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Rayza Alvarez: character modeler interview

Rayza Alvarez is a character modeler from São Paulo, Brazil, who enjoys using ZBrush & Maya to create her expressive artwork...

Rayza Alvarez is a character modeler from São Paulo, Brazil, who enjoys using ZBrush & Maya to create her expressive artwork...

3dtotal: Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you, what do you do, and where are you located?
Rayza Alvarez: Im Rayza Alvarez, and Im a character modeler based in São Paulo, Brazil, and my focus is bringing characters to life for animation. Ive always loved LEGO, cartoons, movies and books. I realized very soon that I wouldnt feel accomplished having a regular job. So I went to technical school, discovered the world of computer graphics and its many departments. There I discovered I liked modeling things, although I wasnt familiar with the term yet. Id spend much more time on that than in animating, rendering or any other assignments I had.

It felt like LEGO, putting together many parts to form something bigger ( yeah, that sounds silly). Fast-forward several years, ZBrush came in and my curiosity to try more organic things such as characters grew, since I failed terribly at doing organic stuff using the box modeling method, so common back then. It has completely changed my pipeline by adding much more freedom to create things. So, Im pleased to live in a moment where I can benefit from both ZBrush and a traditional 3D package.

3dt: What was the workflow behind your latest gallery image? Where did the idea come from?
RA: James was created when the animator and character designer Ivan Oviedo decided it was time to update the characters from his animation school. Gathering references from the sixties, both in style and attitude, Ivan wanted to try a clean look that could be both appealing and challenging to his acting class students. With that in mind and an initial 2D design, we went in to explore what would make him be James, using ZBrush as the main tool for this initial Vis Dev work. After some passes, with the help of various notes, it was time to make this guy useful for animation. Ivan wanted that the character had a huge range of emotions/deformations. So I worked on topology flow/density along with him to get what he needed. About eleven core blend shapes were created plus other corrective shapes that were added after James went for rigging/animation tests.

For this step I used ZBrush to create the initial blend shape deformation, a quicker way for us to do the back and forth of info needed to define how extreme they could be without breaking the design. After that, Id go to Maya, polish and test each of them. UVs were done in UVLayout and textures in ZBrush/Photoshop. Oh! and the version with hair was done in XGen, my very first time using it. It was a lot of fun to go and do something different but I definitely prefer dynamesh and polygons.

3dt: What challenges did the image present? Did you learn something new?
RA: It was all a challenge. As hard as it may seem, his simple look is deceiving. Ivan imagined him with long lines, more straights than curves. He needed to look handsome, needed to have personality. I myself still struggle with adding anatomy everywhere and James was a case of back to basics. What can you do with minimum information? Without props, without crazy details? What is left? It made me realize how crazy we go for detailing and forget about the design foundation: the bigger picture.

3dt: Do you use any other software, either for work or personal projects?
RA: Not really, my main softwares for almost everything are ZBrush, Maya, UVLayout, Topogun and eventually Photoshop. When I decide to render something out, I use V-Ray most of the time. For this one though, I used Arnold for the first time.

3dt: How do you keep your portfolio up-to-date? Any tips?
RA: I like to post sketches whenever possible and this is something I actually need to catch up on lately. Its nice so that people can see what you do when you dont have a fully finished character with UVs and blend shapes. I believe a polished sketch is equally important to show your abilities even at an early step of the modeling process.

As for tips, in my case for example, most of my professional work is covered by NDAs. So unless they give permission after the project is finished, chances are it will never be posted anywhere. Thats why personal works are important. Professional works that are allowed to be published make a good opportunity for you to show your process, post some making of or even put together a professional reel. I believe having a balance between personal and professional work is important. One representing your freedom of time, length, and creativity, and the other representing how well you work under supervision and deadlines.

3dt: Are you a member of any social media groups? Any favorite hashtags you check on a daily basis?
RA: Some 3D related groups on Facebook. I also have Instagram and Twitter (although Im still getting the hang of it). Im not the kind of person who posts a lot but I personally like Instagram and Twitter because its more straightforward and has more pictures than words. I follow many artists and colleagues for their work, studios and topics Im interested about. So its nice to be able to see just that.

3dt: How important is the recognition of your peers?
RA: Very much. I believe its authentic. Peers recognize accomplishments because they truly value them. And when you feel appreciated, it motivates you to do great works and perform better in future projects. Its great when you can get sincere feedback, compliments and exchange ideas.

3dt: What are your artistic ambitions?
RA: Ive always wanted to be able to work with something I really enjoy and have fun. I love modeling, more than anything else and thankfully, as time went by, I have been able to do this full-time and make a living. For the future, I hope to improve my skills, share my knowledge with people, contribute to the industry and keep working on what I have fun with: characters.

3dt: Who are your favorite artists, traditional or digital, and can you explain why?
RA: There are so many artists I like that its not fair to mention just some of them. But, here we go:
2D designers: I really appreciate the ones that have a more sketchy look, just lines either with color or not. Im a big fan of Cory Loftis, Jin Kim, TB Choi and recently Tako Makulele. They all have characters with strong personality and style.

3D/traditional: Chad Stubblefield, Dylan Ekren, Kent Melton and Mark Newman. They have a variety of appealing, clean and pleasant looking characters. Theyre able to convey expressiveness, attitude with precise strokes, through shapes. What they all have in common is their passion for their craft, transmitted through their work. They simply stand out.

3dt: What can we expect to see from you next?
RA: Theres a lot going on right now and Im trying to manage personal and professional work. Ive been working on my demo reel for a while, whenever I get the chance betweens jobs. Im also having the opportunity to practice modeling more intensively in longer experimental projects that unfortunately I cant disclose at the moment. So for the futur, some secret stuff, more personal character and my demo reel. Phew!

Related links

Check out Rayza on Instagram
Follow Rayza on ArtStation
Grab a copy of ZBrush Characters & Creatures

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