation can breathe life into an object."
[M]ETAL is built around observing how form changes in a digital environment. In this project, I work with both the visual density of metal and the sense of internal tension it creates. Metal here is a way to speak about resistance, weight, emptiness, plasticity, and vulnerability.
Music is an equal part of the project. Each object has its own soundtrack, built on the sensations, associations, and images evoked by the forms themselves. The visual and auditory layers are conceived as a single structure. Therefore, [M]ETAL works in two dimensions simultaneously: as a series of images and motion graphics and as a sound statement."
The project was made in Blender (modeling, sculpting, rendering). Post-processing and color correction were done in Photoshop. The motion graphics were created in After Effects. The audio was created in Ableton in collaboration with musician and sound engineer Vladislav Parenkin (The Lecturer).
Project website: https://pifmgrdll.online
Album: https://band.link/LFs6E
