Interview with Tudor
by 3D AddictTudor interview coming up.This is the first interview with a tracer in GFXZ.Whether you are interested in tracing or not, this interview is just as interesting as any other in this mag.Afterall, Tudor is one of the best scene tracers today, and a member of TBL.Read the interview and check his gallery :)
3D Addict
Tudor
Ok. Let's start with the usual question.Tell me a little bit about yourself.
My real name is Henrik Andersson. am 22 years old. Very much unemployed, just do minor jobs for a swedish amiga magazine, Amiga Info, and a webpage company. Just moved to a new town to start a new school, VR/Multimedia. Hopefully it will make it easier to get a job once I get it on paper that I can do 3d (And I pretty much enjoy using SGIs all day long :).
Using SGI all day long?Well, who wouldn't enjoy that.:)Please describe yourself as a person.Are you a cool type of a guy ormore funny one?Do you take life seriously or are you more relaxed and live the life without thinking much about the future?
I am a lazy bastard. If didn't have someone to kick me in the butt once in a while I would never get anything done.
And serious. well.. depend on how you look at it. I live my life among the clouds and I am very serious about doing lots of >>daydreaming. Just wish I could get a job doing just that. Actually I couldnt care less about what happens around me. I live life at >>my own pace.
I see: )hmm, do you remember your first computer? And what computer do you use now?Do you also miss the the good old days of c64 and A500?
My 1st computer was the all time greatest ZX Spectrum 48k. It is broken now, but I just gotta get it fixed. They don't make games as they used to. Jetpac. JetSet Willy, Saboteur. Retrogaming rocks! I have just recently discovered the world of the c64. Never liked it when I was younger. Was kinda like the Atari/Amiga war between my ZX 48k and C64 friends. Right now I am using both Amiga and PC. Amiga to have fun, the PC to render on and play games. My amiga is probably one of the biggest amigas around. PC big tower. Took quite an effort to build my amiga into it, but it was worth it. My PC sux. only an AMD k5 133, and I am out of HD space, and I blame it all on Wintel!
How and when did you become involved in the scene and when did you start drawing/tracing?
Think it was sometime back in 1993. TBL, very very small group at that time didnt have any graphician. At a party rubberduck stood up and asked everyone if there was any graphicians around. without them even seeing any of my work I got in.
Before that I had hardly done any drawing on computers, only with pen and paper. Kept on doing 2d gfx for about 2 years, but I more and more moved on to doing 3d instead. Started out with using real3d 1.3. Really crappy program. Later moved on to using Imagine 3d. It is still one of my favourites. Well.. then Rodney and Louie joined TBL and I dropped 2d totally. Just couldnt compete with them.
Which hardware/software do you use for tracing, and where do you get the inspiration from?
right now I use my PC k5 133, 48mb, 1.6Gb for tracing. My inspiration. wow, how can you explain that. Guess It comes as a mix from pictures I see everyday and my twisted mind. I study lots of classical motives like egypt, easter islands and stuff like that. I then try to mix them with some nice athmospherical effects. Mostly what happens though is that I start out making an object and the picture grows from there, like -Hey this object would look nice in a picture that looks like **.
The software I use are Lightwave and 3ds MAX. MAX sux. but it seems to be preffered by a lot of ppl, so I just had to try it out. Lightwave on the other hand is a dream come true. I just love it.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of your computer, and how many of those hours are used on making gfx?
Lately is hasnt been much. Get enuff of computers at school. But when being unemployed for a year, living at home with my parents I probably spent about 7-8 hrs a day in front of my computer. Most of the time just trying to get windows to do what I want.
Play some games. prefferably warcraft2 and red alert. But I probably spend about half the time doing 3d. Dont get that many pictures out though. Just sitting playing around in Lightwave doing objects, deleting them, doing new ones, deleting them. I just enjoy making 3d models. I think I would do that even if there wasnt a way to render them. Basically I am a modeler not an animator.
I see.What about 2D, do you do some pixelling as well?
Did before, stopped, and have now started again when I got photoshop. It is if photoshop was written with just me in mind. It suites me perfect. Not doing photorealistic stuff though. I prefer doing design-art instead. Things that are hard to raytrace.
Yes, I agree, things that are hard to raytrace can be easier done drawing.Tell me, when you create your models, do you have a perfect vision in your mind or do you create more freely, by letting your model evolve in whatever direction you may feel like it.
I start out with a crystal clear vision, but it usually turnes out as crap. I add some, remove some, and it alll turns out completely different from what I intended.
Hehe :) Please describe in steps how do you create an image.Do you start by making an sketch on paper, or is everything done on the computer.
All on computer. I start out by either seeing a picture that inspires me, or I make an object and it inspires me. I have tried to sketch some ideas down, but my visions changes so fast that it is just impossible.
Well, from time to time, I do some sketching too.The problem is that the final sketch is usuallly way too complex to model/render.Anyway, how long does it take to create a good image for you, and what are the most important aspects of making a great image?
Hmm. depends. Some pictures there are weeks behind. Some pictures were made in hours. Many of my pictures are actually just frames from an animation that might have taken weeks to do. Mostly I dont take that long fo me to make an image though. 2-3 days, from which 1 to 1.5 days are spent tweaking the light settings and so on. But usually I use object that I have made a long time ago.
I read somewhere in the 3d magazine: a 3d picture should be 25% modeling, 25% textures and 50 % light. Way to often you see ppl forgetting that. I tend to lack good textures. Lighting I am improving on. Modeling I just gotta cut donw on. I spend way to much time doing that as it is now. One thing I really hate are shiny renders. It was fun when raytracing was new, but now it just looks ridiculous. Another thing is the overextended use of lensflares. In real life, lensflares are something that a photographer tries to avoid. Sure, you can get some flashy pictures out of it, but I just see too much of it everywhere.
I couldn't agree more :)Especially about the lens thing.You said earlier that you could live with modelling alone.What do you find the most difficult to model, and which phase of your modelling do you enjoy most.
I can't model machines. I dont know why.Maybe it is the accuracy needed. I prefer doing organic stuff. I want everything I do to express something. You cant do that with mechanical stuff. What I enjoy most of all is seeing everything evolve more and more. Starting out with a simple cube it grows to become a human face. That is pure pleasure.
:) Do you use any special techniques.Please describe which tracing tools/plug-ins and techniques do you use mostly.
I dont like to use plugins. I kinda feels like the computer says "stand back and let me do the work". It takes the personality out of the picture. This is thinking in LW terms though. In 3dsMAX you cant do anything without plugins, the modeler is just too weak. The techniques I use are those used by real life photographers. Frog/bird perspective. Back light side light. Trying to get ppl to see movement in a still picture. Study any of my pictures for vertical/horizontal/diagonal lines and you will hopefully see that I try to keep a picture uniform in style.
Hmm.It's true, that plug-ins in 3DSMax let's you do most things easier and faster.I guess this have something to do with the "time=money" syndrome.Ok, let's talk about rendering for a while.How does the long rendering time affect you?Are you willing to wait long hours, or are you more impatient type of a guy?
Lazy as I am I like the computer to render for a long time so I dont have to go back to working on the picture for a while. If I was impatient I could never go throught the long hours of modeling before I can see the final picture.
hehe, everything have it's advantages :) Just of curiosity, which image took the longest to render and which took the longest to make/model?
Hm. Gotta go back to my days when rendering on my amiga for that one. T-real took quite some time to render. about a day and a half I think.
In modeling I think that the t-egypt picture took the longest. Did the objects for that one in imagine. No subdivide there. Had to place every point by hand and subdivide that way.
Lots of work, but which of your images do you consider as the best one and which was the most difficult to create?
Depends on which mood I am in. Right now I prefer t-egypt. but maybe t-dolph is better..
The most difficult to create was t-egypt by far.
Both images are good, but my favourite is t-dolph, out of these two. Ok, a question about 2D.What do you think about redrawing?
sux bigtime. Same as using someone elses object in a picture you then place your own name onto.
I agree completely.I just wish more pixellers begun doing their own images.
Ok, well, since you have been an active scener since '93, you must have seen a lot of pics made by 2D graphicians.Who is your favourite graphician and why?
Facet I think. He shows a great variety in his pictures. He doesnt just model beautiful women but also darker, more freaked out stuff.
What about tracers?Do you have any favourite tracers?
Skyphos is great. Good sense of design. Also like Meson/NVX. His pic at asm97 was great!
Ok. Do you have any favourite groups, musicians, coders, diskmags?Favourite demo?
hrm.. I would just sound like an ass when I just mentioned TBLers ;) Home team rocks the most.
Tell me about your future party plans, are you heading for TP'97 or Saturne'97, other parties?
Going to TP97 for sure. would't miss it for the world. Also going to some local parties here in Sweden.
I guess everybody is heading for TP7 :)Tell me, what does the scene mean to you, and which aspects do you like/dislike about it?
What I like the most is that so many ppl with so many interests can come together. Mostly ppl with atleast some talent aswell. Good friendship, mutual admiration.
What I don't like is the disrespect towards newcomers though and the fact that as soon as a group becomes big, everyone starts talking crap abut them.
Have you ever considered a carrier as a professional graphician?
I cant find any other field of work that I would want to work with, and I am trying my best to find a job. Very hard without a degree from some art school or references from an earlier job though. Easier for 2d graphicians. Currently I am doing the GFX for the swedish amiga mag Amiga Info, and also writing articles for it.
I am also involved with an american based webpage production company. Not much action in that company so far, but it will grow. Apart from that I get request from friends and family to do stuff for them all the time.
I see.What are your other interests/hobbies, besides your scene activities?
party :)
heHe. Who is your favourite artist outside the scene?
Vincet van Gogh and Spar Streets.
Do you believe in God?What is the meaning of life?
God is the biggest fraud of all times. It is only a way for one person to by fear control another man. I could go on talking about that for ages, but some ppl are already pissed at me because of a picture I made with jesus on the crucifix giving the viewer the finger ;) The meaning of life is simple. Leave something positive behind you that will be remembered.
I agree.One last question how did you come up with your handle/alias?
I probably started out with the most ridiculous handle of them all.. Snorpax Tudor. It was the name of a saved game on the amiga. Just put the most stupid thing I could come up with. Dropped Snorpax after a while though. Sounded too rediculous.
Would you like to say Hello to anyone?
Hi Mum!
(is your Mum going to read this?)Thank you for your time, and best of all in your future plans as a graphician. :)
Thanx. Same to you.
Thank you :)
check out Tudor gallery
