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José Rodríguez: 3D Character Artist interview

3D Character Artist, Jose Rodriguez, updates us with his latest working techniques and projects in this artist spotlight interview...

3D Character Artist, Jose Rodriguez, updates us with his latest working techniques and projects in this artist spotlight interview...

3dtotal: Tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you, what do you do, and where are you located?

Jose Rodriguez: My name is Jose Rodriguez and I'm a Spanish 3D Character Artist. I've been working in animation for fifteen years, between 2D animation, 3D animation movies and videogames. Right now I'm working in the characters department team at Ilion Animation Studios, in Spain, creating characters for their new movie with Paramount Pictures.

3D version of an Ignacio Güejes work

3D version of an Ignacio Güejes work

Personal work – Design and Modeling

Personal work – Design and Modeling

3dt: Where did you find the inspiration for your latest gallery entry? What's the story behind its creation?

JR: In this case the inspiration was a song with a Japanese background. I'm used to working with concepts from other artists because I feel more comfortable with that, but in this case I did my own concept to achieve something more personal.

3dt: What software and plug-ins did you use to create this image? Did you face any difficulties, and how did you overcome them?

JR: The initial idea was to do all the process like a videogame model, creating a low-Res version, UV maps, etc… but right now I have to start with a new project so I had to keep the process as simple as possible to finish it within a tight deadline. Everything was created in ZBrush and then finished in Photoshop to create the final image.

Character design by Jaime Martínez

Character design by Jaime Martínez

Character design by Jaime Martínez

Character design by Jaime Martínez

3dt: Do you normally use this software in your workflow? What other software and plug-ins do you favor?

JR: My main package is ZBrush mixed with 3ds Max or Maya, UV Layout, Xnormal and Topogun. I want to learn several tools more to improve my workflow so this is my next step.

3dt: Are there any particular techniques that you use often? Or do you like to experiment?

JR: I love to experiment and play with new tools to learn and practice, but the truth is that I don't have many spare time so when I have a new project in mind with a deadline, I prefer work with the workflow that I know.

Personal work – Design and Modeling

Personal work – Design and Modeling

Jolly Roger by Miki Montlló- Fan art

Jolly Roger by Miki Montlló- Fan art

3dt: What are your artistic ambitions?

JR: I would like to do some more characters with different styles and something more realistic to improve on this side.

3dt: What software would you like to learn in the future to expand your portfolio and skillset, and why?

JR: I have two programs pending to learn, Marvelous Designer because is great to achieve more realistic wrinkles in the cloth of your models, and at the same time is perfect to understand how the cloth works. The other program is Substance Painter because this is an awesome tool to create your textures while you can see the result in real time. I can see a lot of artists using those programs and it is very inspirational.

Anatomy practicing

Anatomy practicing

3dt: How do you keep your portfolio up-to-date? Any tips?
JR: The most important thing for me is to work as much as I can each day and at the same time have fun in each project. To me this is the only way that I know to work. The complexity of your work is not important; you can improve on each project even if you work on simple things.

3dt: Who are your favorite artists, traditional or digital, and can you explain why?

JR: Is difficult to choose only one favorite artist, I usually follow many artists with different styles like Rafael Grassetti, Zack Petroc, Adam Fisher, Dylan Ekren, Chung Kan, Daniel Bel, Daniel Orive... It's a long list to choose only one artist.

3dt: What can we expect to see from you next?

JR: Right now I'm working on two short film at the same time in my spare time, one of them is for Christian Dan; this project is great because here I have the great opportunity to work with awesome designs made by Borja Montoro and at the same time work again with an awesome team.

The other short film is for Ben Sanders, another very interesting project, perfect to do something different to the rest of my works and at the same time a great opportunity to work with different people and learn other forms of work.

Trent Kaniuga's Twilight Monk – Character Fan Art

Trent Kaniuga's Twilight Monk – Character Fan Art

Related links

Check out Jose's official site
Jose's work in the gallery
Grab a copy of ZBrush Characters & Creatures

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