Page 16 - 3D World - October 2017

ShowcaSe
CG art to inspire

PoRtRait of

sean fRandsen

aRTIST
Ian Spriggs
SoFTwaRe
Maya, Mudbox, V-Ray and
Photoshop

Ian’s day job is as a creature/character
artist working at Oat Studios with Neil
Blomkamp, but in his spare time he is
busy creating exquisite portraits.
His approach is meticulous,
ambitious and very impressive.
He creates as much as possible by
hand, that includes stitches, threads
as well as hair curves. Like many
traditional artist will tell you, it’s the
imperfections that give the realism and
for Ian, they are essential in his work.
In fact, traditional processes as a whole
are vital; “I am always in a battle with
myself between being an artist and a
technical artist, you need both to create
anything in 3D. I think you can tell I am
drawn to the artistic side and I know I
need to push my technical side a little
more. I try not to let the tools decide
for me what I can do but make the tools
work for what I need.”
After taking copious amounts of
reference photos of the subject, Ian will
flit between programs to get the best
results he can. “Once I get an image I
like I will start to pose the pre-built
base mesh to it, most of the time I stray
away from the photo. I block out all
the geometry in Maya and then take
it to Mudbox for sculpting. I will also
texture in Mudbox. Then back to Maya
and lighting the model in V-Ray, I get
the lighting right before I start adding
the textures. Then one by one add the
textures, getting them cleaned up as I
go. After this it is just a mix of chaos,
fixing everything, cleaning up the
model, trying to simplify as much as
I can. Once I get a render I like I will
touch it up in Photoshop. Then after
there is no more to clean up I consider
it finished.”
By creating such detailed and
traditional portraiture, Ian builds a
bond with his viewer, or as he explains,
“understanding people and really
seeing them is what is important.”

www.ianspriggs.com

3D WorlD October 2017 16 www.youtube.com/3dworld