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3DTotal: Hi Thierry, can we start by finding out a little more about “Steambot”: when and how did it all start? It’s a little hard to tell from the website whether you are a collective of artists working at different locations, or you are all full-time at your Montreal Studio?
Thierry: Bonjour, STEAMBOT isn’t a very new idea for David (aka Vyle) and I; we had thought about creating a collective of artists since about 1994 at the Industrial Design School in Toulon, in the south of France. Nevertheless, the idea evolved a lot, and what you see now is the result of the concerted efforts from many creative people. Our goal is to push the boundaries of entertainment and visual development, using and creating new tools while sharing techniques with other artists. Indeed, it seems a bit difficult from the website to tell what we are currently doing, but rest assured… we are working like fools to launch STEAMBOT in the best way, so be prepared, it’s coming real soon! |
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3DTotal: So it sounds as if having your own studio/team has been your ambition for some time? Whilst on the subject of ambitions, do you have an ultimate project you dream of being offered to you?
Thierry: Yes, it has been a while, but dreams have been starting to take shape this year. I’ve always wanted to be part of an art book and this project is now a reality, in fact there are few books we are going to release next year. Hmm… I hope to work on Fantasy/Horror/SF movies one day; I’d love to meet with directors like Chris Cunningham, Tarantino, David Fincher or Michel Gondry. I love games - don’t get me wrong - but marketing has really killed the content of gaming lately and it’s tough to find an interesting project, with enough freedom for the developers and more “shut the f***k up” to the producers! If I had to pick someone to work with in videogame, I’d say Miyamoto on a Wii game: no guns, environmentally concerned and fun! Ahhh… Dreams! Nevertheless, I’m working on some different concepts and ideas for a TV series, which is my dream-job because you have more time to spend on scenarios and characters, time to describe their quests and backgrounds, their interactions with the world you created, etc. This will probably never hit any screens, but I can later use it for comic books or an animated short. |
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3DTotal: You seem to be in demand for interviews, tutorials and general pimping of your artwork! Does this continual exposure work well for you and something you enjoy, or do you ever long for the quiet life?
Thierry: To be honest, I don’t have that much exposure and I’m not really looking for it. I have a lot of people asking me questions online, or wanting to be somewhat connected, which is already time consuming. I do love to share tips and tricks, meet people, review portfolios and go to conferences, which is why I’ve accepted interviews and tutorials in magazines, but it also means a lot of stress. For example, I don’t really enjoy being on a stage in front of a large crowd, but I do like art classes and focused workshops, so I shall prepare some cool things for the next ADAPT Conference. |
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3DTotal: I read in your Bio that you spent some time working in England. How did you find the London scene?
Thierry: I don’t know that much of the London “scene” as you say; I worked in Bromley for a few months for Splash Damage on “Quake Wars”, and then moved to Pinewood Studios, working for Digi-guys on a CG short. I really loved Pinewood, especially at the time when they were building the entire city of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”… It’s an awesome place to be, but I can’t stand English weather for too long. I got my BA in Rochester a few years before that and, as a student, I enjoyed London much more as it’s a party town and a very creative environment.
3DTotal: Sounds like an interesting path! With hindsight, is there anything you would have done differently?
Thierry: It’s easy to look at our past and think about what went well or wrong, the girls you should have kissed at the time, the ones you should have left earlier, etc. Of course, it’s already done! But seriously, I don’t think I ever took a bad decision in the BIG moments (I hope so) - the ones you know that are going to change your life - thanks to my parents and friends. I’m very happy with my life so far, and I have some incredible friends, the only problem is time: not enough to go snowboarding, wakeskating, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and travel all around the world. I’ve worked so much the past year that I had to compromise of the fun side… I hate that!
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3DTotal: Let’s talk custom brushes, which some would say are your signature technique. Are they
evolving all the time? Do they really make your work flow much more efficient? Do they let you remain 100% in control or do they ever start to lead your image into something unexpected?!
Thierry: The custom brushes are something we had the chance to develop and tweak for some time here in Montreal before releasing a series of original creations. I think it had a huge impact on the community, which is cool! But we didn’t invent them; we just pushed the brush editor as far as possible, experimenting a lot in some new creative ways. All this happened because of a group of concept artists were frustrated by their everyday job and looking for some ways to speed up production processes whilst having fun! It does help in certain conditions, especially the basic brushes like flora, textures, water effects, clouds, repetitive shapes etc., but it’s not a miracle! Think of it as “an efficient tool for
already advanced artists”, which is something a lot of people don’t understand. I like to use them in
order to break my habits, find new shapes and look for happy accidents. But, being a concept
artist isn’t just about tools, but more about what you have in your brain… It’s more difficult to be
creative than to learn a new technique...
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