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Cristian Bolivar: 3D artist interview

"Being part of a team is very important for me, and I am always looking to surround myself with artists that push me further.” Find out more about Cristian Bolivar and his awesome animal-oriented artworks...

3dtotal

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

Cristian

My name is Cristian Bolivar. I am from Bogota, Colombia. I am a lighting and lookdev artist, and I work in Mompozt Animation Studios as a 3D artist. I’m mostly focused on lighting, lookdev, and grooming, I dedicate most of my free time to my personal projects, and I also enjoy to play the guitar and spend time with my pets. I am always trying to improve my stuff in different ways, technically and artistically.

3dtotal

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

Cristian

I really love animals in general. If you check my portfolio you will see that animals are a very common topic in my personal projects. I am really into the CGI grooming world these days so that gives me a nice chance to explore different creatures. I love foxes and I think they are very photogenic, so I found this amazing concept by Mr Zizz. This little guys has a lot of personality and nice vibes to me. So that was my starting point.

3dtotal

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

Cristian

This project was a challenge itself because it's my first project using Houdini for grooming, so I had to do a lot of research trying to figure out new workflows. That's why this project took me longer than expected. I was actually learning a new tool, it was a nice experience. Houdini is a very powerful tool.

3dtotal

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

Cristian

My main software is Maya. As I told you before I am focused on lookdev and lighting so I use different render engines depending on the software. But mainly Arnold or Octane. For grooming, I use Yeti or XGen depending on the project. For texturing, I use Substance Painter and Photoshop.

3dtotal

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

Cristian

I always try to have a few personal projects on the go. But also feed my reel with professional work – it's important to keep your portfolio alive even with any work in progress, of course with a nice presentation. People also like to see part of the process. But take care of not abusing these because it is very very important being able to show finalized artworks.

3dtotal

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

Cristian

10K hours is a very nice Facebook group, with a lot of talented people. I also belong to CG groomers. There, I have learned a lot. On instagram, MDCommunity has a lot of very cool stuff. I also follow a couple of photographers that provide me with very cool references.

3dtotal

What are your artistic ambitions?

Cristian

I want to explore new things, different kinds of characters, and I want to study character modeling. Years of being only into the lookdev has made me a lazy modeler, so I want to go back to ZBrush and try new characters with more complexity. I also want to try some environment modeling and lookdev. I also want to explore unreal.

3dtotal

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

Cristian

Victor Hugo Queiroz is a huge influence for me and my art style. His work shows me a different approach of what a 3D artist could be. Gaston Pacheco is also one of my favorites. I love his style and sense of color. I love Roger Deakin , he has a very strong storytelling skill, using color and lighting. Vyacheslav Mishenko is one of my favorite photographers, the use of very wide lenses and dramatic color. I love it! For character design I love the style of Matthew Armstrong and Chris Ryniak.

3dtotal

What can we expect to see from you next?

Cristian

For sure there is going to be more stylized animals. I already have a couple of them on the road.  Also some fan arts and some environment exploration, but most of this is focused on improving and learning new tools. I also want to be part of bigger, better projects. I want to work and learn with new people. Being part of a team is very important for me, and I am always looking to surround myself with artists that push me further.

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