MPC talent: Federico Scarbini
MPC London Modeler and Texture Artist, Federico Scarbini is an Italian artist that decided to teach himself 3D ten years ago. He reveals his career successes and inspirations so far.
MPC London Modeler and Texture Artist, Federico Scarbini is an Italian artist that decided to teach himself 3D ten years ago. He reveals his career successes and inspirations so far.
Federico Scarbini is currently working at MPC London as a modeler and texture artist, where he is responsible for delivering assets for various feature films. This could be anything from digital doubles to creatures, vehicles and environments. We talk to Federico to find out how this Italian-born artist found his way into the 3D world...
3dtotal: How did you land the role of modeler and texture artist at MPC London can you explain how it all started?
Federico Scarbini: Back in the summer of 2011, after a couple of years of freelancing, I had finally put together my demo-reel and I started to apply around Europe and US. One of the studios I contacted was MPC. I stayed in touch with the recruiter and when I flew to London in October, we arranged an interview that went very well. After a week I was ready to start working for them!
"Of course, once I got into the 3D world, Flash started to become boring compared to the infinite possibilities offered by something like 3ds Max"
3dt: What made you decide to teach yourself how to model and texture using 3D software?
FS: Around 10 years ago I was into site development with Flash, and at that time there was a couple of sites showing wireframe 3D animation, so I asked a friend of mine that took a CAD course how I could do something like this, and he told me about 3D Studio Max. Of course, once I got into the 3D world, Flash started to become boring compared to the infinite possibilities offered by something like 3ds Max. At that time, I was still attending the Japanese University and 3D was just a hobby for me I would never ever thought about it as a job.
3dt: How do you even begin to start teaching yourself something as daunting as 3D software? What were those earliest days like, and what motivated you to persevere?
FS: It was very hard. As I said, I was still studying at the University and the only spare time I got was at night. So I started to follow sites like CGTalk and 3DTotal because there wasn't any school in Italy at that time. I spent nights awake until 2 or 3 in the morning, reading and trying the tutorials until my eyes were blood red. Then, in the morning, at 8am I was on the train to go to university... almost zombified.
"I really felt that 3D was the only media that could let me do all this without any limit"
I still remember how many hours I spent doing the 'Joan of Arc' tutorial you have on this very website. I had so much passion and I was so excited about creating dreamy landscapes and aliens, monsters and everything I got in my head I really felt that 3D was the only media that could let me do all this without any limit.
Eventually I got my first job in an archviz studio in my town, and that was for me the starting point the moment when I realized that my hobby had landed me a job!
3dt: Who/what have been some of your biggest inspirations so far?
FS: What inspires me is good storytelling, something that makes me wonder about what's not told. I want to get caught in a world I never thought of.
At first I had two heroes: Neil Blevins and Pascal Blanchè. With their images, they made me dream of different worlds, forgotten cultures, alien planets... they are just great! I love Simon Lee's dynamic sculptures there is an amazing balance between control and instinct in his works.
Takayuki Takeya is another great sculptor; very iconic I spent a lot of time studying his sculptures and how he comes together with fantastic organic forms. There are some other artist like Wayne Barlowe, Keith Thompson, Ian McCaig, Giger and Beksinski that can really change my artistic point of view.
3dt: What software do you specialize in, and how has your tool-belt evolved over the years since your self-taught education, to working in the industry?
FS: The software I use the most at work are Maya, Photoshop, MARI and ZBrush. My way of working with them changed a lot since I got into the industry: much more specialized. I now use each software in the most efficient way to get to the end-result much faster, while before I was using the software I liked most to do the job.
"... you are always looking for new techniques or the fastest way of doing something, and the cool thing is that you are learning on the go"
3dt: How do you keep up with other talents at MPC in London? Do you still teach yourself new software and if so, how do you go about topping up your skills?
FS: Of course, there is always a lots to learn, everyday! I am very lucky because in the Assets Department everyone is sharing knowledge and tips and tricks and they are glad to help you.
Because every day you are facing new challenges, you are always looking for new techniques or the fastest way of doing something, and the cool thing is that you are learning on the go; if you find something useful, you share it with the team.
3dt: Do you have any advice to other artists out there who can't afford full-time education and are thinking about self-learning 3D?
FS: Stay motivated, set goals and scheduling, be methodical, one step at a time. Try to be realistic, don't start to learn how to model from scratch trying to do a human; try instead to do something simpler, and don't set the difficulty too high, because this is the way to get frustrated, pretty soon.
Post a lot to the forums there are great communities out there with professionals who give constructive advice and feedback.
"You would need to have a great eye for the details; the ability to analyze and deconstruct the reference"
3dt: What are the skills in your resume that make you the most employable to companies like MPC? And can you tell us why?
FS: Talking about modeling and texturing, you would like to be proficient in both and not specialized in a specific category of asset (just characters or vehicles for example) the more flexible you are, the better!
You would need to have a great eye for the details; the ability to analyze and deconstruct the reference to create a model or a map that resemble the complexity of the real-world, because 80% of the work requires you to copy or create from a precise reference, whether a photoshoot or a concept.
3dt: So what are your plans for the future now you've landed at MPC in London? What are your hopes and dreams? Are there any cool films you'd love to work on?
FS: I'd love to work more with characters since I think of myself as a character artist above all; this could be for a job or for personal projects, but I could never be tired of this.
It would be great to work on some movies with cool creatures in the future who wouldn't enjoy that?
3dt: Talking about films, what are you looking forward to seeing this year at the cinema to get you excited about the future of VFX?
FS: I am really looking forward to watching Gravity soon, and, of course, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug later this year.
Related links
The Seventh Son trailer
James Bond: Skyfall trailer
Dark Shadows trailer
Federico's website
MPC's website
To see more by Federico Scarbini, check out ZBrush Character Sculpting
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