Bringing Dreams to Life with Dreamscapes’s Winner Diego Nossa

In the world of 3D artistry, Diego Nossa stands out as a visionary creator whose work transcends boundaries and captivates audiences. Recently, Diego clinched 1st place in polygoniq’s Dreamscapes Challenge, showcasing his exceptional talent and creativity. As an artist with a background in advertising, Diego's expertise spans various artistic fields.

In an interview with Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry, Diego shared the inspiration behind his winning artwork and the creative process that brought his wife's dream to life.

Fox Renderfarm: Hi Diego! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Please introduce yourself to our readers.

Diego: Hello! I’m Diego Nossa and I’m a multimedia artist. I’ve worked in the advertising industry, creating multimedia campaigns and content for brands and designers. I focus on photography, 3D, animation, video editing, and visual effects.

© Diego

Fox Renderfarm: Congratulations on winning 1st place in the Dreamscapes Challenge! What does this accomplishment mean to you as a creator?

Diego: Thank you! Winning 1st place is incredibly exciting and indicates that my message resonated well. Beyond the victory, I'm thrilled about the opportunity to participate and learn new skills during this challenge. Engaging in community challenges is always a rewarding experience as it allows me to grow and refine my abilities.

Fox Renderfarm: It is so cool that you used a real dream as your inspiration! What inspired you to choose that particular dream to bring to life?

Diego: I owe credit to my wife, not only for inspiring the dream sequence but also for suggesting it as a perfect fit for this challenge. When I mentioned the need to incorporate a car into the sequence, she immediately recalled her dream and suggested, 'Why not recreate that scene where I was in a race, hopped into a car, and ended up at the dentist?' It was perfect for the challenge!

Car Previs © Diego

Car Final and without Post-process © Diego

Fox Renderfarm: Can you share the specific content of your wife's dream and how you recreated this dream in your artwork?

Diego: In her dream, she found herself in a race, swiftly transitioning to a car where her seat reclined back, and then seamlessly transitioning to a new scene at a dentist appointment. To recreate this, I added a few creative elements not present in her dream, such as a rotating cube inspired by Mario Kart games to illustrate the origin of the car better. Additionally, I introduced an alarm cue, 'It's time for your appointment', providing further context for the reclining seat transition.

Character Previs © Diego

Character Final and without Post-process © Diego

Fox Renderfarm: How did you portray a sudden transition from one scene to a completely different one so smoothly in your artwork?

Diego: For this transition, I ensured that the first scene ended with the camera positioned at a dark angle, creating a fade-out effect. Then, just as the viewer assumes the dream sequence has concluded, a light illuminates, signaling the transition to a completely new scene.

Fox Renderfarm: Could you please tell us about your pipeline for this work? And how long did it take you?

Diego: Once I knew what I wanted to create, I started blocking out the scene in Blender. I figured out the angles and the animations first. Then I exported a pre-visualization to check that the animations were smooth. Once I was happy, I started adding lighting while texturing the scene properly. I usually like to render the entire scene at a very low resolution to check if everything is working properly. Once everything looks good, I then render the scene at full resolution. I worked on the project for multiple days across 2 or 3 weeks but from beginning to end including rendering time, it probably took me about 30 hours or more.

Dentist Previs © Diego

Dentist Final and without Post-process © Diego

Fox Renderfarm: Can you tell us more about the software and resources you used, such as polygoniq for the car and grass, and Mixamo for the characters? How did these tools enhance your ability to bring this dream to life?

Diego: I designed and rendered the scene in Blender. I used characters and animations from Mixamo since I didn’t want to spend much time on characters, and just made a few tweaks to the animations to adjust to what I wanted. The ground/grass, and car are from polygoniq and they made the entire scene look a lot better with just a few clicks. The clothing animation uncovering the car was made in Marvelous Designer, it could have been done in Blender but I find good clothing simulations in MD being a lot easier and faster to make. The post-production (color grading, editing, lens artifacts) was made in After Effects and this helped me to portray the dreamish look I wanted in the final result.

Character Animation © Diego

Clothing Animation © Diego

Fox Renderfarm: What challenges did you face in translating a dream into a visual representation? How did you overcome them?

Diego: One of the main challenges I faced was creating a seamless transition between the race scene and the dentist scene. It was crucial to convey to the viewer that the first sequence depicted a race, while the second depicted a visit to the dentist. To achieve this, I introduced additional elements such as characters preparing for the race and a countdown timer. In the dentist scene, I included the sound of an alarm with the message, 'It's time for your appointment', to provide context and enhance the viewer's understanding. Despite the surreal nature of the dream, my goal was to ensure that the viewer could easily grasp the settings and storyline.

Fox Renderfarm: Are there any moments you enjoyed during the creation process? And what was the most memorable?

Diego: The creative freedom with 3D designs is truly exhilarating, allowing me to bring imagination to life in unprecedented ways, reminiscent of the limitless dreamscapes portrayed in the film Inception. However, what makes this project truly special is the inspiration provided by my wife. Her dream sparked the idea for this challenge, making her an integral part of my creative journey and creating a cherished memory.

Fox Renderfarm: Where do you typically find inspiration for your work - do you look to other artists or everyday surroundings? How do these sources of inspiration influence your creations?

Diego: My main inspiration comes from movies and music mainly. Exploring museums and galleries also plays a significant role in my inspiration process. Seeing diverse artworks ignites fresh ideas and perspectives, enriching my own creativity.

Fox Renderfarm: Have you tried or heard about Fox Renderfarm’s cloud rendering services before? If so, what is your impression of our services?

Diego: I heard about multiple render farm services but I haven’t tried it before.

Fox Renderfarm: What advice would you give to aspiring artists or creators who are interested in participating in future challenges or competitions like Dreamscapes?

Diego: Patience is key. Take your time to craft your submission, allowing for periods of reflection when time allows. I see many rush into submitting their entries the same day the challenges are announced. Also sharing the project with others around you can spark new ideas and perspectives. Remember, the true value lies in the learning experience, regardless of the outcome.

Diego’s Social Media:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nossa3d/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nossa_camera
• Website: https://nossa.camera/