Hi everyone! We continue series of short interviews with the best artists from Hum3D competitions.
David Quinn, author of the “Tacos Del Rosas”, will answer six questions and give us a look behind the scenes of his work.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do and how did you become a 3D artist?
My name is David Quinn, and I am the owner and designer of The Digital Blacksmith. I am an autistic designer with over 20 years of experience designing for video games, the automotive industry, and prop design.
All of my life, I have been working with any medium I could get my hands on, and when I got a trial of 3DS Max, it just instantly clicked and became my main go-to tool. I grabbed every tutorial I could get, learned as much as I could, and ended up getting my first big 3D job only half a year after using the program!
What was the workflow behind your latest challenge image? Where did the idea come from?
I have also been an award-winning chef for many years, so I wanted to pay homage to that in this challenge with a food truck design. And who doesn’t love a good taco truck?
For this challenge, I knew I had to go big. My workflow is usually less of a concise flowchart and more of a chaotic “what will look good here” kind of thing. I design something, maybe delete it later if I don’t like it, maybe move it somewhere it will be better, sometimes even saving it and putting it into another project. I ended up working with at least 5 different environments before finding the one I was happy with.
What challenges did the image creation? Did you learn something new?
I learned I needed to calm down a little bit when designing. I tried doing more and more and more with this project and ended up with a file that had over 200 million polys and took hours to render due to the thousands of lights.
How often do you do personal projects and keep your portfolio up-to-date? Which one is your favorite?
I try to do a few personal projects or challenges a few times a year just to keep my brain awake and moving. I am always trying to keep my portfolio up and running, but with life, family, and sickness at times, it’s been hard to keep up with it on a consistent schedule.
I cannot pick a favorite personal project. They are like my children! They are all unique in their own way, but if I had to pick one, it would be my first entry into these competitions as a whole, with a 1959 Impala. It did not win, but it got put into Lowrider Magazine!
What or who inspires you today? Are you a member of any art communities? Any favorite hashtags you check on a daily basis?
For this project, in particular, I was heavily inspired by the works of Syd Mead and older media such as The Jetsons and Megaman. In general, though, I am inspired by anything and everything. There is no one thing in particular that screams out to me.
Please tell us your five short tips for creating 3D art.
– Always try to do something new as often as you can. In this field, like all others, you should never stop learning!
– Join communities and competitions. You can never grow properly if you don’t receive feedback on your work. Plus, having friends in the community is always nice!
– Find your style. You need to learn what you excel at to be the best you, and your style is what will help you stand out in this field.
– Don’t burn yourself out. It’s ok to take a break and breathe for a moment.
– Embrace the chaos. You never know what’s going to happen, so sometimes it’s best to just flow with it and see what happens!
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