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Intro: An artist of great talent and passion for the industry that he works in, Cesar Dacol Jr. needs little introduction as he is well respected by peers and artist alike. Being a director of character development
for the feature film industry, his skills and time are much sort after, but we managed to have a quick chat with Cesar in our latest interview.
3DTotal: Hi Ceser! Now reading your bio on your website, I noticed that you started out as a make-up effects artist. Could you tell us what inspired you to take this career path and also how it lead you into computer graphics?
Cesar: Indeed, make-up FX was the beginning of my journey. I have to say that in some ways I miss the purity of those days. Moving away from make-up was not an easy choice. It began with the watching of Jurassic Park. I’m sure most remember where they were when they experienced the dinosaurs for the
first time. I quickly realized that I could not do what I was seeing on screen. It was a few more years
before I was finally ready and also had come to terms with the fact that I was now the dinosaur.
So I headed back to school, Sheridan College, and I suppose the rest is history. |
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3DTotal: So how did you fare switching between the different mediums?
Cesar: Yeah, switching was tough. I knew nothing about computers. Coming in and having to learn about systems and new languages like Unix was not easy. I’ve never been technically minded, hence being an artist. But I have to say the support structure in place at Sheridan College really helped me greatly. Moving into the job force was also quite a culture shock. When you go from hanging out on set in the film industry to an office environment it gets interesting.
3DTotal: Having worked traditionally and digitally, which do you prefer?
Cesar: Oh, no fair. Both have their ups and downs. Computers do tend to be much more technical than artistic; after all it’s in its nature. Whereas the make-up side can have its downs in terms of scheduling. I’ve seen many an artist falls by the wayside after a few runs of production. Especially on set where sometimes you can have months of 22 hour days. Thankfully programs like ZBrush have brought sculpting back into the lives of the artist in the computer. |
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3DTotal: You’re currently a director of character development for feature films. Could you tell us what this involves, and also what you’re currently working on?
Cesar: 99% of what I do nowadays involves the designing of characters. The process is evolving as the industry changes. Luckily my past experiences have allowed me to roll with the punches. As a whole the design process has now evolved to a point where the actual design can become the production asset. This is a rather new facet since we are creating the creatures directly in the computer and a digital format is a digital format. Some designers are not adept at the actual production language. But there are a few like me who come from that background and who are able to design and deliver a production-ready asset for rigging. |
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In general the process hasn’t changed much. A director, producer or art director, will contact you about a particular film they have. A treatment, script or verbal description will be given. Sometimes even preliminary sketches will have been created. It’s then my job to translate the verbal language into a 3D representation of the character or creature. This will usually start with 2D sketches and then transition into 3D. I’ve recently accepted a senior position at George Miller’s (Mad Max), Dr.D Studios in sunny Australia. Lots of greatness on the go, but as you know unfortunately NDAs don’t let me speak about particular projects at the moment. |
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