Ankush Khare: lead character artist interview

My name is Ankush Khare. I am currently working as a lead character artist in a gaming company in India. I started my career as a freelance illustrator in 2003. While working I learned about game arts and in 2007 I began my career in the gaming industry. I am currently living in Guragon, India.

This is my personal work based on the illustration of The Witcher steelbook cover. It was created by Bartlomiej Gawel. Generally my workflow is slightly different based on the type of 3D model I create, but for the most part I follow the same series of steps. In my present 3D character workflow, I have started collecting references and preparing a mood board. Next I work on the blocking by using Zspheres, then I work on the primary shapes, refinements, and their silhouette. Finally, I work on the refinement and the final details. I used KeyShot for rendering and presentation in my latest gallery Image.

This is my personal work, based on the illustration of The Witcher steelbook cover. It is created by Bartlomiej Gawel.

Before working on it I researched about the story behind this illustration. This orc is a cursed princess. My objective was to retain the beauty and aggression in my 3D model. I did a few amendments, keeping this in my mind. There are few extra elements I added to balance the composition from each angle.

The basic challenge when creating a 3D model is to keep the essence of the concept/illustration from each angle. It was really encouraging when I got a comment from Bartlomiej Gawel (creator of the illustration) that he loved it.

I use ZBrush for digital sculpting. Maya or 3ds Max for low-poly mesh creation. I also use Marvelous Designer and Substance Painter in my workflow. I used to work every day on my personal portfolio. It could be more or less but I try to work every day. I would suggest artists not to stretch too much on a single work. Choose a decent timeline, give your best and move on. Also, do not hesitate to hear feedback from other artists or friends as it will encourage you to do even better for the next assignment.

I follow Pixologic and the Ten Thousand Hours group on Facebook. As a Blizzard fan I never miss a chance to check any work of Blizzard. There are few websites like 3dtotal, ZBrushcentral, CGsociety, and Artstation that I check on a daily basis.

You feel motivated when you get recognition from your peers. It improves confidence and self esteem. First and foremost, it creates teamwork and a learning environment. I think we must appreciate and value good work. It also feels great to get the recognition from various websites. I got staff picked by 3dtotal, top row by ZBrushcentral, picked by Artstation, a CG award and featured by CGsociety, and so onc. I would like to thank them for doing this.

There are various concepts and ideas that are running through my mind. I want to give them life with lots of learning and experiments. It includes establishing a different approach to 3D and character creation. I have a plan to work on it and hope it will happen soon.

I love both mediums. People who are strong in traditional, are doing great in digital. There are a lot of artists that I follow. I really get inspired by Rafael Grassetti and Glauco Longhi. The quality and amount of work they do is remarkable. I started my career by watching the amazing work of Kris Costa and Alex Oliver. Apart from them, I really like the work of Dan Crossland and Bruno Camara. They all are my favorite and their work inspires me a lot.

Over the past few months I have been getting messages to create a tutorial. I have a plan to work on it. Hopefully in the next couple of months I will release a tutorial for character creation where I will describe my workflow. Apart from that, I am working on Ryu and texturing a few models in my portfolio.