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Mini interview with Dominic Qwek

Dominic Qwek is a creature and character artist who has worked on Starcraft II, Diablo III and Killzone 2. 3dtotal asked him a few questions to find out what makes him tick...

Dominic Qwek is a creature and character artist who has worked on Starcraft II, Diablo III and Killzone 2. 3dtotal asked him a few questions to find out what makes him tick...

As senior cinematic artist at Blizzard, Dominic Qwek gets to contribute work to some of the greatest visual cinematics in the entertainment industry. Here, he talks to 3dtotal about some of the highlights of his career so far

3dtotal staff: Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you, what do you do, and where are you located?

Dominic Qwek: My name is Dominic Qwek and I currently reside in Irvine, California. I work at Blizzard Entertainment as a Senior Cinematic Artist, where I get to help create the visually stunning cinematics that Blizzard is known for. I enjoy doing creature design as well as producing my own line of collectible art busts.

Dom grew up watching Ultraman and Mazinger and when Pacific Rim came out he was inspired to
design his own Kaiju. Meet Hachiwara

3dt: Tell us the story behind your artwork: What brought you into the digital art world and what software do you use?

DQ: Since I was young, Ive always been passionate about drawing. It was easy for me to get lost in my own imagination as a kid, in fact, this still happens to me now! I recall watching Pixars Toy Story for the very first time and that was when I knew I wanted to get into digital art as a career. I use 3ds Max, ZBrush, KeyShot and Photoshop.

A bio-mechanical space pod. Dom intermingled organic and mechanical textures to create an antiquated sci-fi look

3dt:How did you learn to paint digitally?

DQ: I am more of a sculptor than a painter. Ive always enjoyed 3D modeling and picked it up during my 3-year diploma studies in Digital Media. I also learned a lot from participating in CG forums such as the ones in 3dtotal and CGTalk.

Rakshasa is the largest 3D print Dom has made. It stands 11-inches tall and comes in 5 parts, and is available as a resin kit

3dt: How do you keep your portfolio up-to-date? Any tips?

DQ: The best tip would be to always hone your skills with whatever available time you have. Always be on the lookout for new features and workflows and dont be afraid to try new things. Keeping an open mind helps, as well as choosing a specific skill to specialize at. Being great in many disciplines is good; however, it helps to be extremely proficient in one of them.

Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Best served with tartar sauce

3dt: Who are your favorite artists, traditional or digital, and can you explain why?

DQ: Some of my favorite artists are Allen Williams, Simon Lee, Steve Wang, Takayuki Takeya, H.R. Giger, Zdzislaw Beksinski, Frank Frazetta and Pascal Blanche. They all have one thing in common and that is their own unique visual style. Their art inspires me a lot and all it takes is a quick gander to get myself motivated with my own craft.

Red was sculpted in ZBrush and rendered in Keyshot. Photoshop was then used for final touch up

3dt: What software would you like to learn in the future to expand your portfolio and skillset, and why?

DQ: I would definitely like to get more involved with sculpting in clay in the future. Most of my time is spent sculpting digitally. That said, I feel that traditional clay can help the digital sculptor evaluate and appreciate forms better. This can only help you get better as an artist.

Apart from creating his own designs, Dom enjoys collaborating with other artists.
Hopper was sculpted by Dom and painted by Rick Cantu

Related links

For more of Dominic Qwek's awesome work, check out his site
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