How did you get involved with the THU Festival?
I guess I was one of the first people to hear about the festival. One day, André Luis from the THU team invited me for lunch and started describing his idea of creating a VFX and animation festival in Portugal. It sounded like a huge project and a big dream, but one thing I have learned in the past is that André is tenacious as hell and he can make impossible things happen. So, I told him that I would be willing to participate and help in any way I could. An event about my passion in my country. How could I not be willing to help? Having followed the project from the very beginning it is amazing what the organization has managed to achieve. I think this is going to be HUGE!
What kind of experience do you think you’ll get from the THU Festival, as well as the attendees?
The least I can say is that if I hadn’t been invited as a speaker, I would have bought a ticket. The speakers lineup is so great, I will be attending as much talks as I can. Also, there are many artists/fans that I have met online and which I will have the chance to meet personally. It will be a great time for learning, networking and partying! In which project do you think you’ve learned the most? What was the most challenging one?
Honestly, I think that I learn a lot from every project and can not pinpoint one in particular. In personal work, I always try to introduce a new aspect or technique that I had never used before. This allows me to tackle the difficulties and learning before using them in commercial work. “Le Rabbit” is probably the most painful one because I was learning hair at the time and it took me about 2 weeks to complete the rabbit’s fur. Now it can be done in a couple of days.
Best piece of advice for a young artist starting a career?
First learn the art, then learn the tools. Build your art foundation by learning what was important to artists 100 years ago, like color theory, values, composition, anatomy, etc. Software changes every couple of years but art knowledge will be your life time companion.
What piece of work are you most proud of?
If I have to isolate one, it has to be “Mouse Love” because it defined the moment in which my career (and life) changed.
If you could change places with another artist in the industry, who would that be?
I would love to be Löic Zimmermann for a few days! I would like to know how it feels to be great at painting, 3D and photography at the same time and having a rock star look! I will be lucky to meet him at the festival 🙂
You’re a big bowling fan. What’s the secret to a perfect strike?
I loved bowling, but unfortunately a wrist injury took me away from competition. It’s been a while since I have bowled. You have to hit the right side of the first pin in order for the ball to deflect to the middle of the rack and take the rest of the pins down in a domino effect. Bowling is about adapting to the lane changing conditions and consistence on the delivery. There is a lot more to it than non-players can see as most of the game has to do with solving the oil pattern and understanding its change over time. As oil is invisible, you have to read the ball reaction in order to read the lane pattern.
Is there a character, either from comics, movies or other medium, that you just wished you’ve made it yourself? On the other hand, which known character do you want to tackle some day?
There are many characters I´d love to have participated in: Mr. Fredricksen and Russell from Up (Pixar), the Furious Five from Kung Fu Panda (Dreamworks), Melman from Madagascar (Dreamworks), Sid from Ice Age (Blue Sky) and many, many more. A character that has never been translated to 3D I would love to model: Shere Khan, the tiger from Disney’s Jungle book. The latest character I have seen that surprised me: the goblin in Quantic Dream’s “The Dark Sorcerer” PS4 tech demo.
Favourite Disney animated movie of all time?
“Jungle Book”, a delight to the eyes at a time in which the Nine Old Men were the core of the studios. Thinking that it was possible to achieve such a level of movement quality, weight and character with a sequence of pencil drawings is just mind blowing.
Links
Trojan was a Unicorn Festival Website
