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Csaba BanatiFreelance IllustratorFrom: AustriaFox Renderfarm: Hi Csaba, could you give us a brief introduction about yourself?Csaba: Hi all, I'm Csaba Banati - working as a freelance illustrator currently from the city of Vienna, Austria.I've been working in the industry for about 8-9 years now. Originally I have a degree in architecture but never worked as an architect. Instead I focused on architectural illustrations and jumped right into it after getting my diploma.Save Energy! © Csaba BanatiFox Renderfarm: Congratulations on being nominated in the 2020 CGarchitect Architectural 3D Awards, how do you feel about it?Csaba: I'm feeling proud and lucky! I got nominated despite the fact that the non-commissioned category is super-duper tough every single year. People are getting better and better so it's a tough competition.Also I'm super proud of the fact that this was my 3rd nomination in a row. I hope one day I'll win :)Fox Renderfarm: What's your inspiration for the amazing work “Garden of Damocles”? Why did you select this artwork to participate in the competition?Csaba: Everything started with a simple idea to investigate my feelings about courtyards. I've always found these spaces intriguing but I never really figured out why.During the process, I contemplated this idea and one thing led to another and this happened.For me, it was obvious to choose this image. It's a bit special to me for the above-mentioned reason and also I pushed myself hard on this project. Was curious how it would end up against this tough competition.Fox Renderfarm: The work shows like an allegory of the future world, what do you want to express through the work?Csaba: For me, it is always just mildly interesting what the artist wants to say. The beauty of art is that it can and will mean different things to different people based on their past experiences.I truly believe that as soon as an art piece is out it's not up to the artist to decide what it is about. People will judge and interpret before you could even say a word.But that's the beauty of it and I find it amazing.Fox Renderfarm: The sculptures and nuclear bombs in the picture are very realistic and attractive. Could you tell me how you made them (including the model and textures)?Csaba: This is probably disappointing but it's basic box modelling. :)I looked up real-life references to model them from scratch and in some cases used free 3D models as a base to further modify them.For texturing I'm really lazy so I usually try to avoid unwrapping at any cost. :)So every model got procedural or simple plane projected material.Final scene and bomb model Empty courtyard model Final iteration of cover model Fox Renderfarm: How long did it take you to finish the project? Did you meet any difficulties?Csaba: I believe it was about 2 months but to be fair I didn't work on it every single day. At times I didn't even touch it for days. I like to let projects mature a bit so that I can have a bit more objective view on them.The main difficulty was that I tried to push my boundaries in terms of 3D details. To embrace this fact I wanted to finish it in super high resolution but my PC was not really happy with it, so I had to settle at 7000x5600.Fox Renderfarm: How long have you been in the visualization field? Who inspires you most in this industry?Csaba: About 8-9 years now. There are a few companies that I can truly appreciate for their high rate of good consistency they can produce. But for inspiration I like to look outside from the ArchViz box and keep an eye on other creative fields. Such as photography, cinematography, music industry, etc.Fox Renderfarm: As an outstanding CG artist and Illustrator, what do you do to enhance your professional skills?Csaba: For me, it's extremely important to do various things outside of ArchViz. It's easy to immerse yourself in the awesome world of 3D and architecture but the circle closes fast and you can find yourself running the same lap over and over again.It's good to step back a bit and learn new skills in other areas then go back to ArchViz and try to apply them there.It's also useful to prevent burnout and stay fresh and motivated.Echo Lake © Csaba Banati Windy Meadows © Csaba Banati ArtstationLinkedIn

SketchFox Renderfarm: How long did it take you to finish the work?Christian: For the final work, it took me about 3 weeks from the moment I started to recompile references until I finished, working in the free time between class and class.Fox Renderfarm: The isolated bunkers in your work are very industrial and futuristic, any reference? Could you tell us how you built them?Christian: The reference images were the oil platforms that are in the sea, these impressive structures in the middle of nowhere have always caught my attention and how lonely it can be to live there, that helps to create many stories.ReferenceModel CaptureFox Renderfarm: The gloomy weather and the dropping man make people feeling sad and thought-provoking, what do you want to express through this work?Christian: It's the story of a man who tries to escape from a desolate place, cannot endure the idea of being in that place and looks for a way out no matter how risky it may be.Fox Renderfarm: Did you meet any difficulties when creating this work? And how did you solve it?Christian: At the beginning it was difficult to generate the idea of the structures, I made some previous models but they did not convince me at all, sometimes it is difficult to conclude a personal project because you do not know when to stop, you always want to put more and more details but the registration deadline to the 3D Awards helped me define the final proposal.Fox Renderfarm: Who or what project inspires you most in this industry?Christian: There are several CG artists that I like whose works among them are Jaime Jasso, Jama Jurabaev, Tamas Medve and the list is very long.Lost Temple City © Jaime JassoWild West Unreal engine pack © Jama JurabaevGallery in Warsaw © Tamas MedveFox Renderfarm: Have you ever heard of or used Fox Renderfarm cloud rendering services previously? If yes, how do you feel about it?Christian: I had heard about Fox Renderfarm from some friends who had recommended it to me, I think it is a good service and I have heard good comments about the way of working and the platform.Fox Renderfarm: Any other things you want to share with the CG enthusiasts?Christian: I would tell them that they participate in the contest, it is a good way to show your ideas and put yourself to the test with your skills and continue learning from the other participants.© Christian Paul EspinozaInstagram

When lockdown ends © Nicola ScognamiglioThe artwork “When lockdown ends” shows the end of quarantine, when we can see children playing, tourists crowding the Naples alley, and people finally living without social distancing. Nicola spent less than 3 weeks to finish the work, which was made with 3ds Max, V-Ray, Substance and Photoshop.Now, let’s learn about Nicola’s creation process and his CG experience through our exclusive interview.Nicola ScognamiglioArchitect/ 3D ArtistFrom: ItalyFox Renderfarm: Hi Nicola, could you give us a brief introduction about yourself?Nicola: I’m Nicola Scognamiglio, 26 years old and I come from Napoli, Italy where I graduated as an architect. Then I worked a bit as an architect in Milan, before moving again to Venice to attend the classes at MADI, Master in Digital Architecture at IUAV. At the moment I am in the Netherlands working as a junior artist at Proloog.tv.Panopticon © Nicola ScognamiglioFox Renderfarm: How do you feel about winning the best student image in the 2020 CGarchitect Architectural 3D Awards?Nicola: it's cool! wasn't in the plans, it was a big surprise already when I found out I was among the nominees. I was pleased to receive such a kind review of my work from an experienced jury, and I hope to do well again this year!Fox Renderfarm: What’s your inspiration for this amazing work “When lockdown ends”? Why did you select this artwork to participate in the competition?Nicola: The image was initially born for another competition held at MADI, hosted by Cityscape Digital. The aim of that competition was to present a scene from life after COVID-19 in Italy, insisting on how this emergency has made us rediscover family values, made us more compassionate and strengthened our national spirit. So when I learned about the 3D Awards held by Cgarchitect.com, I chose the image that was my best at the time, and it turned out well!Fox Renderfarm: The work shows a harmonious and beautiful life without pandemic, what do you want to express through the work?Nicola: The image tries to represent the exact moment when you get the news that the pandemic is over and people are looking out on balconies to celebrate the event. Naples’ historical center has always fascinated me. Only walking through the alleys you can understand what It means living together: you live on the street with your clothes hanging high like flags. The population density, the proximity of the apartments makes everyone part of a large cohesive community.SketchesFox Renderfarm: The Naples alley and buildings are so realistic and lovely, could you introduce how you make the model and texture?Nicola: I started modeling the buildings, trying to keep as few polygons as possible. Then I moved for other architectural elements such as: balconies, external fixtures, railings. Later was the turn of all the various types of installations and elements at street level.The texturing phase deserved special attention due to the nature of the environments. I decided to proceed with Substance Painter to have the largest compositional freedom in the creation of the materials.Fox Renderfarm: There are so many details in the scene, such as the hanging clothes, potted plants and even the doves, could you tell us how you made all these lovely details?Nicola: Most of all those elements are 3d assets I had in my library, while in particular the hanging clothes are put in the post production phase.Fox Renderfarm: Did you meet any difficulties when creating this work? And how did you solve it?Nicola: More than technical difficulties, at the beginning of the process I was very hesitant about the camera to choose. I didn’t know how much it should look like as an aerial view or how “natural” it could seem. At the end, moving around the scene, I found the right position: as if you were looking out from one of those balconies.Fox Renderfarm: How long have you been in the architectural visualization career? And who or what project inspires you most in this industry?Nicola: I would say this is the beginning of my career in architectural visualization, now it’s just about one year since I first opened 3ds Max. I’m curious about what’s next!What could inspire my eventual personal projects is not so much what I see in this industry. I like to get influenced by a movie I’ve seen, a TV series or a book I’ve read. Even taking photographs helps me picture a certain scene or environment!Fox Renderfarm: Any other things you want to share with the CG enthusiasts?Nicola: Nothing but wishing everyone to keep pushing through with amazing artworks!Teshima Art Museum © Nicola ScognamiglioInstagramLinkedInArtstationBehance

Reinaldo HandayaCEO at 2G StudioFrom: IndonesiaArtwork Caption: This project is for our internal challenge to challenge our artist to work together as a team and as a family. We call it a pressure challenge, they have to finish the still image and animation in just 1 week, the building also needs to be modeled from scratch and have to design by themselves.This pressure challenge is also to help the artists to be creative as they want, because most of the commissioned projects are boring and for the team that wins the challenge will be rewarded with a bonus.BORN NEO © 2G StudioBORN NEO ANIMATION © 2G StudioFox Renderfarm: Hi Reinaldo! Congratulations on being nominated in the 2020 CGarchitect Architectural 3D Awards, how do you feel about it?Reinaldo: First of all, I want to thank you for having us here. We never thought, not even once, that we would get the nomination, especially in the non-commissioned category. Having been one of the judges in 2014, and I know there are thousands of images submitted to the 3D awards, and there are tons of talented artists in this world, and I feel blessed that one of our team’s works got nominated.Fox Renderfarm: What’s your inspiration for this amazing project Born Neo? Any idea behind this name?Reinaldo: I can’t take full credit for this project, me and Evan (Co-Founder of 2G Studio) only help our team to give some space to express themselves and be creative. We give them direction, how to think, how to create the storytelling, the rest is theirs. However, this is also teamwork, not just a single-artist work. The inspiration for this building came from The Heydar Aliyev Center by Zaha Hadid, and the Harbin Opera House by MAD Architect. The rendering look and feel was heavily inspired by our own friend, Arqui9.ArchViz by Arqui9The idea behind this name is because our president decided to move the capital from Jakarta to Kalimantan. Kalimantan’s International name is BORNEO ISLAND. And moving to a new place is kinda like being born new, and the team comes up with BORN NEO, matching the island name. And in fact, there was a competition to design the new capital city, but we didn’t join the competition since it was a design competition, not rendering.Fox Renderfarm: The building is so terrific, could you introduce the function of the building?Reinaldo: The building is a convention center, which is a meeting place and also a place for all large-scale activities such as concerts, shows, seminars, as well as national and international level meetings which will certainly be held in the new capital city.Fox Renderfarm: As you introduced, this is a project from your team’s pressure challenge, so why did you hold this challenge and how long did it take to finish the work?Reinaldo: There are several reasons why we held this challenge and they only had 7 days to finish 1 still image and a 60 sec animation. Because if there are more than 7 days, chances are, they will never finish.The first one is to let the team express their creativity, and as you know, our field is filled with people who love architecture, and we challenge our team to do the concept, and the story about why they come up with the concept.The second reason is to challenge them working overtime. Because we cannot deny that sometimes we’ve got tons of work that we need to work overtime. We just don’t want our team to get spoiled.The third reason is to give more pressure by asking them to finish in 7 days and should not disturb the real project schedule.But the ultimate reason is to train them to work as a team. So we split our team into 4 small teams and they have to deliver different concepts, so we got 4 different renderings.Fox Renderfarm: What’s the most unforgettable and interesting part of the creation process?Reinaldo: The team is actually enjoying this challenge although they work till 4 am. And it shows that they really love to do some designs and do the render, completely different than working on a real project. Just make sure not to let them do this all the time, or they will hate me for sure hahaha.The unforgettable moment is that working as a team is not as beautiful as we think, working as a team requires a lot of sacrifice. As you know, people will easily point a finger to others when under pressure. Actually the rule is when one of the team members points a finger to others, the team will be disqualified. We always believe when we point a finger to others, we need to know that the other 4 fingers are pointing to ourselves.One of the teams was actually unable to deliver the animation, only able to deliver 1 image. And of course they would have lost, but this is the most interesting part, the team still continued to work on the project, and finally created another 1 image and 1 animation. And this team is the one that created this BORN NEO. Here we can learn that it's ok to fail, but it shouldn’t stop you to keep doing what you love. The challenge only stops when you said so and they didn’t stop before they delivered 1 image and 1 animation.Well, you know how proud I am with my team.Fox Renderfarm: How long have you been in the visualization field? Who inspires you most in this industry? Could you briefly introduce your career story?Reinaldo: On November 3, 2004, my family factory was razed by fire and left me with $100, 000 debt. And then I built my furniture workshop, then in 2008 I learned 3D to present my design to my client. And I deeply fell in love with 3D ever since.My career started when I got my first award, Visualization Pro of the Week from CGarchitect, and that was in January 2011. And in March I established 2G Studio with my business partner Evan Mandala. Somehow we got lots of exposure, in 2012 one of my renderings got awarded by Ronen Bekerman, the reinterpretation render of Starbuck by Kengo Kuma and that work skyrocketed my name in this industry. And Evan’s work got Visualization Pro of the Week from CGarchitect. One of our works was also selected to be in the 3D World magazine. And in 2013-2014, CHAOS group chose me to be guest speaker for their Asia Pacific V-Ray Community Meetings and Siggraph Asia in Hongkong. In 2014, Jeff asked me to be one of the 3D awards judges.Master Bedroom PIK © Reinaldo Handaya(Won Visualization Pro of the Week from CGArchitect, January 2011)Reinterpretation render of Starbucks by Kengo Kuma © Reinaldo Handaya(Awarded by Ronen Bekerman, 2012)House La Invernada © Evan Mandala(Won Visualization Pro of the Week from CGArchitect, 2012)Most of my clients both direct clients and other 3D studios were coming from CGarchitect, and that is why I strongly believe that CGarchitect is the place where talents meet the clients.I was inspired by lots of people, not just one. But the one person that gives me a lot of influence is Jeff Mottle. It's not because CGarchitect Visualization Pro of the Week started my debut in this industry, but I can see that Jeff built CGarchitect not for himself, but to help others in this industry. Somehow it resonates with me a lot, since I also love to help others to learn 3D. And I established 2G Academy in 2013 with the spirit “helping others”. In 2017, I learned from Simon Sinek, why you do what you do is the most important thing, and I learned money is only a result from what you do.Jeff MottlePresident/Founder, CGArchitect2G Academy: https://www.2gacademy.com/Simon SinekAuthor/Motivational SpeakerFox Renderfarm: What is the development vision for 2G Studio? Any new projects or plans that you can share with us?Reinaldo: The development vision for 2G Studio itself is definitely to provide the best marketing tools for our clients both developers and other 3D companies that work with us shoulder to shoulder. However we also have other developments outside the production, which give back to the community. We have our educational platform, 2G Academy and we want to give back to the community. We started a new movement in Indonesia when the lockdown happened in March 2020, we call this movement AVIS ID, meaning ArchViz Indonesia. We are aware the lockdown will affect lots of Indonesian 3D artists. Since Indonesian ArchViz artists' quality is pretty stuck, it is the time to focus on improving the rendering skills when the world stops spinning. We share free tutorials on our YouTube channel, do free portfolio reviews for Indonesian 3D artists. And we also did business and mindset talks and open for the public, we did this consistently till now.We also follow our government program “Bali Kembali” meaning Bali is back, since Bali is a tourism island. We live in Bali and we love Bali so much. And we want to promote Bali through ArchViz. We are still working on this project and we choose 3ds Max and V-Ray to do this project, and we are also going to work on this project with our students. It is going to be epic, lots of still images and animations. And this is not for our personal benefit, but for a greater cause, we also want this industry to be aware about Indonesia as one of the best in this ArchViz world, and also want to break the stereotype that outsourcing to Asia is low cost.The upcoming movement is following the CGarchitect movement, Women in ArchViz. Our version is Kartini in ArchViz, as you know there are lots of women that are not exposed in this industry. Why we call it Kartini is because Raden Adjeng Kartini is an Indonesian heroine and she is a symbol of women's right movement in Indonesia. This project is all about women in ArchViz in Indonesia, and we are also surprised that around 40% of our students are women.Sanctum © 2G StudioFox Renderfarm: As the founder of 2G Studio, you established the leading 3D ArchViz Company in Indonesia, so do you have any views and prospects for the development of this industry in Indonesia?Reinaldo: It is very challenging, having been in this industry for years, we’ve only worked with 1 local client. The reason why it is challenging is because in Indonesia we don’t have any belief in products labeled “Made in Indonesia” and this is happening in every sector not just ArchViz. Most big developers in Indonesia send inquiries to other 3D companies outside Indonesia, because they don’t believe there is a company in Indonesia that can produce high quality images. So definitely more time is needed to build the trust. As 2G Studio itself never tried to work with locals, we know the problem, that is why we always aim to work with international clients. All the movements that we build, and all the architectural talks we did every Saturday by inviting architects in Indonesia to share their thoughts, is also to build a strong community. Definitely it's not a quick result that we are chasing after, it is a journey, and for a good cause.Fox Renderfarm: As an outstanding 3D Artist and architect, do you have any advice for the young artists in ArchViz Industry?Reinaldo: We can say that this industry is easy to make money while we are doing what we love. Most people in this industry are artists, either architects or interior designers, and most of us here is because we are introverted people that enjoy our time when we do what we love. But this comes with a cost, and what happened in Indonesia is that most people don’t know anything about business and the art of negotiation, don’t know how to add value and end up slashing the price and racing to the bottom. Racing to the bottom will always happen in any kind of industry, Arch viz is not exceptional. The only way to get out from the red ocean is learning about business and marketing. Business and marketing are the art itself with a different form. It is also the same when we learn about rendering, rendering is a journey, it needs time, business and marketing also need time, and learning about these 2 things will help us overcome our own fear.2G Studio: www.2gs.coInstagramFacebookYoutube2G Academy: www.2gacademy.comInstagramFacebook

LIU XinDesigner/DirectorLIU Xin is a Designer and Director who works between architecture and time-based media. His practice centers around the influence of digital and physical on shifting the boundaries of the design of spaces and objects.He is currently freelancing. And in the beginning of March, 2021, he received admission to Harvard Graduate School of Design’s Master in Design Studies degree program. His collaborators include Burberry, Wallpaper*, NYLON, and Microsoft. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) where he also worked as the teaching assistant for graduate and undergraduate courses, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture with Honors from the University of Liverpool where his graduation project was awarded the Sheppard Robson Jicwood Prize. Previously, he has worked at Testa &x26; Weiser in the U.S., Sheppard Robson in the U.K., and Tianhua in China.Burberry x Victor Ma x Microsoft AI - Runway 2.0 (Music Video)He is traveling around the world examining the notion of both natural and built environments, individual experiences, and emerging techniques.Phygital Shopping Cart © LIU Xin & Yuting ZhuWon the 2021 CGarchitect AwardsCaption:Phygital = Physical × DigitalPhygital Shopping Cart is the second episode of the Phygital Supermarket Trilogy.Shopping Cart Miniature ScenariosThe main character of the story is a shopping cart (or a trolley). In a shopping cart in a supermarket, we designed six miniature model scenarios, which can be organically combined in a shopping cart. Each miniature scene contains a miniature version shopping cart to tell a short story, and each scene embodies a technology or design method which we explored with Cinema 4D and Redshift Renderer. We selected the most familiar, unremarkable, and most overlooked object in life (that is, common daily necessities in supermarkets), and explored these familiar objects through a unique workflow we developed with Cinema 4D and Redshift rendering technology. Things were explored on the playful side, either enlarge the size or manipulate it with Effectors in order to take a look at what magical effects will burst out. Therefore, in each mini-model scene, in addition to the narrative of the story, a technique is also expressed. As we used the title sequence design as a format of the film, so we can use the text on the screen to introduce the story and design techniques of each scene.Phygital Shopping Cart is the second episode of the Phygital Supermarket Trilogy, the other 2 episodes are Three Supermarkets and Phygital Supermarket Worlds. Phygital Supermarket Trilogy explores multiple techniques and mediums, discovering the possibility of shopping space forms in urban life.Three Supermarkets© LIU Xin, Yuting Zhu, Jui-Cheng Hung, Fateme JalaliPhygital Supermarket Worlds© LIU Xin, Yuting ZhuLIU established his connection with CGarchitect Awards in 2019 for his nomination in the Student (Film) category. In the nominated artwork Augmented Library Aggregation, he selected objects like flowers and showerheads, and volume bashed them to depict a futuristic library space in the video.Augmented Library AggregationAugmented Library Aggregation© Xin Liu, Nero Hevolume bashingAfter experiencing all these fusions of physical and virtual space, you may wonder how LIU made his artworks, what’s more pivotal, how he has formed his design methodology and design language. In our interview with LIU, he reveals his workflow, techniques and design mindset, and explains his playful experiments in the creation process. Last but not least, his suggestion to CG enthusiasts that -- we should not only upgrade our technical skills with 3D software, and also improve our sense of art and aesthetic value -- resonates with what Fox Renderfarm has always insisted on -- Art Challenges Technology, whereas Technology Inspires Art.For detailed interview:Shifting the Boundary of Physical and Virtual Worlds in 3D Art: Introducing Designer &x26; Director, LIU Xin(2)

Painted Room© LIU Xin, Yuting ZhuFox Renderfarm: Hi Xin, thank you so much for accepting our interview! How do you feel about being the winner of CGarchitect 3D Awards-Student(Film) 2020?LIU: I am very happy and honored. When I heard the news, I was surprised! I have been following this competition since undergrad. I saw a lot of excellent works and knew some like-minded creators from there. I used to wonder if my work will be nominated, and it turned out to be a winner. For me, this is a great affirmation and encouragement.Fox Renderfarm: Phygital Shopping Cart is the second episode of the Phygital Supermarket Trilogy, so what inspired you to create this project?LIU: The "Phygital Supermarket" series is a one-year project, including three experimental animated short films and a 130-page research book. This series mainly explores the combination of multiple technologies and mediums, novel representations of everyday objects, and interactive architectural forms. One of the inspirations for "Phygital Shopping Cart" came from a movie I watched when I was a child, that is "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids".screenshots of Phygital Supermarket TrilogyFox Renderfarm: Why did you choose C4D as the main 3D software for this project? Could you tell us about what 3D technology or effects are used for the project?LIU: Because we are familiar with the C4D production pipeline including scene management, lighting, animation, and rendering. In addition, many ready-made Mograph tools in C4D can be used to create procedural effects, which meets the overall technical requirements of the project. These tools are enough for us to make playful effects. As each small scene expresses, the main techniques used in this project are Boolean, displacement, brush texture, cloner, Voronoi fracture, and multi-pass rendering. When we used these techniques, we ignored their initial purpose and tried to “misuse” in order to achieve novel representation.Farm / BooleanIn a farm covered with LEGO blocks, apples are bitten off by blueberries.3D Cinema / DisplacementThe iPhone becomes a theater in a small world. Video and flying texts on the screen are extruded out based on moving displacement maps to play “Real”3D movies to the audience which are mini shopping carts.Playground / Painting Brush StrokesFloating painting brush strokes are smeared into various slope ramps to create a playground for small shopping carts. Those brush strokes also smeared on gloves, and the bumpy surface becomes a rock wall for climbing. These paint materials are materials that we first test the shape and pattern in reality with real acrylic paint, and then scan, import, and manipulate in the digital world.Disorder / Mograph ClonerThe shelves in the miniature supermarket are disrupted by a mini shopping cart!Restaurant / Voronoi FracturingLay's potato chips bag becomes a building, where the inside is a cafe, and the big potato chips become a table for mini shopping carts.Viewpoint / Anamorphic Optical IllusionWhen the twisted patterns on the bottles are viewed at a specific point of view, they can be recognized as a meaningful texture or a perfect pattern.Fox Renderfarm: Why did you choose the shopping cart as the protagonist? All the stories of the small shopping carts are finally gathered in one big shopping cart, any meaning for the design?LIU: The "shopping cart" in the title refers not only to the main character of each miniature scene but also to the fact that the entire scene is on a real-scale shopping cart. The daily objects in a real shopping cart have become various scenes where the “adventure” of a mini shopping cart happens. This design not only embodies the concept of nested worlds but also uses the scale comparison of the shopping cart to defamiliarize familiar objects and express architectural potentials.Fox Renderfarm: In the video, the title texts become an original part of each scene. Could you tell us why you choose this unique way of displaying and how did you do that?LIU: We studied a lot of movie titles design in the early stages. In many cases, the text was not overlapped on the two-dimensional video, but integrated into the set design and became a part of the scene props. We like this idea very much. Also, because the supermarket-themed objects contain a large number of packaging designs and involve graphic designs that include text, we decided to incorporate text about each small scene into the packaging design of daily objects.Fox Renderfarm: How long did you take to finish the work? Did you meet any difficulties?LIU: It took three and a half weeks from the conception to the final film. The design ideas in the early stage have been discussed very clearly. It took some time to think about how the film will be presented, such as the camera language. There is a difficulty in lighting during the production stage, which is how to ensure the lighting of both small scenes and the overall shopping cart scene creates a sense of visual hierarchy.Fox Renderfarm: As a Designer and Director who was originally trained as an architect, do you plan to have any new explorations in the integration of architecture and digital technology?LIU: Currently, I am interested in the combination of architecture and motion design. It can be mainly divided into two aspects: 1. Dynamically-changing space, that is, with the help of emerging technologies, such as mixed reality, projection mapping, hologram, etc., by combining motion design methods and introducing timeline into architecture, we are able to create spatial experiences that are no longer static, but are dynamically changing influenced by human activities, or vice versa;video clips from Augmented Library AggregationUse motion design to articulate the concept of design, that is, with the help of procedural animation tools, we can use motion visuals to efficiently convey the designer’s idea behind the work, which is more efficient than traditional drawings and models.Fox Renderfarm: Phygital (Physical × Digital), the theme of Phygital Supermarket Trilogy, also means the combination of reality and artistic creation, could you talk about your views on this combination and future outlook?LIU: The unprecedented global pandemic and quarantine in 2020 transformed the mode of life and work from the physical world to the digital screen. However, since the physical body ultimately lives in the physical world, the challenge that the screen space takes over physical space and the desire which brings digital back to the physical exist at the same time. Therefore, I believe that the future of digitalization is not pure digital, but an organic combination of digital and the physical realities. From a functional perspective, designers can use digital technology to change human perception to create alternative realities; from an aesthetic perspective, design languages originally belonging to the digital world, such as glitch, can be applied to the design of physical spaces.the offline and online exhibitions of All At Onceness© LIU Xin, Jessie Pan, Leo Wanthe physical models of Augmented Library Aggregation under normal and UV lightingFox Renderfarm: What made you start learning CG? Could you briefly share with us your education and work experience along your CG journey?LIU: When I was young, I liked watching movies. My first vision of my profession was to make special visual effects for movies, although I didn't know CG at that time. Later, when I was about 13 years old, I was exposed to some CG software through magazines, so I started to understand, and gradually learned Video Studio, AE, and Nuke, and tried to make some short videos. I studied CG systematically when I was studying architecture in Liverpool, England. Because architectural design needs renderings for presentation, in order to do it better and faster, I self-taught non-photorealistic rendering workflow with Cinema 4D to quickly produce architectural illustrations. After working at the British architectural firm Sheppard Robson for a year, I went to the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) to study for a master’s degree. Since the school curriculum is known for its pioneering and experimental thinking, I deliberately chose courses related to CG during the two years of study, and I have made a lot of advancement in both design thinking and technical skills. With the help of CG tools, I feel the freedom of creation, as if I can "create" anything imaginable.Fox Renderfarm: Which CG artist or CG work has the most influence on you?LIU: ZEITGUISED, whose works are weird, playful, sometimes ridiculous, and thought-provoking.Berlin Magazine “032c”, where I learned a lot of fresh and novel ideas.© ZEITGUISED032cFox Renderfarm: How do you feel about Fox Renderfarm cloud rendering services?LIU: I really enjoyed rendering with Fox Renderfarm. It has good quality and low price and helps us to meet a lot of deadlines. I also want to mention the 24-hour technical support, which is super helpful.Fox Renderfarm: Any other things you want to share with the CG enthusiasts?LIU: Believe in your instincts, improve design thinking, and do not be limited to techniques.It is true that compared with many other arts, CG creation has higher requirements for "techniques". If one’s technical skill is not enough, how can we talk about creating "arts" that have aesthetic value? If the creator does not have basic skills, the images in his mind cannot be effectively presented. However, I also see that more CG creators are obsessed with the learning of "techniques" and ignore the improvement of "thinking". They spend a lot of time studying tutorials, but they rarely think about the originality and concept of the works, and make a bunch of "software function test images." Of course, this learning method can quickly improve software operating skills, but with the iteration of software and tools, the technical threshold will only be lowered. Therefore, creators should spend more time improving their knowledge on design and artistic thinking, and think more about how to create their own original work. I believe this is the key to distinguishing excellent and mediocre works.For previews introduction to LIU and his delicate artworks:Shifting the Boundary of Physical and Virtual Worlds in 3D Art: Introducing Designer &x26; Director, LIU Xin(1)

Café Terrace at Night © Vincent Van Gogh Fox Renderfarm: How long did it take to finish the work? Could you introduce the CG pipeline of this project?Massimiliano: 4-5 working days, feedback rounds included.This project was quite simple, at least on the geometry side of things. A very small building with few furniture inside/outside and big empty public space just in front. So it didn't take too much to build the scene in 3D. The base of the image was rendered (building, furniture, base atmosphere, etc) and then I started the post production process which took more than the 3D phase in this case.Drawings © SCORE Architecture Fox Renderfarm: The work’s atmosphere is so amazing, could you tell us how you set up the composition and any idea behind the contrast？Massimiliano: The idea came after studying a bit the location, which I didn't know at all before this project.I discovered that sometimes in the Azores the weather can vary very quickly so I thought it could have been a nice idea to show the building not as expected, with people sitting enjoying the sun, but instead as a cozy and warm shelter while outside is very cold and wet. Two different worlds meet in the middle of this depiction.The composition is very simple and clean, which is something I always love to go for.Everything in the image creates a sort of tension with its specular element. The warmth of the inside against the cold of the outside, the barman with the guys walking in, the cold street lights with the warm light bulbs, etc.Fox Renderfarm: Did you meet any challenges when creating the work? And how did the team solve it?Massimiliano: The main challenge was achieving the right atmosphere I had in mind and creating the right tension between all the elements in the image.It required some research and tests but I'm happy with the final outcome.Fox Renderfarm: Could you give us a brief introduction about your studio Imperfct and team members?Massimiliano: Imperfct is born at the end of 2019 and since then we're now two people working full time and one freelance collaborator working remotely.We eagerly await the moment to come back to a normal life to start working all together!Fox Renderfarm: What’s the development vision of Imperfct? Any new projects or plans can share with us?Massimiliano: The idea is to slowly grow, I want to make sure that all the elements of the orchestra are playing in time. This is not easy but we work very hard on it.About projects, we recently had the opportunity to work on really nice projects, including an animation, that we're going to share very soon. Stay tuned!Fox Renderfarm: Any other things you want to share with the CG enthusiasts?Massimiliano: Yes, I really want to thank all of those who spent a minute of their time to congratulate us for the 3D Awards result and for what we're trying to do with Imperfct.Thank you so much, we're totally overwhelmed by the enthusiastic reactions.

Sonny HolmbergArchitectural Visualisation ArtistFounder &x26; Art Director of Depth Per ImageFox Renderfarm: Hi Sonny, could you give us a brief introduction about yourself?Sonny: Thanks for inviting me for the interview! I’m an architect from Denmark, who early in my career decided to specialise within architectural visualisation. I’ve lived and worked in Munich and London and now I’m based in Copenhagen, where I’m from. I’ve previously focused on building up strong in-house visualisation units in architectural practises, but one year ago I started up my own visualisation studio, Depth Per Image.Fox Renderfarm: Congratulations on being nominated in the 2020 CGarchitect Architectural 3D Awards, how do you feel about it?Sonny: The nomination in the 2020 CGarchitect Architectural 3D Awards, really means a lot to me. I’ve been following the awards for many years, and it’s a great honour to have my work recognised in such a prestigious award within our industry.Fox Renderfarm: In this project, you created a new home for the blue whale skeleton, any idea behind the amazing design? And what's your inspiration?Sonny: The brief from the architects stated that they wanted to create a feeling of being under water in the circulation space where the blue whale skeleton should be hanging. There weren’t any specific directions for what this might be. I did some studies and iterations and came up with the simple idea of using light projections of water caustics to create this feeling. In the end the composition and concept with the light projections turned out very successful and the architects were very pleased with the image.Fox Renderfarm: The lighting in the image is so romantic, could you introduce how you created the lighting?Sonny: The lighting is basically created in a similar manner to how you could do it in real life. I’ve used a photo of water caustics as a light projection in my 3D scene. The volumetric light is created by rendering an additional pass with V-Ray environment fog in the scene. In this way I had full control over the light in post-production. I’ve made a little video of the main steps of the post-production process.Fox Renderfarm: How long did it take you to finish the project? What’s the most unforgettable and interesting part of the creation process?Sonny: The time spent to create this image was around 5 working days. Any image creation process is interesting, but for this image I think the fact that it was a very open brief and I had many talks with the architects to convince them to go with my direction. Lucky, I did manage to convince them and it turned out as a big success in the end.Fox Renderfarm: As the founder of Depth Per Image, could you briefly introduce your studio, and what’s the development vision and ambition of your company?Sonny: Depth Per Image is my studio, but also a philosophy. Nowadays a lot of architectural visualisation is simply showcasing a building or space in a generic setting without any thoughts put into it. Depth Per Image seeks the uniqueness in every project we work on and always strives to bring that forward and communicate it in the clearest way possible. What we do is what I refer to as handcrafted images.Fox Renderfarm: As a top architectural visualisation artist with international experience, do you have any advice for young artists in the industry?Sonny: My best advice for young artists would be to not focus on the technicalities of software, but instead to train their eyes and imagination. Mastering 3D software is getting easier and easier all the time, but the top artists are the ones not relying on what output the software offers, but purely focuses on being creative as artists.Fox Renderfarm: Any other things you want to share with the CG enthusiasts?Sonny: To all CG and arch-viz enthusiasts I would encourage you to follow me on social media for more insight and engaging with me on CG-related topics.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sonnyholmberg/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/depthperimageBehance: https://www.behance.net/sonnyholmbergLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonnyholmberg/

ArchViz by Pikcells Fox Renderfarm: How do you feel about winning The CGarchitect Architectural 3D Awards?Richard: The CGarchitect awards started around the same time we did and we’ve always aspired to win something. The standard is extremely high with some of the best work from around the world being entered so we were delighted just to have made the shortlist. Winning the interactive category was genuinely a real surprise, we hadn’t even prepared a speech!Fox Renderfarm: Could you give a brief introduction to this amazing interactive kitchen space? And what was the inspiration for it?Richard: The idea of creating a really realistic online 3D space has been something we've discussed internally for a while so when our client asked us to create something to showcase the future of interactive tools we put this vision into action.We took an existing CG scene and closed off the area behind the camera, adding additional furniture and props, then optimised the geometry, baked the light then built the custom shaders and configuration code. Finally, we designed the UI to work on all devices including VR headsets to provide a seamless experience.It's something we are very proud of as it showcases what our team is capable of and pushes the envelope for online 3D tech.Fox Renderfarm: Why did you choose this interactive project to participate in the competition? Which part of the work do you like the most?Richard: We’ve worked on a number of interactive tools in the last year, mostly projects for our clients where we’ve had to meet certain requirements. The flexibility of this brief along with the fact that ( as far as we know ) this is the world’s first web-based VR kitchen configuration tool, made it the obvious choice to submit to the competition.Fox Renderfarm: This 3D online kitchen tour brings a very novel experience to the audience with VR and interactive technologies. What do you think is the biggest breakthrough in this tool? And what leads you to these creative ideas?Richard: Until recently VR required high-powered desktop machines connected with wires to the headset, but the newer hardware and web-based 3D applications allow us to create light-weight environments with additional interactive elements. Also, the visual fidelity is something which we feel is a real breakthrough, usually these kinds of interactive tools use crappy lighting methods whereas we have opted for fully GI lit baked light maps which really enhance the quality.Fox Renderfarm: How long did it take to finish the work?Richard: As the project required some experimentation it did take a little longer to complete, roughly 2 to 3 months of development and some minor alterations to the UI until we had a final working product.Fox Renderfarm: What software, renderers, plugins did you use in this work?Richard: The 3D side of the project was created with 3ds Max and Corona renderer, the same software we use for our CGI. Our artists create a low poly, optimised scene and render to textures. Our developers then take over with the interactive side of the project and use the WebGL framework and some custom coding to complete the tool.Fox Renderfarm: Did you meet any difficulties, and what did you do to solve it?Richard: The biggest difficulty with the interactive kitchen was creating a low poly environment optimised enough to deliver a convincing visual on any device. Unfortunately at the time, the best way to do this was by brute force manual modelling.Fox Renderfarm: We found that Pikcells is more than architectural visualization, it devotes to utilizing various forms of interactive and immersive CG technologies in interior design, styling, and commercial campaigns, etc. Could you introduce the project that you are proud of the most?Richard: Another of our favourite interactive projects from last year is an online property marketing tool created for Vita Student. This is also a first of its kind and features 3D building models online which can be explored by potential students. They can then explore the floor plans and rooms as 3D models before entering each apartment type and communal areas with a guided 360 tour. The availability of each apartment is linked to the database to give real-time feedback on which are already taken.Vita Student Accommodation by PikcellsFor immersive experience: https://www.pikcells.com/portfolio/vita-student-webgl-tour Fox Renderfarm: How do you think these cutting-edge CG technologies influence marketing?Richard: In terms of marketing, there are so many benefits for businesses to embrace emerging tech. Not only does it promote a brand as being the pioneer of their field, but businesses can instantly see benefits in terms of engagement with their customers as they present them with all the information they need to make an informed decision. Additional benefits include cost savings associated with not having to produce large quantities of samples and brochures and the ability to quickly amend a product offering in line with trends.Fox Renderfarm: What’s the development vision for Pikcells?Richard: We plan to keep pushing the limits of online 3D tech, investing in WebAR and WebVR while continuing to build our team and improve how we do things.Fox Renderfarm: Any other things you want to share with CG enthusiasts?Richard: Just that we are always on the lookout for enthusiastic, passionate 3D artists to join our team.

Doctor StrangeFox Renderfarm: We noticed that the background music is also made by you? Could you tell us a bit about this song? And what’s your ideas behind the editing of the music and the film?Ryan: Editing and music convey most of the emotional impact in any film. So, it was important for me to be hands on in those aspects. My music skillset is very basic as I can only start a small composition idea on the guitar or piano. Thankfully my wonderful mother is an amazing music composer, so she wrote half of it and made sure the whole song mixing was coherent.Fox Renderfarm: What software, renderers, plugins did you use in this work?Ryan: 3ds Max, V-Ray, Forest Pack, NukeX, Optical Flares, Logic Pro X, Adobe Audition, Adobe Premiere.Fox Renderfarm: What’s the most unforgettable and interesting part of the creation process? Ryan: Editing and music composition; but only because the creative process is relatively new to me.Fox Renderfarm: Did you meet any difficulties when creating this work? And how did you solve it?Ryan: As with every personal project; it’s about putting in the hard work. There are always aspects of any work that will be tedious to do. A lot of people assume that personal projects are fun and easy to do because you’re passionate about it; but it’s not always that way. Not a lot of people can understand that. It’s about pushing through the menial tasks to finish the fun parts.Fox Renderfarm: What’s your latest achievement, and the project that you most proud of in Foster + Partners?Ryan: Some of my favourite projects aren’t public yet unfortunately; though I can recount some published ones that I am proud of. The Chicago airport competition film being one of them; I thought the film was much stronger visually than our competitors.The Nissan and Mars projects were also fun to do, always nice to work on something different from architecture.Nissan projects by F+PFox Renderfarm: For you, as an outstanding architectural visualization artist, you are also a music compositor, what do you do to keep curious and motivated? And what do you do to enhance your professional skills?Ryan: Motivation is extremely easy to find in the social media age. For example, when I create a matte painting that I’m proud of, my ego rises for 5 minutes only to be shot back down after looking at Pedro Fernandez’s constant amazing work. It’s the same with other aspects of filmmaking from storyboarding to rendering. I find it very difficult to stay egotistic when there are all these amazing artists that I need to catch up to.I don’t have any secret on enhancing my skills other than just trying to work as hard as I can to improve. There’s a good quote from Christoph Niemann that goes “Every athlete, every musician practises every day, why should it be different for artists.”The Red by Ryan Wai Kin LamTime Machine by Ryan Wai Kin LamFox Renderfarm: Who or what project inspires you the most? What school of thought do you adhere to?Ryan: Difficult to point out as it changes every week. On the top of my head = Sava Zivkovic for his personal film projects, Ash thorp for his art direction, Thomas Dubois for concept art.They all put it in the hard work with their personal works and it shows.FREIGHT by Sava ZivkovicPassage by Ash ThorpEVA / Stardust by Thomas DuboisFox Renderfarm: Any other things you want to share with CG enthusiasts?Ryan: Check out the community group ‘Women in arch viz’ on Facebook.Know more about Ryan: waikin.artstation.com

Ocean is not only the origin of countless natural resources that raise and nourish all humankind, the underwater world has always been a root of curiosity and inspiration for many artists, from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea in literature, to Jaws in movie creation. In the Film (Commissioned) Category of CGarchitect 3D Architectural Awards, the nominated artwork J1 L'Odyssée, Naissance d'une Cité Subaquatique (hereinafter J1 L'Odyssée) is a breathtakingly beautiful ArchViz short film featured the underwater world as its theme.Fox Renderfarm, as the leading cloud rendering service provider and render farm in the CG industry, is so glad to have a talk with Uros Vukovic, General Manager for DIORAMA, in which he revealed how the team had made the ambiental underwater scenes and the calm architecture views into reality in Cinema 4D. And he also shared with us the inspiration behind the name of the studio - DIORAMA, and their development vision for the future.Company: DIORAMAFrom: FranceJ1 L'Odyssée, Naissance d'une Cité SubaquatiqueCredits:Produced by DIORAMAMusic by Iz SvemiraSound design by Odiseja studioThe nominated short film depicts the Mediterranean atmosphere that exists only in Marseille, combining architecture and nature. The breakdown video below gives us a closer look at the creation process of the amazing short film. Let’s enjoy the video and interview.Breakdown videoFox Renderfarm: Hi, Uros, would you please give a brief introduction about yourself and your company?Uros: Interested in the visual presentation of architectural projects, I started with DIORAMA in 2016 working on physical models and artistic installations. Meanwhile, I've been practicing architectural visualization through different media that brought me to the position of Animation Director and General Manager in the motion department of DIORAMA. DIORAMA is a studio based in Milan and Paris founded in 2016, currently counting around 30 artists. From the very beginning, we were heading toward different aspects of production always testing new media and trying new approaches, still rendering, motion, VR, and physical space.ArchViz work by DIORAMAFox Renderfarm: How do you feel about being nominated in The CGarchitect Architectural 3D Awards?Uros: 3D Awards is a great example of how fast the CG industry develops in architectural presentation and clear description that architects are capable of using media and transforming them according to their necessities but in their own, general perception. Therefore being nominated was a huge honor for us, meaning that our style is acceptable in such a community.ArchViz work by DIORAMAFox Renderfarm: Why did you select this artwork to participate in the competition? Which part of the film do you like the most?Uros: Selection of J1 L’Odyssée for 3D Awards comes from an intention to present our style and achievements we made in past years but still keeping in mind that the competition was merely for architectural visualization, therefore the selection of our work was an easy job. We have decided to compete in commissioned selection as the best way to express who we are and what we do, especially in relation to the client-based projects. This year we have selected J1 L’Odyssée, calm and very Ambiental film allowing us to technically try this specific way of production, therefore the part of the film starting with dusk mood brings additional calmness and culmination on the aerial view of the city, when the music stops and all attention goes to the Mediterranean atmosphere that exists only in Marseille, combining such an architecture and nature.J1 L’Odyssée by DIORAMAFox Renderfarm: What's your inspiration for this amazing film?Uros: Inspiration for this film comes from reading Christopher Booker explanation based on Jungian analysis, also David Lynch's workflow for creating personalities, the Seven Basic Plots, and Enneagrams combined together. We have been deeply inspired to bring personality in a technical film. In certain scenes, one should find himself almost hypnotized by watching the environment, architecture, and nature. Even though the mere existence of architectural films is for the sake of demonstrating artificial appearance, we tried to say that the public has the right to enjoy its visual sensation. At the same time, the task became ambiguous as we still had to consider one-sided technical requests by the client.Left: Christopher Booker; Right: The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher BookerEnneagram of Personality (Image from Google)Fox Renderfarm: About the breathtaking scenes of the ocean and underwater city in the film, did you refer to any specific books or movies?Uros: Speaking about the ocean the inspiration comes from the film Le Mépris, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, especially the scene with the vast sea and villa showing the fight of natural and artificial crashing one into another. This had an influence on thinking of different worlds, which ended as natural above and artificial under. Considering underwater scenes there were not so many inspiring references as just imagination of an underwater life was already enough abstract to be very inspiring, therefore that part was well defined from the very beginning.Le MéprisFox Renderfarm: The incredible project demonstrates a harmonious integration of the sea and the sky, of the history and the future, and of the nature and humankind. What special elements in the film or techniques did you use to illustrate that?Uros: Understanding what elements are merging together brought a middle relation as a solution. Speaking about scenes such as the ending one, the sea and the sky, sometimes have a middle link as of water, either rain or clouds or fog, the substance is the same. As the project contained two parts, one old warehouse which had to be restored and the other connecting part, the aquarium, we proceeded with lights and colors, this scientific cobalt glowing blue and desaturated yellow was the relation of future and past, nature and humankind. There were two parts of the film, one in the aquarium, which was obviously blue, defining at the same time nature, while entering into the warehouse was defined by that desaturated yellow and at the same time livable light color presenting the life.The ending scene @ J1 L’Odyssée by DIORAMAThe aquarium @ J1 L’Odyssée by DIORAMAThe warehouse @ J1 L’Odyssée by DIORAMAFox Renderfarm: How long did it take to finish the work?Uros: This was one of the fastest films we have ever produced, considering the number of people working on the project and the deadline we had. The preproduction phase, building the storyboard, mood board and going forth and back with previz and client took at all one week, while the production phase took 15 days.The storyboardFox Renderfarm: What software, renderers, plugins did you use in this work?Uros: The whole animation was rendered with Cinema 4D and Redshift, additionally, we used Agisoft 3D Scanning for the island at the beginning. People were animated with AXYZ anima and Mixamo, we used Marvelous Designer for cloth simulation, After Effects and Premiere Pro for compositing and post-production.Fox Renderfarm: What's the most unforgettable and interesting part of the creation process?Uros: The most interesting part of the production was definitely building the story and finally putting all together with the music composed especially for this purpose by the great artist Iz Svemira. In 3D it was making an underwater world, modeling and rigging fishes.J1 L’Odyssée by DIORAMAFox Renderfarm: Did you meet any difficulties when creating this work? And how did you solve it?Uros: The most difficult part of the production was the fluid simulation, which at the end was not in the film due to a very short deadline. Probably, we will show it once in the future through the breakdown. As a substitute, we had to make 3D displaced surfaces with an amazing free plugin called HOT4D and additional work in post-production.Fox Renderfarm: Could you briefly introduce the inspiration behind the company name - DIORAMA?Uros: DIORAMA is named this way from the original invention of Daguerre, today disappeared, working as a mental space to be reactivated running researches, experiments and collaborations.Fox Renderfarm: What's the development vision of your company?Uros: As we started not so long ago Diorama is growing very fast and the idea is to keep this exponential line as much as possible. Our main goal is to keep exploring and experimenting that will bring new ideas and possibilities to soon establish new ways of conceptual architectural films, and maybe try some other directions of visual presentation.ArchViz works by DIORAMAFox Renderfarm: Have you ever used Fox Renderfarm cloud rendering services previously? If yes, how do you feel about it?Uros: We have tried Fox Renderfarm recently, rendered a coupe of animations and the scene from J1 with Cinema 4d and Redshift in the resolution of 17,000px as a billboard poster. Even though we have been very skeptical as we had the experience from the other render farms especially with such high resolution, we were surprised that the image was successfully rendered without any problems on GPU based platform. The website seems very well organized, and the farm quite affordable.Fox Renderfarm: Any other things you want to share with CG enthusiasts?Uros: Keep exploring, and be productive!

Jesús Gómez San EmeterioFrom: Spain3D ArtistMaster Bedroom by Jesús Gómez San EmeterioFox Renderfarm: Hi, Jesús, would you please give a brief introduction about yourself?Jesús: Sure! I'm Jesús Gómez San Emeterio, an Architect and 3D artist from Spain dedicated mainly to Architectural visualization and to narrate what is in my head with CGI in my free time.Fox Renderfarm: How do you feel about being nominated in The CGarchitect Architectural 3D Awards?Jesús: I feel really proud and recognized, it was the first year that I participated and it was really emotional when I saw my name with the best studios around the world.Fox Renderfarm: What’s your inspiration for this amazing interactive artwork? And why did you create the work in an interactive way instead of just still imagery? How do you feel about the differences between still imagery/video and interactive Archviz creation?Jesús: I think that interactivity is a new way of experimenting unbuilt Architecture. When I do a still image, for example, I always try to express something, to make the viewer see through my eyes for a moment… And there is a beauty in that. Interactivity is more related to exploration, it allows the viewer to experiment the space with freedom and I'm sure that every person will do it differently.Also, from a technical point of view, you can add much more information, like to see where are you located with the planimetry in real time or change materials, lights... and see how the space changes with your decisions for example.I like both ways of communicating architecture, they are very different and unique.Fox Renderfarm: Why did you select this interactive artwork to participate in the competition? Which part of the artwork do you like the most?Jesús: Through last years I did a few little demos, testing and learning Unreal Engine. I thought that this work shows what I learned in a bit more professional way, so it was the only one that I presented.The part I liked the most was when I could make changes of materials and see how the space turned into something different in the blink of an eye with photoreal quality, it is like magic!Fox Renderfarm: Could you introduce the layout and lighting of this master bedroom?Jesús: Sure. All is bake lighting. It is composed by a stationary directional light (sun) visible at the bed and an atmospheric fog + HDRI captured by a Sky Light.I share the lightmass values used in this project, as you can see the static lighting level scale is really low and gives high precision in the light calculation over the meshes.Post Process Volume has a big impact on Unreal Engine as you can see in the picture. The cool thing about it is that all changes in real time, so it gives you the opportunity to be focused on the art direction.Post Process VolumeFox Renderfarm: We discovered the decoration and the furniture are beautiful and coherent, did you refer to any style or artist?Jesús: Thank you! I think that everyone can appreciate the interior design when you put some effort into it and use it as another tool for communicating ideas. In this case was a personal design.Fox Renderfarm: How long did it take you to finish the work?Jesús: That's a tricky one as I did it in my free time, maybe this master bedroom could take some weeks, but behind it, there are months of “trials and errors”, researches, frustrations and small successes that I can't even count.Fox Renderfarm: What’s the most unforgettable and interesting part of the creation process?Jesús: The best part I think was to be able to see the same scene with a very different perspective with a successful migration from offline rendering to Unreal with interactivity.Fox Renderfarm: Did you meet any difficulties when creating this work? And how did you solve it?Jesús: Of course, I met any possible difficulties, I think, fixing textures, dealing with lightmap errors, when everything works, be unable to compile the project due to unknown Unreal memory things...Through one way or another, every issue has a solution. In my case, I had to research a lot, hours of YouTube tutorials that maybe not solve it directly, but it is related to the problems and so on, it is a hard way to learn things.. but somehow it works and I learned a lot during the process.Fox Renderfarm: How long have you been in the architectural visualization career? And how did you make the decision to step into this career?Jesús: I finished my studies as Architect when I was 23, then I directly started to work in an interior design company in a 3D team where I learned a lot and months later I moved to a studio of architecture being in charge of the whole visualization process for 3 years until now.I know that 3 and a half years doesn't sound like much… But hey! They were intense!Artwork by JesúsFox Renderfarm: Who or what project inspires you most in this industry? Jesús: A friend showed me the Third and the Seventh (by Alex Roman) in the university, that was a mind-blowing moment and it look impossible to me, it was really inspiring.The Third and the Seventh by Alex RomanNowadays, I follow the work of all the top studios and artists around the world in the architectural field: Mike Golden, Cornelius Dämmrich, Quixel artist... and from Spain like the Beauty and THE BIT, Play-Time… But also from other fields like cinema or video games like Jama Jurabaev or Nick Hiatt.ArchViz works by Beauty and THE BITArchViz works by Play-TimeI said some names that can be useful for the reader, but actually, there are hundreds of amazing not so renowned artists that I can see everyday at Artstation and they worth the time to learn from their work as much as from the biggest company.Fox Renderfarm: As an outstanding architectural visualization artist, what do you think are the qualities that will make a great artist greater? And what do you do to enhance your professional skills?Jesús: Oh wow, thank you! I think that not only as an artist, but in life, a good attitude, being constant, kind and humble with people around you is really important because you can probably learn something from everyone and it is the only way to do it.What I do is never stop learning and trying new workflows or software that can be useful, and transform that new knowledge into something as a little personal quest. For example, if I try Substance Painter: okay, let's create an asset and paint it to the end as a final product, or if I try a new render engine: well, let's create a good illustration or a little animation clip! I don't know if it sounds stupid, but it helps me during the process and later to look back and see what I could do with that tool or whatever.Artwork by Jesús Gómez San EmeterioFox Renderfarm: What’s your next step?Jesús: Well, I don't know much about steps, but in my experience, if you work hard to do what you like most, things happen one way or another, so that's my plan! Keep working and learning to become a better Architect and CG Artist every day.Fox Renderfarm: Have you ever used Fox Renderfarm cloud rendering services previously? If yes, how do you feel about it?Jesús: I had the opportunity to meet Fox Renderfarm at the CG Architect 3DAwards for the first time. I think that is a good option for 3D artists like me who work with one computer for rendering videos with the best quality and be able to keep working on other things. The communication with them is really nice too!Fox Renderfarm: Any other things you want to share with CG enthusiasts?Jesús: Have fun and do what you love to do!Artworks by Jesús Gómez San EmeterioMore Personal web page: https://www.jesusgomezarq.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jg_architectArtstation: https://www.artstation.com/jesusarq