 |
| |
|
3DTotal: We first saw you when you attended the Adapt 07 conference in Montreal as a guest speaker. Can you describe the experience for us and say a little about the value of the show, for anyone unfamiliar with it?
Nicolas: Well... I was quite honoured when my friend Emile (one of the founders of Adapt) asked if I’d be interested in participating at the event this year, in early spring of 2007. My first response to this was “Cool, I’d love to see the show!” and he replied back by saying “No, no, no; I’ve seen some of your work for the first time and I’d like to invite you as a guest speaker!” Without hesitation, I agreed and I’m glad that I did. It’s an experience that I’ll never forget! I take pride and pleasure in what I do for a living, and I enjoy demonstrating some of my techniques to friends and colleagues when they ask me “How did you do that?!” With this in mind, I felt that Adapt would be an excellent venue in demonstrating a part of my skills to a larger crowd. Education is what Adapt is all about! The event exposes people to the visual art fields and opportunities in the entertainment industry. You basically get a “behind the scenes” glimpse from guest speakers in the fields of animation, concept art, and special effects (VFX).
3DTotal: Which presentations were amongst your favourites at Adapt, and who did you find inspiring amongst the line up?
Nicolas: On the 2D side, Syd Mead, because he’s the Godfather and very entertaining to hear live; Mark Goerner and Ryan Church, as their art is very slick, and my friends the Steambot Crew because they are the artistic French mafia with crazy painting skills!
On the 3D side, the guys from Pixar and ILM just blew me away! All the behind the scenes stuff they showed from Ratatouille and Transformers was just mind-blowing! What they are capable of doing in terms of visuals is always an inspiration.
|
|
|
| |
|
3DTotal: Speaking of CG events, you were also one of 14 artists at this year’s 6-month exhibition in Valle D-Aosta (Italian Alps), which is a gallery event showcasing art from videogames. I hear that Barontieri, Jim Murray, and some of the Massive Black crew all graced this event as well, can you tell us a bit about the exhibition and how it all went down in Italy? We wish we could have made it ourselves!
Nicolas: Yes indeed! It was an honor and privilege to be invited to THE ART OF GAMES. It's the first of its kind and hopefully not the last based on its continuous success. The exhibition is on for six months and I recommend people to go see it. Take advantage of the inspiring art – and especially Aosta itself! It's appearing all over the net with some great press and reviews. Best part of it all was having some of my work displayed amongst big name artists such as Craig Mullins, Stephane Martiniere, Daniel Dociu, and my personal friends, Jim Murray and Barontieri. These are all talented artists that I respect and admire. |
 |
 |
 |
Not all artists on the list were able to make it for the grand opening and vernisage, but amongst those were Daniel Dociu, Paul Sullivan, Jim Murray, Barontieri, Jason Felix, and Allessandro Taini. Barontieri, Jim and I flew in on the same day seeing that we're all based out of Montreal. It was a fun drive up with my friends, my wife and daughter!
The week trip was a very generous gift to the artist from the event organizers. It included the flight and a week’s stay in a beautiful hotel right in the heart of Aosta – a beautiful town in the heart of the Italian Alps. So much to see, lots of history dating back to Roman and Medieval times, notoriously known for its amazing pork products and wine (the food was to die for!), and best of all of all the |
|
|
 |
| |
|
inspiring view of the Alps that swallowed us up.
Most of the artists arrived around the same time. The organizers had arranged three days of touring and sightseeing. We got to see Roman sites, as well as a few of the many castles in the region which are amazingly preserved. It was like being in a time capsule. It was a great experience which allowed us all to get to know each other. In the evening we continued hanging out by doing dinner as well as some good drinking at the Rolling Stone Bar lounge. Drinks and food are the best way to break the ice with people! [Laughs] What happens in Aosta stays in Aosta!
On that Friday was the vernisage and |
 |
| |
 |
| |
|
grand opening. We started the day with a press announcement, got our photographs taken and enjoyed the late afternoon talking to people, press, and local artists with some good wine and amazing or d'oeuvres. We were fortunate enough to have amazing weather the whole week. The Art Gods approved of this venue! All in all, the event was just about the art and craftsmanship. No workshops, no egos, no PR work ... just plain appreciation of the art and getting to meet the amazing and down-to-earth people that produced them. Everything about this event was personal and non-formal – except for the grand opening.
In conclusion, I hope that this venue will continue to grow and never lose its personal touch. Art is everywhere and it's great to be able to gather them in one location to celebrate the craftsmanship and hard work that goes into producing them, as well as getting to meet the artists – which is the best part! We see the art all the time. We look forward to their next masterpieces. But it's priceless when you get to meet them, personally shake their hands, and enjoy each other’s company over good food, good drinks, and story swapping.
3DTotal: How difficult was the transition from traditional illustration to working as a texture artist, and what prompted the shift back to illustration and concept work?
Nicolas: To be honest with you, becoming a texture artist wasn’t all that hard. What got me the job was my ability to draw and paint things realistically, in either Photoshop or acrylics. It was a talented and good friend of mine (Michael Yeomans) that had been working at Ubisoft Montreal for about 6 years, who finally convinced me to apply. He said that they needed artists with my abilities. The only challenge I experienced was getting used to working on an image size that was 512 by512 pixels. That’s seriously small! But, I learned a good lesson in doing so. Painting efficiently can be as simple as a few key contrasted strokes in bringing out important details.
My shift back to illustration and concept art was due to several things. Texture painting was slowly being replaced by new technologies, such as normal mapping, and I wasn’t enjoying it as much because of its limitation to image size and detail. I felt I was at a halt as an artist, and an opportunity as a marketing artist opened up. Last but not least, I seriously missed illustrating and designing. Once an artist, always an artist! The experience was great in terms of learning new techniques, which I still use today. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
