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3DTotal : You have worked on nearly every aspect of the games creation process, but which have you found to be the most demanding area and why?
Rodrigue : I think they are all demanding but if I had to choose one I would say the characters. It’s the first thing people look at in a video game and everyone has its own view of it. It’s really hard, especially for the main characters, to do something that will suit to everyone. Even if the concept art is approved it’s only once it’s done in 3D that you can see what doesn’t work or doesn’t fit. You then have to improve or completely change them to make the characters look better. Sometimes the engine improves so much that you have to entirely redo the characters and make them useable for the new tools or use bigger textures and a higher poly count.
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3DTotal : Have you ever been unhappy with a character that you have created that has made it into the final game?
Rodrigue : Army of Two is a premiere for me in terms of next-gen work so I’ll be able to tell you after the game release but for now I’m very happy.
3DTotal : Upon creating characters for next-gen games, do you employ any of the techniques learnt to your personal projects and if so which ones have you found the most beneficial?
Rodrigue : Having started in 2D was a big help for me. It permits me to have a larger view of what I’m doing and at the same time helps me from time to time finding an artistic solution to a problem instead of a technical one.
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I try to continue doing some 2D work at home so that way I can discover new tricks or effects that I can use after in my personal 3D renders,textures, or at work. The opposite is also true since I use a lot of things learned at work in my personal projects for example I learned ZBrush at work and now I use it all the time at home. EA Montreal is a wonderful place to work for this since I learn a lot from my co-workers. We share many of our discoveries and always try to do our best on the projects.I was also a beta tester on Zbrush 3 at home, and now I can’t wait to use it at EA.
3DTotal : How has the use of ZBrush effected the overall creation of your characters?
Rodrigue : Since I have discovered this software I can’t stop being impressed by all the possibilities it offers. The high level of details that we can have now is amazing and the bigger textures and the normal map allow us to bring all these details in game. Almost every two weeks the overall skill of the artists rises up. It’s amazing! I can’t wait to see what people will be able to do with ZBrush 3. |
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3DTotal : What has been you main source of inspiration over the years?
Rodrigue : Well the 3D and 2D communities on Internet are for sure an incredible source of inspiration. I also try to get inspired by looking at traditional art and sculptures, movies, comic books etc... Even when I stumble upon a movie or a type of art that isn’t part of my taste I still take a look at it because it could always give me good ideas for future compositions, colors etc...
3DTotal : Aside from work, what do you enjoy doing when your away from your monitor?
Rodrigue : That doesn’t happen a lot since I’m always working J More seriously, what I enjoy the most is barbecuing with my friends, going out for a drink with tem, playing flying disk, volley ball etc…and of course reading comic books and watching movies.
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3DTotal : Well it has been really nice talking with you and I wish you all the best. One more question before we finish. What advice would you give to artist that would like to get into the games business?
Rodrigue : Thank you too. My advice would be to be really motivated, always look for improvement, be aware of what is happening in the other industries (games, illustrations, comics etc…). And don't be affraid of the change.
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