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Victor Hugo - 'Nightcrawler'

Brazilian artist, Victor Hugo, talks about the workflow he uses to create his youthful, vibrant and quirky character images...

Brazilian artist, Victor Hugo, talks about the workflow he uses to create his youthful, vibrant and quirky character images...

Back in May, Victor Hugo's image Nightcrawler narrowly missed out on the gallery award in the cartoon category by 3 points! Despite this, the image has still be immensely popular, so we thought we'd catch up with the man and the artist behind it...

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

Victor Hugo: My name is Victor Hugo, Im a freelance 3D artist born, raised and based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

3dt: Tell us about your image Nightcrawler. Was it a challenge to create? What inspired it?

VH: Nightcrawler was a really enjoyable work. I was inspired by the awesome work of Randy Bishop. Among his amazing concept, what motivated me was the personal challenge to see how fast I could finish an illustration. It turns out that I was able to finish it in approximately eight hours!

3dt: Talk about the software you used to create Nightcrawler. Is this the same software you generally use?

VH: This one was created using 3ds Max, ZBrush and V-Ray, and yup, this is my default package! Haha! A curious fact: Ive been using another render engine, but when Chaos Group launched V-Ray 3.0, I had to go back to it.

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

VH: I started by accident, my main focus was to raise some money for my graduation course, but I fell in love with digital art and dropped the graduation idea (by the way, I was planning to be a history teacher). My main software choices are 3ds Max, V-Ray, ZBrush and Photoshop.

I dont paint, I just do 3D illustration. I always loved digital painting, but since Im incapable of painting, 3D was the perfect solution that I found to express what was in my mind that my painting skills werent able to do. Im a self-taught artist, so every skill that I know I learned from Googling or over the years working in studios.

3dt: How do you keep your portfolio up-to-date? Any tips?
VH: Basically, I always try to challenge myself. I pick a theme that I like and try to do an illustration of it, including some techniques that I dont know or haven't mastered. Its easier to study if youre applying your knowledge to something, instead of just doing random/meaningless tests.

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

VH: Woah, thats an extensive list! Haha! Im a huge fan of 2D artists like Skottie Young, Lois Van Baarle (Loish) and Ben Hickling mostly because every time I see their work I think Man, I wish I had done that! I think this is a good parameter for admiring someones work. Im also a HUGE Caravaggio fan his personal history is SO intense and full of curious facts, and his lighting skills are far beyond my comprehension totally mind-blowing.

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

VH: As I said, I cant paint. So, it would be great for me to learn how to paint digitally. I think this would help me a lot to improve my sketch skills and its a great and way to pre-visualize ideas before going to 3D.

3dt: How do you like to unwind after a hard day's (or night's) work?

VH: I generally play videogames, watch some TV series on Netflix or even do some 3D for fun!

3dt: If you could choose any superhero power, what would you take, and why?

VH: Haha! Thats a tricky one, but my favorite super-power is super-speed! Speed travels, superhuman reflexes this would be totally awesome. And after seeing that Quicksilver scene in the new X-Men movie I want that skill!

Related links

Check out more of Victor's work on his site
Submit your work to the gallery

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