When you start out with any advanced imaging software, the website often showcases some of the programs best- by the artists that have pushed its boundaries the furthest.
Dax Pandhi: is one of those users. His work with Vue is extraordinary, and sometimes indistinguishable from photographs.

The Gate to Elysium as featured on E-on's website

As his work occupied a large amount of space in my favorites folder, I was happy to be able to get a quick interview with him:
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To start out; what is your real name then?
My real name is Dax Pandhi.

And where do you live?
I live in a small town called Bhuj, in the western most part of India, very close to the Arabian sea.

Where are you from?
I've lived here all my life. I do travel as much as I can, but there is a magical quality in the rocky desert region of this place that keeps me here.

What do you work with today? Is it 3D related?
I own a company called Nukeation Studios where we make software for programmers dealing with next generation look and interaction - like multi-touch, etc. Essentially, we try to make things we've seen only in science fiction a true everyday working thing. The job does involve doing 3D, but not in the artistic sense.

Are your 3d related works all done on your spare time?
Since I have also started a company that does 3D products for Vue a lot of my 3D work is done on "official time", although still most of it is still done late in the night during my spare time.

How did you get into your line of work?
I originally trained to be a concept artist almost 12 years ago, but I also had a background in programming and I love "making things" so I decided to go into programming, although I'm doing professional 3D now too.

Could you tell us more about your works/renders?
I tend to focus on natural environments, with very realistic lighting. My preference is always for simplicity. I don't like to overcomplicate scenes, and given a choice will always go for a minimalist approach.

Such as: what governs your composition and use of colour? Do you plan ahead or go on a process of discovery? Do you sketch your ideas?
I rarely sketch ideas. Till this day only 1 of my sketched ideas came out looking just the same in the final render. I have a nasty habit of constantly evolving the idea of the piece I'm working on so it suits me not to plan too much.

More often than not, I just start out playing with a very basic idea of something and it evolves itself as I play with it. I usually prefer to stick to primary colors whenever I can. I have absolutely no formal training in art, so I can't describe it in theoretical terms much.

Are you often happy with your work?
Yes and no. I'm happy with most my work right after I finish it, but a few days later I start seeing flaws in it and want to enhance and re-edit it. I force myself not to, but I still feel it. But overall, yes, I am happy with most of my work.

How does your creative work flow look like?
Mostly depends. I don't have a set working pattern as I tend to be very procedurally chaotic. I change my work flow a lot too, but recently in terms of technical flow, I work completely inside Vue and revert to Corel PhotoPaint only for minor corrections or enhancements.

Do your works arise from imagination or careful study of the environment? Or both?
Mostly from imagination. But study of the environment plays a crucial role in the development of whatever pops from my imagination.

From your work and pictures online it appears that you have a fascination surrounding the geology of this planet. Was that something that developed from vue, or did vue develop from the fascination?
Definitely. I love rocks. For as long as I remember, I've loved finding new rock formations and sketching them, and later on making them in 3D. One of the reasons I took on Vue was that unlike any other software I had used before it let me realize natural rock formations very accurately while still giving me enough flexibility to make things artistic. In turn, Vue also helps me understand geology better.

Do you feel that your cultural background has had an impact on your work?
Not particularly. I'm very disassociated with my own culture, as well as most cultures I've come across. More impact has come from natural surroundings, experiences, and travelling to uninhabited locations than from culture. Pop culture, of course, does play a large role in just about any artist's life today, but I'm not sure if that counts as a proper "culture".

What does ‘culture’ mean to you?
Since I've kept myself personally disassociated with culture, it really doesn't mean too much to me. In fact, I try not to think too much about it as it is a very depressing topic.

Do you draw inspiration from your surroundings? Does the local relief and geography play a leading role in the works you produce?
Definitely. I have to see - and if possible, touch - things to get a closer feeling for it. That is one of my major reasons why I love to travel since it helps me grow my knowledge of things.

What well-known artists have inspired/influenced you?
In general art, Boris Vallejo, Matthew Stawicki, and Masamune Shirow have always inspired me. In 3D, my two major influences have been Eran Dinur and Thomas Krahn. It was after seeing there work that I was inspired to try out Vue and natural 3D.

What other interests do you have outside of those shown on Deviantart?
Apart from art, I'm a very hardcore software programmer and love to create new things. I'm also crazy about photography and travelling. And I also have a rabid love for Star Wars. I don't dress up in costumes, but I've read a few hundred comics and books on it. I also have a dream to build my own empire, but current global situations and military technology prevent me from creating my own clone army.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I have absolutely no idea. I don't even know where I will be next weekend!

I know I will still be doing my programming stuff and nothing could keep me away from doing 3D. My fondest wish would be to see as many different geological locations in the world and create inspired works in 3D from them.

Why have you chosen to work with Digital media instead of traditional arts?
I have experience with traditional media - but it takes too much time, and I'm a very impatient person with myself, so I choose digital. Other than that, I like the fact that having something in digital form makes it much more usable and modifiable. Besides, there is no "undo" on paper.

I hear you have a book coming out soon what will it be about and why have you decided to make it?
In fact, I have over 6 books in the works. Four of them are photographic and artistic reference books for Vue users authored by a friend of mine, on which I'm a contributing author and technical editor. The other two are instructional books. The first one deals with deconstructing some of the more complex scenes I've created, while the second one deals with achieving hyperrealism in lighting inside Vue. Even with training material for Vue growing, people still don't have really good material for learning how to achieve hyper realism. I figured someone had to fill that gap.

Do you feel it’s important to help new artists on their way?
Definitely. I always try to answer questions or provide suggestions on deviantArt whenever possible. My books - some of which will be non-profit - are also aimed for this same reason.
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His page is here:=nukeation
His website is here
some of his work:



go give them some love.

Lastly: i found some Vue video tutorials that I wanted to link because they are also pretty cool: