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Jacques Leyreloup: 3D artist interview

French artist Jacques Leyreloup talks about the many processes he used to create his incredibly detailed self-portrait...

French artist Jacques Leyreloup talks about the many processes he used to create his incredibly detailed self-portrait...

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

Jacques Leyreloup: I'm Jacques Leyreloup, from Montpellier, France. I'm 25 years old and I'm currently a student at ESMA Montpellier.

3dt: Tell us the story behind your recent gallery entry: What inspired you to create it?

JL: I made my self-portrait in the framework of my rendering class. The goal was to get the most realistic result. In my reference research phase I discovered the work of Dan Roarty, Marco Di Lucca and Lukáš Hajka, which was a great source of inspiration for me.

3dt: Did you face any difficulties when creating this image, and how did you overcome them?

JL: The main difficulty was the time available to finish the project, and trying to manage in the meantime other school-related exercises. We had very little time, so I had to be organized to learn new software (Solid Angle's Arnold and Peregrine Labs Yeti) and spend enough time to be meticulous with the work, to get the most realistic result. I'm very grateful to Lukáš Hajka who shared many tips in the WIP of his self portrait, Crossing the uncanny valley. It was very helpful and time saving.

3dt: What software did you use and do you have any tips for using this software, or any other software that you use to create your art in general?

JL: For my self portrait, my main software choice was Maya. I also used Agisoft's Photoscan, which allowed me to have a rough scan of my head. Then, I imported the scan into ZBrush to clean it and sculpt it.

ZBrush is an amazing software that allowed me to sculpt all the details (pores, wrinkles) that I wanted, to give a realistic feeling to the final image. The texturing was done in Photoshop and Mudbox. I was able to project photographs in very high resolution, and export those in 8k or 16k.

For the hair and fur I used Yeti, which is a powerful plug-in. I have to thank Bjorn Blaabjerg who provided a great tutorial to learn Yeti basics from on his website. The rendering was done in Arnold with a mix of aiShader and aLshader for the hair. Finally, I used NUKE and Photoshop for the compositing.

3dt: What are your artistic ambitions?

JL: I hope I'll be able to work in the movie or videogame industry. It would be a great opportunity for me to work on movie licenses that made me dream as a kid. It's a working environment that makes you go beyond your limits and it would allow me to work and meet talented people.

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

JL: I'm really interested in MARI. I'll try to learn how to use it in the next few weeks. I also wish to try FX on Houdini because it's a field I don't know much about, and it intrigues me.

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

JL: I admire a bunch of artists. Social networks give us the chance to be in touch with many talented artists. If I had to select just one, it would be Vitaly Bulgarov. For me, each of his new creations is like a bombshell. As a passionate admirer of hard surface modeling and sci-fi, his work pushes the limits every time. I am also a big fan of the work of Yoshitaka Amano.

3dt: What can we expect to see from you next?

JL: I am actually working on two projects that I hope to share with you shortly. Before tackling my graduation movie in September on the theme of Aviation.

Related links

Head over to Jacques Leyreloup's website
Jacques self-portrait in the gallery
Grab a copy of ZBrush Characters & Creatures

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