“I can’t draw,” Stuart Lippincott tells us with humor. The Arkansas-based artist is rather open about the limitations of his creative skills, which don’t seem to bother him in the slightest. But this doesn’t mean that he is no less of an artist: every day, Lippincott turns his creative visions into stunning 3D images and animations. This kind of creativity requires the deepest and most imaginative of minds, as well as a highly developed set of technical artistic skills.

Lippincott — also known as ‘stuz0r’ — finds that spirituality is a recurring theme in his work, although this is “not intentional.” Still, he says, it’s nothing short of “amazing” when people of faith find meaning in his work. 

His piece, ‘Lighted Path’, features a road to a luminescent Christian cross: a reminder that every arduous path should have a fulfilling culmination. You may purchase it as framed wall art here.

‘Lighted Path’ by Stuart Lippincott, available at Consecrea

[Note: The interview below contains minor edits for clarity and brevity.]

Tell us about who you are. How did art come into your life?

My name is Stuart Lippincott, aka stuz0r — it was my Xbox Live name from back in 2002. I’m 38 and I live in Bentonville, Arkansas. I’ve been creating daily stories and renders for five years now. 

I have always been into creating art. When I was young, I wanted to draw cartoons, [but] I was never really good at it so I kind of gave up on drawing. I found out about 3D art and my passion for creating was rekindled. I have a running joke in all my online bios that I can’t draw… because it’s true (laughs).

What does the creation process look like for you? How do you feel while you’re creating a piece, and after a piece is complete? 

I generally start by finding a good soundtrack for the creation process. The act of creating is actually quite stress-relieving. You can spend a few hours escaping from reality. After it’s finished, I feel a sense of accomplishment. However, as any artist would probably tell you, it never really feels complete. 

Who are your biggest influences?

I got started in my everyday renders when I found out about Mike Winkelmann, [also] known as Beeple. When I saw that it was possible to create these crazy renders everyday, I wanted to try and do the same thing. 

I would also say that a lot of my friends I’ve made along this journey inspire me everyday. They constantly push me to get better! 

As someone who posts art almost on the daily, how do you conceptualize your complex pieces and animations? Are there ideas before you start to work, or does the vision come as you create? 

It’s a combination of both. Sometimes I have a shape or color in mind; other times it’s a landscape. I generally just start putting things together in the scene and let it begin to take on a life of its own.

There’s a lot of sci-fi and futuristic elements in your work. Where do you get the inspiration for them? 

I would say from movies or TV shows, but really it’s what just comes out when I create pieces. I try to imagine how it would actually be in these places. I think that’s what drives my creation process — it just so happens that it’s mostly this sci-fi world. 

You feature religious imagery in several of your works. How would you describe your relationship with spirituality? 

I think that it plays a large role in how I create pieces, but not intentionally. I think that everyone can relate to the spiritual on some level, which is why I think my works resonate with so many. I get messages from all walks of faith telling me how my artworks really speak to them. It’s quite amazing, really!

Follow Stuart Lippincott on Instagram here.