| CGX
: |
Hi
Blochi. Is that actually pronounced as "Blo-K", "Blo-Shay"
or "Blo-Key? Pardon me if I get all of them wrong. |
| Bloch
: |
No
worries, it's actually "Blo-Ri", in fast conversation
merely "Plorri", and when yelled at a long distance
it sounds like "Plooo-Riiiii". |
| |
| CGX : |
You’ve got
some pretty good stuff there. Can you tell us how you got into
3D graphics? |
| Bloch
: |
Huu - its not easy
to mark the beginning. Formerly, I was quite mad about coding.
At the age of 12, I wrote my first BASIC programs down on paper
because I didn’t even have a computer. Later, when I had
a C64, I used to render strange fractal images all night long.
And ’93 then, on my Amiga1200 I made a Jump’n Run
in BASIC. That was a cool game - you had a little skateboarder
and rolled through a pre-rendered level, with parallax scrolling
and all that... hehe. That was the time when I got into 3D,
because I rendered the level graphics in MaxxonCinema4D. I wanted
to make it as nice as possible, so I spent three months on the
first level itself. I discovered that this was much more fun
than coding. |
| CGX
: |
Have you always
had an interest in CG and 3D or was that interest inspired by
someone or something? |
| Bloch
: |
ISeems like I always had a constructive
mind. None of my childhood toys was fabricated, it was all about
puzzles, construction kits, clay, aviation models and that stuff.
I’d call this real-world 3D. And after getting some general
computer experience with programming, I just turned back to
this. In the early days I had a consistent daily routine: going
to school, riding my skateboard ‘til the sun goes down
and then doing 3D ‘til I fall asleep. 3D was a big interactive
game to me, my favorite toy… and that has never changed.
|
 |
| CGX : |
When did you begin using
LightWave and why did you choose that software? Which version
did you start on? |
| Bloch
: |
That was in 1995,
right after school. Here in Germany we have a choice of opting
to serve in either the Army Service or the Social Service, the
general duty for the boys. As I was not interested in war at
all, I worked in a mental hospital for a year. Although occasionally
there were crazy people running around in the meadows, it was
generally a quiet place and my duties were minimal. I met these
two guys who ran a little 3D company, doing backgrounds for
games and television trailers with LightWave. They asked me
to join them, and together we were called ”Tridens”.
So I took my Amiga to the basement where I hang around all day
and they gave me LightWave 3.5 and a ”Cyberstorm”
turbo card. It was a year of extensive training: I labeled the
keys with LW- shortcuts, and booted directly into Modeler. I
was very enthusiastic about the workflow in LW, because the
keyboard is the toolbox, which makes 3D much more game-like.
And even in the version 3.5 you had all these features like
Metaform, Bones and procedural surfaces... so I had a lot to
play with. My Amiga was constantly on for half a year, until
my boss received a huge electricity bill, hehe... |
| |
 |
| CGX : |
What was the very
first animation you produced? Could you tell us a little bit
about that? |
| Bloch
: |
Heh, that’s a funny story...I’m
a leading member of the local skate club, and for about 3 years
we were begging the city for a public skate park. But they never
agreed, because they could not imagine what we wanted. So I
took my Amiga to the youth center, connected it to a projector
and adjusted modeler’s grid to a 1:1 measure. Then all
the skaters sat together in the room and I outlined the ramp
shapes in real world size. Back in my hospital basement, I modeled
a solid construction of balks, joists and planks, put all the
ramps on a ground plane and rendered a long camera fly-by. Additionally,
I did a full round spin of each ramp, showing the construction.
There was no background, no textures and no shadows. I put it
all together in a Scala project, brought my Amiga back, connected
it to the projector and then we presented it to some city representatives.
They just freaked out, and soon the park was built, right out
of the LightWave models. And believe me - it’s an incredible
feeling to skate on my own models made real... |
| CGX : |
Well, you and your trusty
little Amiga seem to have come a long way. Do you still use
the 'little fellow' these days? |
| Bloch
: |
Unfortunately not. It died some
years ago in a spectacular way. The screen imploded and the
hard disk crashed with a horrible sound, like metal scratching
on metal. Huu ... makes me shiver when I think of it. I'm afraid
I broke his little heart, because I played a lot with the SGIs
in my uni these days. Stupid little thing - jealous he was...
|
 |
| CGX : |
Blochi, how would you rate
LightWave in comparison to the other leading software? |
| Bloch
: |
LightWave isn’t just a
tool. For me it’s kind of a lifestyle. No other 3D package
has such a strong community, where everybody just loves to share
with each other. That’s why you find so many LightWave
Tutorials on the net. Most beginners are scared of the interface,
which almost looks like a game. But that’s exactly what
LightWave is supposed to be - it’s rather a fun toy than
another boring computer application. And when you get familiar
with the interface, when you get into the flow, then you will
notice that it all makes sense and this is the only way a 3D
program can function properly. See, a pull down-menu may be
useful for MSWord, because you need the keyboard for text input.
But 3D is different, you rarely type in text. So why not use
the keyboard to change your tool, leaving the mouse at your
object? So you do in LightWave. In all other 3D software you
have to break your fingers using shortcuts, or you browse the
pull down menus for hours. In LW you just hit the first letter
of the tool you need.
You know, LightWave is made by artists for artists - and that
really shows. The workflow is the most fluent that you can think
of, and the interface is the only one that really fits to the
needs of a 3D artist. In setting any values, lets say for surface
reflectivity or the size of a surface fractal, you do this on
a percent scale or in real world measure. Most other software
need abstract numbers, but why? Other software want you to think
in computer language, but LightWave understands human values.
In Maya I’ve even seen a slider ranging from 0 to 10, but
any value above 0.1 causes it to crash on render... Did I mention
LightWave’s famous render engine? It’s remained unbeatable
for years, and even improved in [6.5] ! |
 |
| CGX : |
In your work, LightWave is
frequently used for / in… |
| Bloch
: |
Despite the fact that I’m
actually a student, I use it for any CG work within students’
projects. When I was asked to give a lecture on DVD technology,
I visualized it with LightWave. When we produced a campus broadcast,
I did the Trailer with LightWave. When we did a Director-CD,
I made all screen graphics in LightWave. Once we wanted to have
a time accelerated sunrise in our university’s image video
and tried filming it three times, but the problem was; you have
to fix the camera before the sun goes up - it’s very frustrating
to sit at 4 a.m. on a roof top and to notice afterwards your
guess was wrong. So I did it in LightWave and nobody even thought
it was CG. My studies deal with every aspect of multimedia production,
and so does my LightWave work |
| CGX : |
Has it significantly impacted
your studies in any way? |
| Bloch
: |
I think so, because in every
project group I participated, I did the graphics. That was good
practice, and on the other hand my work was always welcomed.
Soon I was employed as academic assistant, and was given my
own SGI studio. Upon request of my faculty’s dean I even
conducted a LightWave course, teaching students who were actually
older than myself... |
| CGX : |
In all the work you’ve
produced with LightWave, which is your favourite and proudest
achievement to date? |
| Bloch
: |
IMy favorite is the disc world
short movie I did back in ’99. It is not the best
looking, indeed, but it was definitely the most challenging
production. It featured a dragon and a live luggage, both are
characters out of my favorite novel, written by Terry Pratchett.
I did a storyboard based on the whole novel once, but I discovered
that this would be a full length movie. So I did this 3-minute
short as a realization test. The story was quite weak, because
it was extracted from the big story. Nevertheless, it projected
a cinematic feeling, and that’s what it was all about.
But man, it was a huge amount of work. I spent the 3 months’
evenings doing all the models, setups, animations, rendering
and editing. Transferring this to a 90-minute movie, I would
need approximately 8 years. So I had to get rid of the naive
enthusiasm to make the whole movie all alone. I’m sure
I will do this movie sometime, somehow, probably inside a big
production studio. I made it the meaning of my life to prepare
for this, my mission on earth. And since that day I feel happy,
because I do know why I’m here... (By
the way, a new 1-minute-version of this short is located www.Blochi.com/gfx/anim/draco_vs_chest.avi)
|
 |
| CGX : |
Hmm…a very philosophical
statement indeed. So Blochi, what are your strong points in
CG? |
| Bloch
: |
Probably modeling. Or animation.
I don’t know .... better let the others decide.. |
| CGX : |
In your opinion, what’s
the most fascinating aspect of CG animation? |
| Bloch
: |
To see how a vision becomes
alive. It is this perfect combination of the creative aspects
of filmmaking, sculpturing and painting, that opens a whole
new way of storytelling. It’s amazing to take part in the
development of this new kind of art, and wonder where it will
go to. |
| CGX
: |
What do you think
the most important points are in a scene to make it look good?
|
| Bloch
: |
The original idea,
of course. If the concept doesn’t rock, the scene will
never do. Speaking in terms of a director, there has to be a
significance of the subject that makes a scene worth a shot.
|
 |
| CGX : |
Point well taken. Now most
CG artists and designers have a personal style or significant
trademark. What would yours be? |
| Bloch
: |
I like it bright and funny.
I never did like dark scary pictures, because the world is scary
enough. Every single smile I can evoke makes the average emotion
of mankind a tiny bit brighter, I think. So my visual style
is about bright warm colors, soft shaped objects and fluent
motions. |
| CGX : |
That’s interesting.
So you draw inspiration from … |
| Bloch
: |
Mainly books. Especially Terry
Pratchett’s great Discworld novels. They are an inexhaustible
source of inspiration. He characterizes all kinds of well-known
fantasy figures, but they are kinda like acting in a Monty Python
movie. Its great fun to read and always sets me in this certain
mood to create something similar. My preferred sources of visual
inspiration are the traditional artworks of Boris Vallejo, Luis
Royo, Paul Kidby. And, of course, reality itself. I always keep
my eyes open, especially on bright sunny days ... |
 |
| CGX : |
Satisfaction is ... |
| Bloch
: |
... around everywhere. Getting
love back from my girlfriend, having a good skate session with
my friends, getting a positive feedback on my images as well
as the process of doing 3D itself - all these things I really
enjoy. I’m a happy guy. |
| CGX : |
You see yourself heading
… |
| Bloch
: |
... I hope to have a job in
a big production house, maybe I will even work on the project
of my dreams: an animated Discworld movie. |
| CGX : |
I understand you're job hunting
right now. Given the choice, which organization would you like
to work for? |
| Bloch
: |
A job training position at Foundation
Imaging would be great. |
| CGX
: |
Any reason for
that choice? |
| Bloch
: |
It's just a first idea - in
fact Digital Domain, Computer Cafe, Flat Earth or Pixel Magic
would be fantastic, too. My actual goal is to get an impression,
what working in California is all about, get in contact with
some kind people, do some work for the big screen. I want to
know, what's behind the California Dreaming, to have an own
base of knowledge for the decision if this is it, what I'll
be heading for. |
| CGX : |
Are there any 3D artists
whom you admire and draw inspiration from? |
| Bloch
: |
Oh, there are so many that its
hard to pick individual names. Giving it a try, Jean-Marc Ariu,
Bill Fleming, Craig Mullins and Taron fall into my mind, but
there must be thousands I forgot. |
| CGX : |
The best part about being
a CG artist is ... |
| Bloch
: |
... that I can play my favourite
game all day and even get paid for it. |
| CGX : |
One final question Blochi.
You come across as a very happy-go-lucky kind of person here.
What’s your secret to happiness? |
| Bloch
: |
Don't know - there is no secret
at all. It's all about a positive attitude. I've just discovered
that negative thoughts are a waste of mental energy. If you
argue too much or keep looking for the guilty one, this just
restricts your mind. What happens, keeps happening. So let's
make the best of it. Another very refreshing thing is skateboarding.
Excessive physical movement really frees my mind. Maybe it's
some kind of Buddhism I celebrate this way, or maybe it's just
the endorphins rushing through my blood. But it definitely makes
me feel good ... |
|
Click Grafix thanks Christian Bloch for his time and effort,
and wishes him all the best in the job hunting. Blochi can
be reached at Blochi@Blochi.com.
Pop into www.blochi.com
to view more of his works.
|
