3D Game Modeler

I try to look outside the medium I’m working in for inspiration, which brings a fresh perspective. I also look at other artist’s work because it’s motivating to see what other people have achieved. As a character artist you have to spend a lot of time looking at people, seeing details and variations – so I’m a real people watcher too.

I’m starting one model that I would like finishing to integrate in a cg sequence. I would like to start other short film because I had an animation education but I need money and a lot of time but meanwhile I have to finish the character that I have in development.

I was always a creative kid, sketching in my maths book and cannibalizing parts of old toys to make new ones. It’s something I’ll do for fun, even when I’m not on a job and that’s why I tell people there’s no such thing as natural talent – it’s just practice, practice.

I’ve worked in video games for around 6 years, and it’s a great intersection between my artistic side and my geeky side. A few years ago I decided to branch out from digital work and learn a few more practical skills, and now I’m also a trained prop-maker – which, again, is my geeky love of sci-fi and fantasy films showing itself.

When I was in high school trying to figure out how I could make a career out of my artistic talent, I stumbled across a scholarship to a 3D animation course which started me on a career in video games, modelling environments and characters. Until that point I hadn’t really thought about how I could get work in an artistic field, especially not in computer graphics.

I actually got given the advice of taking maths in senior high school because at that point career advisors still thought you needed to know how to program to use a computer to create art. There really weren’t the options of courses that are available now, so I was quite lucky to fall into it.

My favourite advancement in animation over the past 5 years would be just learning it and be able to create pieces.

After I get a shot, I always budget my time. I divide the shot in smaller checkpoints and try to stick to them.

In every case, an art director is looking to hire an artist to solve a problem.

Usually, it is a very specific problem. An artist on the team just quit, and they need a replacement. Or the next project requires amazing hair simulation, but there’s nobody on staff that can do that.

So under what circumstances is an art director going to look for a junior artist straight out of school? In some cases there are studios that like hiring up lots of interns and training them internally. But aside from that, what is the advantage of a junior artist?

I struggled in school, but with my return, I excelled in places I thought weak. My accomplishment was a matter of going through a very important learning experience early on.

I like to cook but I think I’m not a good cocker and actually I’m learning play bass guitar.

Adaptable, quick learner, approachable and open to critique.

Cartoony, for sure. Warner brothers is the best example. I like rubbery, but I haven't had the opportunity to do john k type style. I love redrawing a pose that is super wacky.

I usually use 3dsmax, it’s the software most famous in Spain, I use Photoshop because I think it’s the best and Zbrush and Mudbox as well, I love both software but at the moment I find more companies working with Zbrush.

Actually I’m moving to others app like Maya that it’s the app I use at work, I didn’t like Maya, sometimes it’s so confuse to make simples task. I would like work with XSI, I hope Autodesk don’t stop its evolution and make a good job.

I am a skilled animator in my field, fast at creating animations and learning new software. Taking feedback very well, easy to work with.

My career is to be a popular animator, work on big level and make a big name of my parents ...

Getting to do something I do as a hobby for a living! Also, it’s very liberating to an artistic mind to be unconstrained by physical realities, because in 3D things can be built which would never be able to exist in the real world.

Well, it's not a simple tale, definitely. (laughs) Vanillaware was founded around the time I went to Tokyo. At the time, I was working with Square Enix directing the development of Fantasy Earth. It started as a small project, and I was just contributing to it on a personal basis, but it ballooned in size to the point where an entire team was established to complete it. In the beginning, the company was called Puraguru.