|
|
RSS feed subscriptions for all inHouse entries
|
|
Autodesk® 3ds Max®
|
|
Autodesk® Maya®
|
|
Autodesk® Softimage®
|
|
Autodesk® MotionBuilder®
|
|
Autodesk® Mudbox™
|
|
Autodesk® ImageModeler™
|
|
Autodesk® Sketchbook® Pro
|
|
Autodesk® Smoke on Mac®
|
|
AUGI
Autodesk User Group International
|
Software: Autodesk 3ds Max
|
|
|
|
|
Pedro Conti
My name is Pedro Conti, I’m 22 and I was born in São Paulo, Brazil. Currently I’m working with the Italian Director Dario Picciau. My main work experience has been
advertising and this opportunity has been an amazing one for me. Influenced by my brother, the Designer Danilo Conti, in 2005 I took up Design at Mackenzie University. Two
years later, I went to Rio de Janeiro to work as a 3D artist at Seagulls Fly -- one of the biggest in Brazil, specializing in Advertising Print and Animation. Rio was
amazing for me, in terms of work experience and lifestyle. In 2009, I went back to São Paulo and worked as Lead 3D Artist at TechoImage Studio, doing illustrations for
print. Now I’m working with Dario fulltime. In my free time, I try to have fun -- I love to take pictures. This year I had the opportunity to do some advertising
photography for a Brazilian band and it was pretty cool. I don't want to be a photographer, but photography is really important in terms of color, composition, lighting,
mood -- and this experience can be applied into the 3D world. I’m also working on a short movie called "25th" with some talented friends, and this is to be directed by
Ivan Oviedo. In closing, I’d like to say that I strive to be like Kelly Slater…traveling every weekend to the beach and enjoying life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Area:
|
|
Ciao Pedro, you are no stranger to the AREA :) We have seen many of your wicked images and it blows our mind away that you are so young and been so active in the CG industry -
it is very inspiring to say the least!
|
|
Pedro:
|
|
Thank you. I’m feeling really excited with this opportunity to talk about me and my work!!! I’m feeling proud after these years of hard work and I’ll be talking about some
important people who’ve made a difference in my life. I’m very grateful!
|
|
The Area:
|
|
So for those of us who are not familiar with your work, you were the 3D artist for the Brastemp Hippo image. Can you tell us what was the campaign about, and also some
background into creating this fantastic image?
|
|
Pedro:
|
This project was a gift for me. It was almost my first job at TechnoImage Studio. I say gift because I really liked the main idea and the creation made by the guys of DM9. Brastemp is a company specialized in appliances and this campaign was developed for an oven line. In the final piece the text "THE BIGGEST
OVEN EVER" was included in the illustration. We decided to do realistic modeling and shaders, with a comedic touch on the facial expressions. The hippo was created in three
weeks, but I spent many of those days doing other work. Anyway, the main idea was to place these illustrations physically inside the ovens that are being sold in stores.
*Interesting Fact: the orca whale was made in a total of three days :P
|
|
The Area:
|
|
In the recently published "Making-of Brastemp Hippo" tutorial, you covered all the major steps
involved in producing the image. Besides individual hair placement, was there a more painful/challenging part in making this image?
|
|
Pedro:
|
The challenging part was to learn Zbrush. It was my first work with realistic characters. I never used this software in my production and I didn't have big problems to include
it. It was pretty nice and I’m really happy with the final result.
Technical challenges always exist, but nowadays, it's easier to find solutions and software that help us with technical stuff. It gives more flexibility and allows artists to be
focused on making art.
|
|
The Area:
|
|
Now before we jump into your other work, let's quickly map out your path to working as a full-time CG artist; when did you start learning 3D?
|
|
Pedro:
|
I started to learn 3ds Max with my father. I worked with him for a year in 2005 and there, he showed me some basic stuff like primitive creation, basic animation, modeling tools
like the extrude and lathe modifier. Then for one year, I didn't do anything in 3D. I had enrolled for Design at Mackenzie University between 2005/2006, where I met Marcio
Nicolosi, a talented 3D animator. During this time, Marcio was working on his short film as a final project. I felt really excited seeing the final result that he did and at
that moment I decided:
That's it what I want to do!!
|
|
The Area:
|
|
What happened to the studies at Mackenzie University?
|
|
Pedro:
|
|
I was disappointed with the classes and teachers, so in 2007 I went to Rio de Janeiro to work in 3D. Here in Brazil, in my humble opinion, the design courses are very very
superficial and theoretical. The lesson was really boring. I hope to go back to university next year and maybe I’ll give cinema a try this time round. For now, the 3D world is
giving me a lot of good opportunities and I know that I did the best choice at this moment. To be an artist in Brazil, you need to be really confident.
|
|
The Area:
|
|
Tell us about your gig in Rio at Seagulls Fly and what you did there?
|
|
Pedro:
|
|
Seagulls Fly is an amazing studio. There are so many talented artists and nice projects to do. Majority of the work were illustrations for print. In general, we received the
layout and briefing from the agency and worked on all parts -- modeling, textures, shading/lighting and postwork. For the biggest jobs, we shared the parts to speed up the
process.
|
All of the 3D artists are generalists, with the exception of specific animators, and anyone who was free could help at any stage of a project.
|
The Area:
|
|
During your two years at Seagulls Fly, you worked on numerous print ad campaigns -- can you please tell us about some of the images you created?
|
|
Pedro:
|
In Clothworld Macaw, I had the opportunity to work on the entire project.
We had the basic concept art, which I improved through the modeling process. The final image was completed over a crazy span of 3-4 days, which included the render time with the
output at 7500px. We had two characters to do (macaw and fish), so Marcelo Souza and I decided to choose them randomly -- he got the fish!
Nothing special for the production really, we used poly by poly modeling, arch&design for the shaders and mr area spotlight for the lighting.
|
For the beer jukebox I was responsible for the shading, lighting and post. It took me one (crazy :-P) day to complete. The amazing modeling was done by my friend Fabio Bispo (also
known as the famous Djavan) in one week, I think.
The Guitar I did for a "competition project", the image was created just for internal presentations of the model and textures. For this same project, I created a version of the
PLANETA TERRA logo (1 day of work). This effect was created using a dummy object linked to another dummy object and using some path constraint and noise controllers on position and
rotation, I converted the animation to paths.
In 2008/2009 I also worked on more then 15 bottle illustrations for the Coca-Cola Company. It was like a production line… we developed a render pass solution and we reused the file
(lights, shaders) for each one.
|
The Area:
|
|
After the time in Rio de Janeiro with Seagulls Fly, you returned to São Paulo this year to work with TechnoImage Studio, as Lead 3D Artist on illustrations for print. What are
some of the work you've done since and how has your new job changed?
|
|
Pedro:
|
A lot of things changed. I now felt this huge responsibility because I was the "3D guy" working for the biggest agency and clients. It was crazy and amazing for me, I basically
grew up with this experience. I had to find faster and functional solutions to turn around the works under shorter deadlines and also ensure that we had a nice final
result.
But most importantly, I learned to act as a leader and make decisions, and take risks. This was really nice.
|
|
The Area:
|
|
Now for your personal works, we see that you like to use styles of both realism and stylization. For example, the "simple" street scene with great lighting and texturing, and
then there is the adorable cartoon boy with those big eyes. What inspired you to create these separate images?
|
|
Pedro:
|
I like all styles of art. I think a good artist is someone who tried to do all kinds of art and after much experience, decides to use this visual language. Currently I feel
really really inspired with the guys at Pixar Animation Studios and Sony Pictures Animation. They are the best in my opinion and every time I watch their movie I think.... I
WANT TO WORK AND BE AMONG THEM. I’ve watched Ratatouille and Surf's Up more than 10 times!!!!!
I also feel inspired with moments of life, photography and looking for the art of other amazing guys...
|
I’m a fan of Flavio Mac (the redhead guy in Seagulls Fly team photo) and Tiago Hoisel -- they are amazing and have awe-inspiring artwork.
|
The Area:
|
|
For your work, which renderer do you use and why?
|
|
Pedro:
|
|
I use mental ray; it's really flexible and I love the shaders.
|
|
The Area:
|
|
Do you implement any custom scripts or plugins to help in your 3D workflow?
|
|
Pedro:
|
|
No. I was using Polyboost in the past, but it was assembled into 3ds Max 2010.
|
|
The Area:
|
|
What would be your dream update for 3ds Max?
|
|
Pedro:
|
Hmmmm :) viewport render in realtime :)
I am having problems to render realistic hair&fur with mental ray (final gather and area lights), so this optimization would be perfect!! Though perhaps I’m making some
mistakes with the settings…
|
|
The Area:
|
|
What is your computer hardware setup?
|
|
Pedro:
|
It's a modest computer.
A quadcore, 4GB RAM and 1.5TB HD, monitor Dell 24' and a Tablet Wacom Bamboo. It’s time to update it!
|
|
The Area:
|
|
What aspects of 3D do you enjoy doing most?
|
|
Pedro:
|
|
I don’t know exactly. I love the whole process of working in 3D and all of these aspects are connected to a final great piece! I really enjoy building models but lighting and
render are very important too. My experience in Advertising has made me become a better lighter and shader artist. And I truly enjoy doing it.
|
|
The Area:
|
|
Do you have any plans to animate any of the amazing characters you’ve done, maybe for animated short film?
|
|
Pedro:
|
Yes, yes!!! In this new step of my professional career, I’m trying to direct my work for animation. This is much more complicated and need a lot of experience and experiments to
do good work. Currently I’m studying some films to see how they’re directed. Camera, lighting, composition, timing, etc.
There are so many things to learn!
|
I’m doing a short film called "25th" with talented artists and friends of mine.
We are currently finishing the modeling of the characters and props.
The main character is already done. And the Teaser is in production!!!! Next month, we'll be publishing our website with some news about the short film.
Here you can see a blocking of an animation test done by Alan Camilo.
Concept art: Ivan Oviedo
Modeling: Pedro Conti
Animation and rig: Alan Camilo
|
The Area:
|
|
Asides from pumping out so many great images and catching up on sleep, do you have any hobbies that you wished you had more time for?
|
|
Pedro:
|
|
Yes. I love to skateboard, surf, and do photography. As well, I really wish I had more time to have fun traveling and be with my friends, girlfriend and family! :P These past
months I’ve worked almost every day. When I finish these projects, I’ll be taking a vacation to relax :)
|
|
The Area:
|
|
What are you currently working on now -- can you tell us about the collaboration of work between you and Dario Picciau?
|
|
Pedro:
|
|
Currently I’m working with Dario, doing some modeling, texturing, concepts and some postwork for a nice animated feature. I can’t talk about the project for now. But you will
hear about it in the near future! :P
|
|
The Area:
|
|
Pedro, we can't wait to see both "25th" and your project with Picciau. Until then, let the dolphins guide you to catch the next big wave :)
|
|
Pedro:
|
Hahahaha. I’m really glad and happy for this opportunity. I’d like to say thank you to AREA (thanks so much Fianna Wong) and for my friends Ivan Oviedo, Fabricio Duque, Marcelo
jr, Fabio Bispo, Dario Picciau, Tiago Hoisel and Lucas Leibholz. All these people, along with all the guys at Seagulls Fly, definitely, were and are very important in my
professional growth.
More and more to come soon!!!!!
Feel free to mail me! :)
pedro_conti(at)hotmail.com
|
|
|
Posted by wingman103 on Mar 14, 2010 at 01:02 PM
|
|
This all is inspiring work :) and i love it
|
|
|
Posted by Jomar Machado on Dec 19, 2009 at 08:02 AM
|
Muito massa...Parabéns mano!!!
Very good indeed... Congrats! :)
|
|
|
Posted by duttyfoot on Dec 05, 2009 at 12:54 AM
|
|
really inspirational
|
|
|
Posted by msouza on Dec 02, 2009 at 09:32 AM
|
Fala Mlk ! Muito foda a entrevista ! Go little Peter "! :) Lumberjack Peter. lol
I had a great time working with this guy.
See ya ma friend. :) Very nice interview.
|
|
|
Posted by ayan13 on Dec 02, 2009 at 08:41 AM
|
|
really good style. I like it!!!
|
|
