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AUGI
Autodesk User Group International
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Posted: Jul 17, 2007
Published by: the area
Homepage: none
Software: Autodesk VIZ
| The Area:
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Hi Chen Qingfeng.
Please give us a bit of background on yourself � where you are from, what kind of work you do.
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Hello everybody, my name is Qingfeng Chen. My friends on the Internet like to call me "Chen". I am 30 years old and I live in Xiamen, a seaport on the coast of Fujian Province in southeast China. I am the founder of "chen3d studio". To be more precise, I am also a freelancer. I have to take care of daily office work, promotions and advertisements. At the same time I work on animations, final image renderings, and computer art work.
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| The Area:
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Could you please describe to us your workflow, how you come to the final rendered image? Do you work with CAD files, to translate to 3D? Do you work from concept sketches and model everything from scratch?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Here's the workflow for still image renderings:
The clients provide the detailed CAD blueprint files or hand drawings. We then use 3ds Max to create a 3D model. We email or FTP the rendered images to the clients for their confirmation or adjustments; such as altering the camera angle. We modify the images, based on client feedback and comments. We then continue to work on lighting, textures and color adjustments. When the art works are close to final stage rendering, we email the clients again for their confirmation and comments on the corrections. Before the final rendered images are accepted, repeated adjustments are often needed -- which takes time to deal with.
The workflow for animation is very similar to the still image rendering. For most of the work, the clients have their storyboards or they have concepts in mind. We then create a rough animation based on their requirements. Sometimes, we have to draw storyboards and work on the script by ourselves, which often challenges our creative abilities.
In the past, I used AutoCAD to create my 3D models and import them into 3D Max. I realized transferring the files are too complicated if the clients need to make some adjustments afterwards. That's why I switched over to use 3ds Max and VIZ as my modeling tools to build the models.
For my personal work, I pencil sketch my ideas out on a piece of paper first. Then I build the models directly.
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| The Area:
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You don't necessarily work alone all the time � tell us about "the team". How did you all find each other and manage to connect and work together? How long have you guys worked together as a group?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Our team consists of a group of friends who have worked together in the past. We are organized into small teams and remain connected via the Internet. By connecting in this manner, we can take advantage of the individual skill sets and talents of each member of the team. Some of us are good at modeling, some at animation, and others excel in special effects and compositing. Many of us do not want to leave their hometown for work, so the convenience of the Internet makes this arrangement possible. In fact, we have been working in this way for over three years, with our work process becoming ever more streamlined each time.
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| The Area:
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How is the work split up amongst your team?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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I will give you an example on how we do an animation. I can delegate the modeling work to members in one city, and the final composting work to another member in another city. At the same time, I will be working on the interior animation. This working style is very similar in getting work done in one office. We may not be working physically side-by-side, but MSN Messenger is a very convenient tool for communication and allows us to hold our meetings online.
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| The Area:
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You mentioned that you have clients in US and the European Union. Are there any difficulties due to perhaps cultural differences or working style?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Yeah. Different cultural and working styles often bring about some misunderstandings and periodic delay. On the other hand, since we all work in the architecture environment, we hold similar views within the field. Thus, our working relation tends to be very smooth. This is especially true for those clients with whom we have worked together before. We have a very good understanding between each other and the projects often proceed smoothly.
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| The Area:
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Looking at your portfolio, one can see great lighting and sense different moods from it. Did you have an artistic background (maybe photography?) that aided in your good understanding and knowledge of natural light? Or did you study a lot from resources via the Internet?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Thanks. Many of my Internet friends agreed with that. They often ask me whether or not I have an artistic background. It is a pity that I never got a chance to have any systematic artistic study. Nonetheless, I like photographic works of fine art and enjoy the photographer's unique camera angle and use of the color, which I find is a great help in my artistic study. Regarding architecture, I try to use my comprehension or my way to express my point of view of architecture. I have an aesthetic feeling for architecture because it evokes my enthusiasm and I always want to implement my own style, such as lighting, to define architecture. Additionally, there are many good materials on the Internet and cool sites to get what I need.
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| The Area:
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Were you trained in computer graphics prior to the work you do now, or was it self-taught?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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I majored in civil engineering while I was in university. Therefore, I seldom touched a computer, let alone try anything in the animation field. After three years of working, I learned 3D by myself. It took me about a year to learn the basic knowledge and techniques. Then I become a freelancer afterwards.
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| The Area:
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How long have you been using VIZ? What other software packages do you use for your work?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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I have used VIZ for more than 4 years and the working tools that I use often include AutoCad, VIZ, Lightscape, and PhotoShop.
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| The Area:
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Which rendering technology do you prefer to use � mental ray, vray, or others?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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I prefer to use Lightscape because it is easy to control. The disadvantage for this software is that it is slow. I began to use VRay since 2005 and it has become my favorite tool that I now use frequently.
I seldom use mental ray, I think it is professional movie special rendering tool.
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| The Area:
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On average, how long does it take to render your scenes? Do you have a render farm?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Generally a rendering will take about one to two days, which is rather slow. I have not purchased a render farm.
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| The Area:
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You have a number of different moods for almost every render � do you have a custom light setup that you use depending on the mood you are trying to create?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Basically, I have a custom lighting system which assists me to create the desired mood. For example, I prefer to add a tinge of blue environment lighting to the daytime scene. As for night effect, I like to use massive blue light and small yellow colored light source to match it. Frankly speaking, there is no mode that could be applied mechanically, so you have to adjust it according to the effect you wish to express. Most of the time, I like to use Photoshop to adjust lighting and color, etc. It helps to improve the quality of the rendered image to some extent and sometimes it could create other unexpected effects.
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| The Area:
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What kind of things do you attend to before finalizing an image (for example, color correction, composition, etc.)?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Well, it is hard to make a concrete description. You can only adjust the still depending on your own feelings and experience. Anyway, you have to be satisfied with the final effect first, the color should be even and saturated, and composition reasonable, etc.
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| The Area:
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Generally how long does it take to complete a project for a client? What is consistently the hardest task in any project?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Usually, one rendering will take about three to six days, and animation, 25 to 40 days. The most difficult thing is when the client does not provide enough data and information, worse still is when some might still want to make modifications continuously throughout our work process, which becomes an obstacle for us to complete the project on time.
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| The Area:
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With your speed, how many projects do you work on roughly, in a year's time?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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I have worked on probably more than 300 projects.
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| The Area:
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How is the 3D scene in China now --in the fields of movies, commercials, design, architecture, etc. Is 3D used a lot?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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Yeah, nowadays these fields use a lot of 3D techniques.
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| The Area:
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For people who wish to pursue a career in 3D in China, how hard is it to enroll in a school to learn the tools and skills � is there a high demand or competition?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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In China, there are quite a lot of training institutions which provide many opportunities to people who want to further study in the field of 3D. 3D computer animation is an emerging field with huge demands and fierce competition. In my opinion, it has a lot of space for growth in the future.
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| The Area:
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What are your future plans for yourself, and for the vision of the company? Do you plan to establish one company location in the future, instead of everyone working in different areas across China?
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| Chen Qingfeng:
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My plan is keep developing the existing model of our company and make it grow in strength so that more clients will know of our company and appreciate our work. Next year, I will establish and register a new company, which means my business will expand. My dream is to blend more and more teams from other cities in the future, combining them to a network team that's bigger, stronger, and more influential. As for the need for convergence of team members, this is still under consideration. Meaning that more cost, and whether it can increase efficiency drastically is under review. After all, it needs special management competence to administer a great number of staff.
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Thanks very much for your time � you are a busy man. All the best to your future endeavors, Chen!
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| Posted by Annie on Sep 08, 2011 at 09:10 PM
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Nice to see this coming out of Xiamen! My favorite city in China.
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| Posted by 中国 on Feb 13, 2011 at 10:43 AM
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为了对的起我一晚折腾。。再留一条。。。嘻嘻。。。。。
我学3d 有一个多月了。。都自己看--自学网教程自学的。。这两天开始做试着把自己家房子建模室内设计。。用2010版本老死机。。晚上下载2009。。上网查了下大家评价比较稳定的版本。。从发心学3d以来，这一个多月挺有趣。。遇到几个网上的同学。。给我很多帮助。。觉得好顺利。。。很开心。。有位高僧说过一句话很有道理：制心一处，无事不办。 我觉得真的是这样。。就好像我从来不曾接触过3d,但一个月努力下了。。不觉得陌生了。。。就像我看不懂英文。。。居然也能摸着注册。。。也能给你留下真挚的赞美。。。。希望我的好运来了。。。真心祝福天下努力的人们。。真心祝福您。。。真心祝福看到留言的朋友们。。。。不分国籍、不分性别、不分长幼。。阿弥陀佛！
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| Posted by 中国 on Feb 13, 2011 at 10:27 AM
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| 你真棒。。。做的图好漂亮。。给我们大家争脸了。。我是福建三明的。。刚注册3D2009。看到版面有个网站介绍。。全部英文的。。看不懂啊。。。为了给你留言。。瞎蒙了半天。。注册了。。。呜呜。真难为我了。。。。。我的qq:262028206.认识下吧。。
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| Posted by coparker on Oct 19, 2010 at 11:28 PM
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| ivan4r4, you're sadly... kinda right.
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| Posted by ivan4r4 on Jul 25, 2010 at 06:18 AM
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typical chinese,
flat and ugly
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