Peter Nowacki spent five years working as the lead 3D artist at Warsaw-based CGI production studio, ArsThanea, before deciding to go it alone, securing clients such as HBO Asia, Oppo, Facebook, Microsoft and few more in the process. With the world of 3D animation and artistry such a fast moving one, we wanted to find out more about how Peter's experiences working in 3D animation.
Hi Peter! First of all tell us, how did you come to specialise in 3D?
Everything started with me designing a few templates for a fantasy forum. After that I moved on to create simple photo-manipulation projects, and pretty soon I discovered both Unreal Editor and Cinema4D which landed me into the world of 3D!
These days I focus on the lighting and shading in animations and cinematics as well, in the process I shape the mood of an entire shot.
What are enjoying working on at the moment?
I love working on my personal arts and pieces. It allows me to unwind, gives me time to try new things, learn new software and experiment with new tools. Recently I set up my Instagram account to show all my works in progress.
The project I’ve learnt the most with recently was The Race Day. I had to experiment and master a few new bits of software which is always a good thing with so much new technology just around the corner.
Yes, you definitely work in a very fast-paced part of the industry for tech developments. What are you experimenting with at the moment?
Recently I’ve had a few opportunities experiment in VR and I’m excited about our future with it. Connecting VR with realtime engines will unearth endless possibilities…
What one thing would you love to work on in 3D but haven't had the chance to yet?
Probably VR as I said before. It’s rocking our world and although realtime engines look challenging at the moment this will change. I recently tried Unreal Engine and that was a really amazing, super fast media. Working on something connected to that would be a huge, but awesome, challenge.
You live in Warsaw, Poland. What keeps you inspired there?
Mostly it rains cats and dogs - but on those days I’m always looking for inspiration in art and design books. Working as a lighting artist requires you to understand light and shadows in their most efficient yet complex ways, so I’m always looking through photo albums that focus on composition.
What's been your biggest creative challenge on a project?
When you are working with clients there is always a timing pressure. And when you have a vision which will take you time to see through, you start to challenge yourself to deliver the image in a way which will make you proud. Every time you do this you’re pushing the boundaries and this is always my biggest challenge.
What do you want to master this year?
I definitely want to develop my skills in Allegorithmic's software and I’m always trying to learn more about light environments and how color works. For now, I’m digging through ‘Framed Ink’ by Marcos Mateu-Mestre and ‘Light for Visual Artists’ by Richard Yot which are both ‘must-reads’ for this!
