1. Welcome to Blender Guru! Could you start by telling us how you originally got involved with Blender?

Hi Blender Guru!

I started using Blender around version 2.11. Back then, like many other high-school students I had too much time on my hands. Instead of getting drunk on a regular basis though, I chose to draw and shoot little crappy movies with my Hi8 camera.

It was always my dream to become a director and work on my own movies. Having shot a lot of those stupid little special effect tests with dinosaurs and exploding models, 3D was yet another way for myself to venture into a reality that existed only in my head. At one point I did an internship at a company who also had an old copy of 3D Studio Max installed, which instantly captivated me. When the internship was over I found a free alternative in Blender.

Back then, tutorials were scarce. There was only scanline rendering and a very limited number of tools. But the whole 3D thing had a very mythical air around it, there was still a lot more ground to break, which made it very exciting to me.

2. A lot of the community regard you as the one of the best blender artists. Your work has been published in books, you’ve been interviewed on German television and you now write regularly for 3d world. Can you explain your rise to fame and how you got here?

That sounds a lot more glamorous than it actually is. A lot of times that was just a coincidence and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I think the reason why a few of my pieces stuck out back in the days was probably because whatever wasn’t possible in Blender, I painted in 2D. As weird as it seems, people couldn’t get their heads around this. “It’s 3D, but it’s not… huh? Oh my gosh how is that even remotely possible?”

Those (relatively) few images kept on buzzing about, and even though it’s not such a big deal, people suddenly call you “Blender Master”. This internet thing is weird. Sometimes getting too much attention can be irritating. Nowadays I pretty much quit showing stuff on the forums and people finally stopped pointing at the old stuff. I’m quite happy now that the buzz of ED, BBB, etc. has died down and I can focus on the actual work and exploring new territory. I don’t know what the future will bring. I just hope there’s gonna be more robot monsters.

3. A lot of your work is geared heavily around the sci-fi theme, incorporating alien creatures and robotic elements in your designs. Can you explain your attraction to this genre?

I guess that’s just a general attraction to things that the eye doesn’t usually see. I admire people who achieve a perfect copy of something that’s real in their computer, I’m just not the right person for that particular flavor of 3D. Mind you, I’m not talking about making something look real that isn’t – I just think there’s not much of a point for me to re-create something that exists already. I guess it’s perfectly fine for training purposes, though. Also it seems that for me it’s significantly easier to model monsters and ugly things. I have yet to lift myself up to the artistic level to create truly beautiful stuff.

The motivation is just my genuine interest in advances in technology, and the general question of where we all might end up. I’m a huge fan of classic sci-fi books and movies as well. Having said that, I love nature, I couldn’t live without trees, grass and air. But somehow I view technology just as an extension of nature.

4. Before starting a project, do you sketch it on paper first or do you like to play it by ear?

I sketch a lot, usually I take my sketchbook wherever I go. I tend to think and express myself in more visual terms, so conceptualizing an image (or even a movie) purely in writing does not work for me. For most of my pictures I like drawing a few thumbnails to make up my mind about the composition. Since I do a lot of character related stuff, all of those usually originate from a drawing. Usually the final 3D model is more an interpretation of the sketch rather than an exact copy though, to there’s still a lot of freedom in the execution. Sketching out the image before you “transfer” it into 3D helps getting the overall flow right. In CG it’s very easy to get lost in the details. Of course, sometimes I also like to completely “freestyle” in Blender, which also can be very liberating because a lot of the work flow is very close to sketching.

5. In your opinion, what’s the single biggest mistake a lot of 3d artists make that stop their work from being great?

Generally people tend to forget that there’s hundreds of years in principals of composition, light, color, etc. that also apply to 3D. The biggest mistake I find myself making is to fumble stuff together too quickly, just to get done with it. While I don’t think it’s good to linger on something for too long, it can also be good to step back for a bit and let it sit for a while. But in my opinion, there isn’t really one big mistake, it depends on the case I guess.

6. Tell us about your current project: Omega. It’s stop motion, but it also uses Blender? What is the motivation behind this short?

Getting my hands dirty with practical work is something that I absolutely love. It’s great to be able to work with this amazing group of people here who’s so passionate about puppets and model building. Omega is a challenge to see how far we can push ourselves in terms of visual complexity, creating the depth and detail of an entire living and breathing (artificial) ecosystem. And while this world not supposed to look entirely real, the ultimate goal is to create something that looks tangible, a world that you can immerse yourself in.

We shoot everything in digital 5K still frames. Blender is used for fusing the final frames together. That means mostly chroma-keying, compositing and color grading. On top of that, we use it for generating virtual environments and characters. Most of the movie is created by manually chopping photos into depth layers and then putting them back together in CG. The last half of the movie features an epic transformation and destruction scene which is mostly CG with a bit of model work as basis. The whole piece is meant to be a hybrid of state-of-the-art CG and traditional stop motion animation.

7. I know a lot of people are dying to see it. Do you have an expected release date?

Because of its complexity we had to postpone the release a few times. We’re hoping to have it finished by next Winter. First it’s probably gonna run through a few festivals around the world. I don’t know yet when it’s going to be released on the internet, or in which format.

8. You’ve been with Blender for a little over 10 years now! Have you ever considered switching to a commercial application? What made you stick with Blender?

In those years I worked on both, personal and commercial projects using Blender. I’ve considered switching at a few occasions actually. Mostly when I was frustrated with Blender’s limitations, its interface, or just my own stupidity. While I am familiar with quite a few other 3D applications, I found Blender to be the most efficient for my purposes. That’s why I ended up sticking with it every time: I really got used to Blender’s work flow, which shows in the speed I can come up with new stuff. More importantly, the people I had the chance to meet who work with Blender show so much dedication and passion for their work, that’s the main reason why I like it so much!

9. Blender 2.6 is just on the horizon! What feature or improvement are you most looking forward to?

The work that went into the interface redesign is really a huge step forward in so many ways, the workflow itself feels much more fluid and focused. The thing I’m really dying to see now is a better modeling system (i.e. B-mesh), the current/old one – while I’m aware of the fact that it isn’t fully ported yet – feels terribly dated. For Omega I’m also anxious to get the whole compositor functionality back again. There’s little things here and there that need patching up, but that’s just a matter of time.

10. If you could offer one piece of advice to an aspiring blender artist, what would it be?

That’s a difficult one to answer, especially since that’s been done to death already. Personally I think it’s important to look beyond your computer screen. There’s so many things that aren’t digital that are worth looking at and living for. It’s absolutely vital to not put your own work on a pedestal. Results matter, yes, but what matters more is what you learn and experience during the process of creation. And if one particular piece doesn’t meet your expectations, no big deal, move over to the next one! For me these were hard to let go. I spent a great deal of the past years to separate myself from the reign of the almighty computer.

In more general terms I also found it to be a mistake to think too much about “your art” and why it’s important that everyone knows that you’re an “artist”. The nature of the internet and the fact that the majority of the people on the forums have too much time on their hands easily lend itself to such conversations about “the art”. (In contrast I also regularly come in contact with art historians and the like, so outside the internet it’s not much different, except that people wear suits)… Who cares what kind of name tag you give it, just do whatever you enjoy. But who am I to give advice, being about 25, I’m still relatively young and inexperienced.

Thank you so much for your time and on behalf of the community, thanks for your amazing contributions to Blender.

It’s been a pleasure likewise! Thanks a lot for giving me the chance to express my thoughts with this interview.

As a bonus, Andy has been nice enough to share two never before seen shots from the Omega project. Enjoy!

Follow the progress of the Omega project here.If you liked this post you might also like my interview with blender legend Robert Tiess.

1. Hello and welcome to Blender Guru! Please introduce yourself, give us a brief bio and tell us how you first got started in Blender.

My name is Robert Tiess.  On Blender Artists I am known as RobertT.  I have been interested and involved in art and computers in various ways since I was a child.

I first started with Blender in 2003.  I had always wanted to further my artist experience in the 3D digital realm after having worked in natural media, mixed media, and 2D digital media for years.  The discovery of Blender opened a new literal and figurative dimension, and I have been enjoying the exploration of that dimension ever since!

2. Where do you get the most inspiration for your work?

Inspiration radiates in every direction.  It is such an amazing universe we occupy, one saturated with limitless potential, beauty, mysteries, and meaning.  To be able to create, interpret thoughts into images, and then have people see and then reinterpret that image and discover meanings in it for them is quite a motivating phenomenon.

I draw much inspiration from my spirituality, and there are numerous other ingredients that go into what I create:  education, experiences, creative efforts as a writer / poet / musician, my desire to enlighten myself further and to use my creative work at times to explore philosophical ideas, the truth, and to promote openness of minds (most notably in my ongoing “Reflections” series).

3. What is your day job? Where do you find all the time and energy to create such masterpieces?

I work full-time in library reference services, electronic resources, search engine creation, and other library-related activities and advocacies.  I enjoy serving the public and helping to connect people with information.

As a non-commercial artist, I enjoy the greatest freedom with my creations.  I can do whatever I want at any time.  Besides not having to deal with deadlines or clients, I do not have to conform to any existing conventions in 3D or any mode of art.  While the time for Blending is not always as sustained as I would prefer, the energy and determination to create something new and interesting feels virtually limitless.  I often enjoy participating in Blender Artist Weekend Challenges, where I can use the concentrated time and energy to advance my experience with Blender, try out new techniques and styles, and just to have fun (it’s important to keep it enjoyable and not to reduce creation to a process).  Longer projects usually span one or two weeks, but I won’t call a project “finished” until it feels as if, according to my current abilities and sensabilities, the project’s potential has been fulfilled.  Sometimes that can take a while!

4. One of the things that separates your art from the norm is your incredible eye for colors. How do you go about choosing your color palettes?

Sometimes the emotional intent of a project helps decide which directions colors flow.  Colors can take on symbolic meanings or be used in ways that complement or add to the character, atmosphere, or complexity of a piece.  Digital art gives us the possibility to mix and use colors strange and new ways.  Sometimes my color choice is influenced by the desire to take a piece to a more “painterly” direction.

For me, there needs to be a holistic relationship between all elements of a work – composition, values, colors, content, and so on.  Bold color choices can often be effective, but I am aware of how they can overpower an image to the point people see initially color and then content.  Sometimes that can be used to great effect.  In the end, it is whatever the project demands that becomes most important.

5. Looking through your projects you don’t seem to have a set style but instead dip into abstract, portraits, photoreal and even character animations. Is there a reason you do this instead of trying to master one particular style?

I’m glad you brought that up.  I consider this extended variety of styles essential to my growth as an aspiring artist.  I encourage other aspiring artists out there to get out of their respective comfort zones and try to introduce some purposeful variety into their own works, techniques, and approaches.  This goes toward that “limitless” aspect I referenced earlier as a non-commerical artist.  I am reluctant to say “hobbyist” because, while I never create for compensation, I do not go about creation in any casual way.  I take it very seriously and consider things as “professionally” as possible.  In this independent mode, I will never have to adhere to a particular look or meet a certain expectation.  Remaining unpredictable can, in the long-term, be an asset in the art world, even when your aspirations are simply to be “a better artist.”

Many people will often try to define you by a certain set of works, or draw you into comparisons between current and past works.  That can, under the right circumstances, lead to constructive insight, for both the audience and the artist, but, if such commentary is offered in an attempt to reinforce a set of expectations, that’s something to be wary of as an artist.  From early on, society attempts to force upon the individual any number of definitions, conventions, and expectations.  As I see it, it is partly an artist’s responsibility, wherever it is constructive and sensible to do so,  to defy those type-casting efforts and to remain open to new ways of expressing ideas, even if the manner of expression costs a few “fans” along the way.  For me, the artist’s path is very much like the “Hero’s Journey” Joseph Campbell is famous for having described.  The Artist can indeed be the Hero.  Images can be far more than paint or pixels.  Artistic creation can be a means towards enlightenment, empowerment, and true freedom.

6. Before starting on a project, do you sketch it on paper first or make it up as you go? Explain your design process.

I begin with the idea.  The idea is the foundation, the most important thing for me.  Without that, the project is likely to fail due to not being well-thought-out.  Sketching it out imaginatively and having a strong visualization in mind is a key thing for me, and it often helps save time and energy in that you don’t frequently have to rethink things mid-project.  I sometimes sketch in pencil, pen and ink, but those sketches are mostly explorations of possible characters, facial expressions, or settings.  I tend to prefer blocking-out a scene in Blender, sometimes using primitives to indicate where certain objects might be as I’m working out the initial composition if the scene is complex enough to warrant that sort of preparation.

From there, I tend to focus on the most important elements in the scene first and then develop supporting objects.  For complex scenes, getting a good sense of layer management can also help speed things along (including the 3D view and render times).  After that, it’s a cycle of working on materials, lighting, test rendering, and then, close to the end, thanks to Blender’s render node network, a matter of using Blender’s internal tools to combine layers and help the project reach a fitting conclusion.

7. You’ve been in the 3d industry longer than most, so it’s fair to assume you’ve encountered your share of critics. How do you handle criticisms? Are you a firm believer of fascism in the art world, or do you always try to please your audience?

I have always been grateful to all those who commented upon my work.  Those comments helped contribute to numerous realizations one develops as an artist.  One of the earliest things you must accept is that not everyone is going to love your work.  Not everyone is going understand or appreciate the reason(s) you are doing something a certain way.  You cannot allow yourself to get caught up in that.  All of those people have walked a different path, have lived different lives, and their perspectives are necessarily different than yours.  This is not something to fear.  At best, it can be a great learning opportunity on many levels.  At worst, an artist might dwell on the negative aspects of feedback and perhaps attempt to bring their works more in keeping with the crowd’s general expectations.  That can be a dangerous phase for an artist.

Artists new to any medium must first, of course, attempt to master the basics and essentials.  In the 3D world, this means things such as lighting, materials, rigging and timing if animating, render quality, and more.  It is also reasonable, in time, to expect an artist to be original, perhaps even “interesting” to some degree.  So, to that extent, one has to listen to the criticism and take any and all necessary steps to eliminate deficiencies in basic techniques.  Once that fundamental “mastery” has been attained, you can then move on as an artist, developing styles, taking chances, and indefinitely taking into consideration constructive feedback.  Under no circumstances should any artist exclusively exist to serve an audience’s pleasure.  Art is more than onlookers, critics, censors, and naysayers.  Art, all throughout history, has been any number of things:  a mirror of the times, visionary, nostalgic, a catalyst for change and awareness, abstract, defiant, surreal, mechanical, quaint, folksy, mystical, appropriated for various purposes, nonsensical, comical, infinitessimal or cosmic in scope, and more yet.  I believe in the preservation of creative choices for artists because Art demands nothing less.

8. Have you ever considered switching to an industry standard application like 3ds Max? What made you stick with Blender?

I never considered switching.  Blender forever.  Blender is and has all I need.  Blender’s selfless and impassioned coders are examples of what makes the Open Source Movement such a sucess:  individuals with shared interests, yet of their own free will, coming together to improve existing functionalities and introduce new opportunities for everyone to enjoy.  Their motivation, overwhelmingly, is betterment for all involved.  This, combined with Blender’s insightful and friendly community elevates Blender to something more than mere software.

With every day, Blender moves closer to having everything any digital artist working in 3D could possibly want.  Its developmental pace is legendary and inspirational.  Now with Blender 2.5 soon approaching, we will witness an even more dramatic expansion of Blender’s capabilities, customizations, as well as a user base that will only continue to grow as more people awaken to Blender’s advantages.

9. The biggest change in Blender is just on the horizon! What feature are you specifically looking forward to in Blender 2.5 and why?

Having toyed with some early test builds of Blender 2.5, I can see much effort is going into improving all aspects of the program.  It is exciting seeing this program ascend to higher levels.  The prospect of being able to customize menus seems especially appealing to me.  Not only do 3D artists have their own workflows, but each project has its own set of challenges and things that need to be done.  With customizable menus, this can help an artist group tools in ways that make sense to that artist and minimize having to switch between panels and contexts to perform various functions on a repeated basis.

10. If you could offer one piece of advice to artists starting out, what would it be?

My advice:  Get ready!  For what?  A series of wonderful and thought-provoking experiences, realizations, feelings, and questions to follow the moment you post your first finished project on a forum.  If you infuse your work with energy and purpose and give it a voice of its own, if you find enjoyment in what you do, if you persist against all odds and dedicate yourself to betterment (as an artist and a person) regardless of any negativity encountered down the road, you will be somewhat prepared.

Each artist’s journey must be different because life is dynamic, full of pleasant surprises and unforeseen circumstances.  Maintaining a positive frame of mind and remaining open-minded are very good strategies when it comes to general preparation and priming your mind for advancement instead of dwelling on shortcomings.  Be fearless, patient, humble, unstoppable, ever-awakening, honest, and eventually along the way you will begin to notice how most failures, just below the surface, actually contain some information on success (even if you have to infer it).  You will do amazing things once you begin to believe in yourself and your art.  Get ready, then go forth.  Where?  Into the forest of first experiences to find your own path.

Thank you very much Robert for allowing Blender Guru to interview you! I’m sure we all look forward to seeing more of your amazing creations in future years.

Be sure to check out Robert’s website: http://www.artofinterpretation.com/ for more stunning Blender creations.