Russian
Name – Andre Serpa founder of “ja-project”
Age – 38
Job – Freelance 3D Artist
Country – Portugal/ Germany (currently in Berlin)
Website – www.ja-project.net
Facebook
3DA: How did you start working in 3D field? How much time has been passed?
AS: I started 3D in 1998 when I was studying at the architecture university in Lisbon with a software called Calligary and then moved on to 3D Studio V1 in DOS!!
I was tired of doing scale models and I didn’t fit the type of architecture I was doing so I needed something that allowed me to visualize complex shapes in a faster and more creative way and that’s when i started using 3D as design tool.
3DA: Which are your favorite software and plugins for your daily projects?
AS: I really try to keep it simple, over the time I tried to use different softwares but when I moved to New York and became a professional 3D Artist, Max and Vray was the standard software in all the companies I’ve worked for and I got so used to the unlimited power of 3ds Max and Vray with a minimum of scripts and plug-ins and Photoshop + Lightroom for post production. I think Vray Multi-Scatter is a great add on and makes big scenes a lot faster and realistic. For fun and design some parametric plugins can also be very interesting for more complex geometries on more creative projects.
3DA: Tell us something about a project that gave you great satisfactions
AS: I really have fun doing my own projects, it helps me to detach a little bit from the professional work and create and design my ideas. I think the voronoi table and Lounge where really rewarding both in terms of designing and final result as 3D images. We use fracture Voronoi to generate the individual cells of the furniture and the lounge clusters and the result was very interesting as we tried different modeling solutions to achieve the final solution. Another thing that gives me a lot of satisfaction is automotive modeling and rendering due to the complexity of shapes and variety of materials is perfect for practicing and improving your 3d skills.
3DA: From where do you take inspiration for your artworks?
AS: I use photography as a big inspiration and resource for my work. I always take thousands of architecture pictures when I travel and use them as references. Also there’s an amount of talented architects and 3D artists that I follow for their amazing work and creativity.
3DA: What would you suggest to people that are approaching to 3D and architecture?
AS: Like I said before, keep it simple and don’t try to overdo it. Modeling skills are very important and you will need a lot of patience and above all love what you do! always make the project you are working on a challenge and try to push it to the next level
