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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1525170
What inspired you to pursue a career in 3D art? I am most inspired by creating beautiful, immersive 3D worlds that look convincing and feel authentic. For me, 3D modeling is the most hands-on tool for crafting believable objects that define a distinct style. As a concept artist, I often blend 2D and 3D techniques, which allows me to achieve great attention to detail and consistency while easily passing 3D objects to my team for use in production. Walk us through your creative process from concept to completion. My creative process begins with mind mapping, where I jot down all my ideas on a single page. This helps me identify intriguing problems that I can solve through visual creativity. I approach everything with a visual lens, using a "show, don't tell" storytelling technique. Once I've identified the problem to solve, I gather references from real life, books, or Pinterest to find the best images for my work. I organize these references using a program called PureRef, keeping them accessible at all times. While searching for references, I focus on shape design, aiming for a blend of exoticism and familiarity. My goal is to create something new that doesn't alienate the viewer but instead compels them to learn more. Next, I create rough sketches on paper or in Photoshop, filling pages with composition ideas. I emphasize simplicity and storytelling, considering how shapes interact, the mood, lighting, time of day, and other factors. Once I have a clear vision, I move to Blender for quick modeling using primitive objects (a technique known as greyboxing) that match my composition sketches. I experiment with camera angles and add figures for scale, ensuring everything feels authentic and has a strong graphic read. During this stage, I focus on the distribution of big, medium, small shapes, leading lines, and lighting. After I'm satisfied with the rough modeling, I bring the project back into Photoshop to overpaint, adding ideas and suggestions for the next time I return to Blender. This back-and-forth process allows me to test ideas in 2D before applying them in 3D, providing a bit of distance and perspective.