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Ali Daneshgar: lead 3D character artist interview

Ali Daneshgar

3D Character Artist

Lead 3D character artist Ali Daneshgar has worked on shows ranging from The Walking Dead to Supergirl. Find out his story so far, and learn some helpful tips for ZBrush and 3ds Max…

Ali's Artstation

3dtotal

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

Ali

My name is Ali Daneshgar. I'm from Iran and right now living in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles. I'm a senior 3D character artist and currently working as a lead on an unannounced project. I have worked as a character artist on various TV shows like Walking Dead, Titans, Black Lightning, The Flash, and Supergirl.

I started learning 3ds Max 2.5 as a hobby back in 1998 when I was only 13 years old. At the time there were not many resources to learn 3ds Max, and the only available documents were 3ds Max reference files which happened to have some tutorials as well. I remember one of the famous tutorials online was Joan D'Arc on 3dtotal that helped me to get a better grip of 3ds Max.

Later on, I started my career as a freelance 3D artist working with interior design companies. After a couple of years, I realized 3D architecture visualization was not really what I was looking for, since It had become repetitive for me somehow. That's when I pushed myself to learn ZBrush and on the side I started reading anatomy books. Later when I moved to the US, I started my career as a character artist and ever since I have been working on various TV shows.

reptilian creature 3d model
reptilian creature 3d model

Munchasaurus Rex - Beauty Pass & Clay Render

3d model wooden rearing horse
Patinated Rearing Horse - Close up

3dtotal

What was the workflow behind your latest gallery image? Where did the idea come from?

Ali

I had just bought the book the Daily Zoo by Chris Ayers and wanted to do a new ZBrush sketch every other night. My main goal was to sculpt something fun without the obligation of matching a real person, since my job involves making digital doubles of actors and actresses on a daily basis. Once I started working on Munchasaurus Rex, I really fell in love with the character, its expression, and the story it could tell without any words. So later on, it turned into a full project from a simple sketch.

For this piece, I mainly used ZBrush both for sculpting and even texturing. Once the sculpt was done in symmetry mode, I retopologized it, added the details and then posed it. I used 3ds Max and Redshift for the look dev. One of the tricks I usually like to use is taking advantage of the Output node in 3ds Max's material editor, which I will explain in the tutorial I'm making about Munchasaurus Rex. It basically gives you the ability to adjust and color correct your texture inside 3ds Max without having to go back to ZBrush or Mari.

3dtotal

What challenges did the image present? Did you learn something new?

Ali

One of the main challenges was matching the concept while keeping the sculpt looking good from different angles. If you want to go for one single still render, you might be able to do some hacks to match the concept composition-wise, but that wasn't what I was going after.

On the other hand, when you convert a 2D concept to a digital sculpture, you usually have to define the details more than what you see on paper, or else your render will look boring and won't do justice to the concept. In my case, I needed to do the scales in a specific way. I needed to keep the flow of scales a certain way so the stomach looks inflated, so throwing a scale texture wouldn't help. While I used a scale texture as an alpha, I still had to hand paint the scales for most part of the stomach, which was very tedious work, but I guess it paid off.

Last but not least, mood lighting is as important as the sculpture itself. Thanks to my senior lighting artist friend James Guard who showed me some cool tricks to make my sculpture look more interesting.

3dtotal

Do you use any other software, either for work or personal projects?

Ali

I use ZBrush for sculpting, for texturing characters I use Mari, and for hard surface objects I use Substance Painter at times. When it comes to shading and rendering, it all depends on the client and the company. I might use 3ds Max or Maya, with V-Ray, Redshift, or Arnold.

3dtotal

How do you keep your portfolio up-to-date? Any tips?

Ali

I usually update my demo reel at the end of each year. I gather all the shots, all the ones in which my characters have made an appearance, and pick the best ones and compile them into a 1-minute demo reel.

Being a character artist and working on TV shows mean you may not be able to show your work until a year after you have already finished the characters. Throughout the year you may have worked on over a dozen characters - it is always wise to write down the seasons and episodes your characters have appeared on the screen, that way when the company gives you permission to use your works on your demo reel, you can collect your works easier, without missing any of them.

Artists should also remember that to thrive, we have to dedicate a time outside of workplace and work on our own projects and arts, even if that means taking some weeks off so we can focus on our ideas.

3dtotal

Are you a member of any social media groups? Any favorite hashtags you check on a daily basis?

Ali

On Instagram some of the hashtags I follow are the ones related to the project I am currently working. So, when I was working on a wolf, I followed any account that had original photos of wolves from different angles. Later when I started look developing a horse, my Instagram was all about horses, their movements and poses. Instagram can be a great source of inspirations.

When I'm surfing on Facebook, I check Ten Thousand Hours, and Pixologic ZBrush. I usually check ZBrushcentral and Artstation to figure out what are the latest trends as well.

Last but not least, 3dtotal and CGsociety/CGtalk have been on my list of websites which I check on a regular basis since I started my journey into the world of 3D.

3dtotal

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

Ali

I used to live in Italy for some years, and there, I had the chance to see the works of some of the giants the history has ever seen to itself; among which Bernini's sculptures caught my eyes the most. His attention to the details and how he has conveyed different materials on marble only by the use of different textures is mind blowing.

Among modern sculptors I really love Richard Macdonald's works. Both of these artists have been able to capture the soul and life of the human spirit in their works, each to their own.

Among the digital artists, I love Wei Wang's works. To me Wei Wang has been the god of colors and storytelling. I really love how at times he uses only one or 2 colors to deliver a very high contrast image. His works, and the colors he has used for World of Warcraft has been a great source of inspiration for me for years.

3dtotal

What can we expect to see from you next?

Ali

I'm finishing off a sculpt of a caricature from a famous actress, the sculpt is almost complete, I'm planning on texturing, shading and lighting it, once I'm done with that, I'm going to jump back on doing some realistic portraits with blend shapes. Last year I had focused mainly on creating and look developing some animals and monsters from scratch all the way to look dev stage, while doing the groom as well. For me this year would be the year of making realistic portraits of some famous people for the most part.

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