Interview with CODETHISLAB

There it goes. The unique and promised interview with the winner codethislab of our Halloween Challenge.

Thanks for finding space in your schedule to let us know what you are up to. When doing some research I found a list of fantastic titles that you have worked on, but I couldn't find out much about you. Tell us about yourself and why you chose to be a 3D artist? Tell us about yourself and why you chose to be a 3D artist?

I started painting on canvas, papers, walls, shirts, everywhere... my life changed in 2008 when I met Code This Lab guys that was searching for a vectorial artist. Despite my lack of experience in digital art, I had a chance, thanks to a Superman painting that they liked very much. After some months I had my first approach with 3d Modeling and it was love at first sight!

What do you love most about your job? What motivates and inspire you to move forward?

In the field of 3D computer graphics, the processing steps are numerous and connected to each other, so is the set of all the workflow that makes this work great. Despite some phases that can be very tedious and frustrating (the rendering phase is perhaps the more stressful), the thing I love most about my job is the finalization of the project: then you can see the real quality of your 3D model.

What software do you like the most? Why?

My favourite 3D Software is 3D Studio Max. Simply because it was the first software I used and I think it has a very intuitive interface and overall I find it very easy to use on the management of many features. I also use zbrush for the sculpting, which helps me to give much detail and originality to my models.

What is your greatest work that you have done? The most challenging project you have worked on?

Maybe my greatest and challenging work was a marine-themed 3D Slot Machine: "Poseidon Unsersea Treasure", some screenshots are visible at http://www.codethislab.com/index.php?page=casual_games

It has been a challenging project due to the some animations involving facial expressions, use of Particle system and some absurd request from the customer!!

What future do you see for the whole 3D industry? Where would you personally like to be in 5 – 10 years?

The CG is a field that every year makes you gasp: increasingly sophisticated rendering engines, evolution of management of lighting and shader...On the other hand the software evolution could penalize the artistic phase: many next-generation software allows us to create 3D images with a couple mouse click, city engineer that automatically generate entire towns, software that automatically create characters (like Poser). So I think in the future, if we do not want to see a total commercialization of 3D, we should boost the artistic side, the pursuit of originality, the appealing design.

Between five or ten years I would be happy to continue to do what I do now with the same desire and the same team, With whom I discuss and quarrel but with the aim to always improve our skills. This not means that I don't like to work with companies like Pixar, but if you're lucky enough, as I had myself, to meet smart people, then you can safely dream big with their own means.

What is your opinion about online marketplaces where 3D artists buy, sell and share 3D models? Do you consider this as a helpful tool for professional designers?

The 3D marketplace can be a greater incentive for a modeler, as it offers the chance to get noticed and at the same time, to make some money. In these market you can in real time, understand the tastes and the needs of people and what they are looking for. Create 3D models for sale thus becomes a daily workout to avoid losing manual skill and to become increasingly flexible, in order to satisfy any requirement from customers. Of course, we must never lose sight of the artistic side, as I said before, each project needs to be addressed with 3D criterion and accurance, without neglecting any detail, just so you have the opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

We are thankful for the time and answers. As well, we hope to see even more awesome models from codethislab at our marketplace.