From a young age I have needed an outlet to express myself. I have always loved art I would sit and draw for hours while watching Films, Tutorials, looking at paintings, watching artists and learning new techniques. The world of art has mesmerized me all throughout my life and the more I see and the more I learn and the more I fall in love.
There are so many different forms of art. While studying GCSE and A level I was exposed to different mediums from pencil sketches, watercolour, oil paint, Print making, embroidery, coloured pencils and so many more. In my mind I have 2 paths alongside one another in terms of my art. the first being the more traditional work such as realism portraiture and life drawing sketches, this is something I do now for fun on the side of my work or as a freelance artist. This is the skill I am most employed to do, although I have previously been commissioned to create small 3D assets for people to print (such as small props for dungeons and dragons). The second being the 3D and VFX artwork, I chose this path specifically in line with the film industry this is due to the fact that I adore film. I believe that my love for film somewhat stems from spending hundreds probably thousands of hours as a child drawing and watching films in the background of my work in a day I would watch 5+ films while completing a drawing or multiple drawings.
Figure 1
The image shown (Figure 1) above is an example of a drawing I have been commissioned to do; this was an A4 coloured pencil drawing of a dog named henry. I have many different approaches to drawing depending on whether or not it is a commissioned piece of this kind. For a ‘realism’ portrait it is very important to get every detail right from the main shape to the tiny strands of hair everything needs to be perfect. In order to do this, I often use the Grid Technique, this is a method in which you calculate the size of the paper and break down the reference image into squares, on the sketchbook paper the squares are scaled up or down and the elements within each squares are mirrored and scared accordingly. I do not use this technique in my personal drawings or sketches for example the drawing of the parrot (Figure 2), as seen below, was drawn freehand. I was first introduced to coloured pencil drawings at Sixth form, where I studied fine art, but this wasn’t ever anything I spent a lot of time on and preferred black and white drawings. After starting university I bought some Prisma colour pencils and learnt how to use them, learning overlaying techniques and blending for this medium. Figure 3 shows the first drawing I did using this medium and as you can see compared to Figure 2 it doesn’t have the same level of detail and understanding. I believe that my journey using this medium is never ending as with each new drawing I can see and feel an improvement. I have a strong love and fascination with nature and creatures on our planet, i therefore enjoy drawing them and studying them as I do so. The medium of coloured pencil has allowed me to use such vibrant and stunning colour schemes that are scene within our natural world, creatures such as parrots and frogs have been a prominent subject within my artwork due to the natural vibrancy and beauty they exude.
Figure 2
Figure 3
I believe that my love for drawing and natural artwork directly correlates to 3D work, I was first introduced to the 3D world through Product design software such as Solidworks. While at Sixth form I had the opportunity to learn this software as I had deigned and build a Piano (figure 4) this was done both in the real world and as a model (Figure 5). This first glimpse into modelling allowed me enough information to research CGI and realise I can work on films! I always wanted to work in the film industry and I always wanted to be an artist but I didn’t know how to merge those things together but when I discovered the world of Animation and VFX I knew that this is what I wanted to do. In order to understand form I believed that by training my artistic eye and understanding the word more I could translate these things into every model I create. For example when I start a new drawing I have to study this image very intensely, this is due to the level of detail I want to mirror within my drawing. I study form, texture, light, muscles, hair/feathers etc… I really enjoy this part of a drawing as the longer and closer you look at something the more you see and the more you begin the appreciate it. I believe that fine art sketches, study drawings and more detailed realism drawings allow me to better understand the 3D pipeline. This is due to the fact that when you model something in 3D and your goal is for it to be realistic you need to understand how it forms, how the muscles work, how it would move, how it would interact within our world or within its environment. Then when an image needs to be textured you need to understand how each texture would act, how do they look in correlation to one another, are they wet? How would light reflect? How long is the fur? Is the surface see through? Ambient occlusion etc… there are so many things that need to be looked into and understood when completing a model you cant just make something you need it to be able to do what it should. Research and study is therefore so important when creating a model or a drawing of any kind as understanding something is equally as important as knowing how it might look. When I draw, I spend 10+ sometimes 20+ hours looking at the same reference image trying to learn and understand.
Figure 4
Figure 5
When I discovered CGI and VFX I was so excited to learn this was something so new to me and something exciting! I had always lived in the midlands but moved 5 hours away from home to Cornwall, to study Animation and VFX at Falmouth university to follow my dreams and it was so worth it! we were exposed to all forms of animation 2D, Stop motion as well as CGI and live action filming. Although we learnt so much I loved 3D art, Modelling, Texturing, Lighting, Rendering, Animating, Designing, Creature Modelling, Researching and Developing. We were taught to use software such as Maya, Mudbox, Zbrush, Nuke, Photoshop, After effects, Da Vinci resolve, Dragon Frame, Tv paint and so many more. It was incredible being taught by people who had worked in the industry and who were passionate about film making, I was even given the incredible opportunity to work on a film directed by john Stevenson, this was a 15 minute short film called Middle Watch. My first 3D models were not perfect for example Figures 6 and 7 shows the first Flower Model I created in first year at university, as you can see the colour is dull, the petals are thick, and the model is not great, but this was the first thing I was extremely proud of, and this model got me recognized by the university and was featured in the prospectus for future animation students. I have improved significantly since I completed this model not just in terms of technique and modelling but my understanding of UV unwrapping, Texturing, lighting and render settings.
Figure 6
Figure 7
As a part of my degree the VFX students and 2D students were separated in 2nd year, as this is the year you choose your specialism. I chose the VFX pipeline this included CGI Modelling, Texturing etc…, Compositing, Green screen, color grading etc… but as a part of our course we had to work on the 2D films, most VFX students chose to do VFX work such as compositing, green screen for stop motion or CGI reference models of 2D assets but I decided to complete concept artwork, 2D backgrounds as well as the models and effects work they required. I thought this would be beneficial for me as it allowed me to adapt my drawing style, that was more commonly realistic to a more stylized version mimicking the film. Figures 8 and 9 shows an example from a film that I worked on, as you can see this is extremely different to the other drawings I have shown, Figure 10 is another example of something completely different. Being exposed to this and allowed to try new things and techniques was so beneficial as I was able to adapt and learn for each new film.
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
When I moved to university I was a blank canvas when it came to 3D software but from my first maya class I was hooked. I quickly became intrigued by the software and what it could do, and I’m honored to say I was often reached out to by my fellow students to help and advice. I was voted by my lectures as the best in my year for 3D modelling. Maya is capable of doing so much, when I watch documentaries about the film industry and I see software that I use I feel so close to my dreams as I am on the same path they are. As I was learning my modelling improved from the lily seen in figures 6 and 7 to the Violin seen in Figure 11. Although modelling is something I spent a lot of time studying and honing my skills on, I believed that texturing, lighting, and rendering was incredibly important too focus on as well. The lily model was rendered with great difficulty as I had no idea what I was doing, I didn’t understand the different lights, light settings, and render settings. As well as this I didn’t understand UV unwrapping, and this therefore meant that texturing was a lot more difficult I simply placed an image on each petal as an AISS and hoped it would stretch and squash too much. The violin is a completely different story, I modelled this as a side project in 3rd year applying all of the techniques I had learned to model, and UV unwrap this so it was easy to texture. I exported the model into substance painter and applied multiple textures making sure to take care with each setting, I used reference images from the interest to ensure all of the different elements on the violin were correct and looked ‘real’. Seeing these two projects next to each other and comparing them makes me so proud as I can see all that I have learnt in such a small period. I hope that throughout my career I continue to learn more and develop my skills. As well as the textures the way that I have lit the scenes is extremely different, the lily model simply has the Skydome light, being bright white and visible in the render this makes the model dull and therefore not stand out. Whereas on the violin I set up the composition with a camera and lit the scene in accordance with my composition ensuring to make the subject the focus point and really show off the model.
Figure 11
Hard surface modelling was the first form of 3D I was introduced to. For university I worked as a 3D generalist on the short films and I was therefore often asked to create complex models such as Large Guns, Complex organic knives, and other props. This helped to improve my modelling significantly and allowed me to further understand the 3D pipeline and workflow. In 2nd year I was introduced to character modelling, once I had been shown this I couldn’t stop! I ended up modelling the main characters for most of the short films in our year. Figure 12 shows an example of a character model I created for ‘Caught in Space’ a 3D animated short film. This model was a real challenge, but not the normal challenge. This is due to the fact that the reference image I was given (Figure 13) didn’t have a large amount of detail and it was therefore a lot of trail and error. This was really fun to do and was a real challenge as I was given reference images from the director and I had to work out how to piece these together to great a cohesive image with good topology. For the same film I was asked to design and model a creature, this was something different to what I had previously done but I loved the challenge. I designed the creature, once this was approved, I then created a turnaround design (Figure 14) which I based the 3D model off of. Figure 15 shows this model. I loved that for this creature model I was able to be a part of the whole process, I didn’t rig the creature as the producer wanted this job but I was able to animate a shot (this is seen in my showreel- linked on website). After modelling this creature, I was asked to model a knife with an organic octopus handle (Figure 16) this once again allowed me to discover more techniques and learn more about organic modelling.
Figure 12
Figure 13 (Not my Drawing)
Figure 14
Figure 15
Figure 16
My journey into the film industry has just begun, I know I have so much to learn and I honestly can’t wait. I know I need to continue to work on my portfolio, and improve my skills and one day I will be working on feature films such as Avatar, Up, Toy story and Cars. I know that even when I’m working in the industry I will need to adapt and learn more, this is something that I am so excited for. This is such an incredible industry built on ground-breaking technology and stunning imagery. When I go to the cinema to watch a film I always stay and read the credits, this is for a few reasons first of all I sit there like a nerd with linked in and IMDB open on my phone and I follow and research all the companies I could work for and could apply to. I also just want to appreciate the work that went into each and every feature, as one day when I work on a film I will be so proud of my name up there among all of the other talented people. I want to work in the film industry because I want to be a part of the team that can produce the unbelievable but make it so real, film has been a form of escapism and fascination throughout my life, and I want to give that to someone. I want to inspire people like me and show them how incredible the art of film is.