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Anthony Lever: 3D artist interview

Anthony Lever

3d artist

Australian 3D artist Anthony Lever talks about being inspired to create Max from “Life is Strange” in realistic 3D, and tips for setting career goals…

Anthony's ArtStation

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

Anthony

Hi, I’m Anthony, a 24 year old freelance 3D artist living in Perth, Australia. Back in 2013 I didn’t actually know what I wanted to do, I definitely didn’t expect that I’d be calling myself a professional artist someday. I had some interest in 3D software and programming from school, and like any teenage boy with a lot of free time, I also loved video games. So I decided to enrol in the Games Art and Design course at Murdoch University. The course itself gave an overview of everything that goes into making a game, but I quickly gravitated towards 3D art and found that I had a real passion for it, and now I can’t imagine myself doing anything other than this.

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

Anthony

I wanted to learn how to make realistic characters, and so I studied various books and tutorials for anatomy, clothing, and hair. After practising and doing some studies on those individual things, I felt I was ready to take on a whole character. I absolutely love the character Max from Life is Strange, and she was the perfect candidate to put everything I’d been learning into practice. Life is Strange does have a stylized aesthetic, but the characters in it are so well written that you can only think of them as real people, so I wanted this piece to reflect how I think of the main character, as a real person.

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

Anthony

The purpose of this project was to learn a lot of new things. This is my first attempt at a realistically rendered CG character. I did a lot of research to make sure that I was doing things the best way that I could. The hair in particular was a big challenge for me, it took many iterations and a lot of time to get something that I was happy with. I made mistakes along the way, and there are some things I should have done differently, but that’s all part of the learning process, and everything that I learned here will go into making my next project even better.

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

Anthony

With every new project I start, I always set a goal. The goal should be just outside of what you’re currently capable of; if you try to make a realistic digi-double for your first model you’re going to have a hard time. Usually for me it’s something like “with this project I want to improve my anatomy skills” or “I’d like to try this new software/workflow for this project.” I find that by doing this I’m always pushing myself to improve and learn something new, as well as stay well researched with the latest tools and techniques.

With every new project I start, I always set a goal. The goal should be just outside of what you’re currently capable of

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What are your artistic ambitions?

Anthony

I’d like to work in either the film or games industry as a character artist. Finding somewhere where I can grow as an artist, and make a living from doing what I love would be a dream come true. Wherever I end up, I never want to stop learning and improving as an artist.

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What can we expect to see from you next?

Anthony

I’ve already started working on my next personal project. I’d like to learn more about animal anatomy and fur, and I was inspired by the book series His Dark Materials to make a Pine Marten. I have plenty of other characters and creatures that I’d like to make, so stay tuned!

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