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We talked to Kenichi Nishida about 3D modeling and his work in this field.

Hi, Kenichi. Let’s start out with a bit of general background: tell us a few words about yourself and how it happened you became a 3d modeler

Hi, I’m Kenichi Nishida, born in Tokyo, Japan. Now I’m working for Sega VE (Marza) as a senior modeler. Especially I have expertise in organic surface modeling for five years. Before I became a 3D modeler, I was working at a studio mainly making TV commercials. At the studio I had to do all steps to finish the commercials, such as ;
modeling, rigging, animation, rendering, and so on. So fortunately!? I learned several types of skills at the same time. I especially liked to do modeling work. So I decided to
be a 3D modeler. And then fortunately Sega was just looking for modelers to make a full cg film. And I got a chance to become a modeler for Sega thanks to my friend who was
already working at Sega.

What was the reason of choosing this occupation? Did you start it as hobby or your aim was to build up a career in this field? Do you remember your first work? Was it challenging?

It’s an easy question for me to answer. I just wanted to be an Artist when I was child. Of course at that time, there weren’t any cg occupations. So I wanted to be a graphics
designer or industrial designer. For this aim, I studied graphic design and industrial design at Takusyoku University for four years with many basic art classes, such as;
drawing, sketching, painting and so on. After graduate I was working for a small studio making advertisement, books and posters. But while I was working there, I saw cool
computer graphics for the first time through the advertising work. I was shocked with the CG and then I just quit the job and immediately changed to another studio doing CG! I
don’t really remember about my first work. I probably made some CG elements for a TV commercial. Yes it was tough Because it was really difficult for me to use 3D software
other than a 2D paint package like Photoshop.

Let’s talk about your works. Where do you get the ideas and inspiration? Please tell us a few words about your workflow. What do you usually do first when you start creating a work?

I’m usually getting the ideas and inspiration from some CG forums or other gallery websites. In the forums we can get many tips and feedbacks besides ideas.
Sorry, my workflow is not special. I just use an ordinary way. However, I always search and prepare a lot of references for any new project before starting. And, I usually do a
sketch on paper or use mudbox before I start. For me, this is very important step, so I usually spend long time for it.

I think it will be interesting for our readers to learn about your work “Scorpion”. What stage was the most difficult for you? How long did you work on it? What software did you use?

I hope “Scorpion” would be helpful for readers work to learn. I think the sculpting was the most difficult for me. Because I couldn’t find good references around the face area and mouth so it was tough. I spent three weeks during my free time.   I used Mudbox as a main software and silo to make the base-mesh. Maya was used for the rendering work with Metal ray.

What kind of work are you doing now? What characters, ideas and themes are prevailing? What are your plans for future?

The other day, I finally finished a cool challenge called the Cghub’s mudbox challenge.For the challenge I spent about three months on it. Now I just want to take a brake with my family. After that, I’ll start to create some creature or something again. If I could I’d like to try to do sculpting with real clay.

What work do you enjoy more: personal or commercial projects? When you are working on personal projects what type of work do you like to do?

Actually I enjoy personal work. Because I love to make realistic organic stuff. Of course I can also always learn a lot of things from company work.
If I do a personal work I usually choose realistic stuff, such as creature like orc/goblin, alien, and so on. Or sometimes choose some concept from a creature film.

Are you a perfectionist? Does it take you long to achieve that final perfect result you are happy with?

It’s a difficult question for me. I guess so, I think most of modelers are kind of perfectionist.

Have you any tricks and your own “know-hows” which you gained with experience during your work? What do you think is the most important thing in creation of any work?

I don’t have any special tricks. I’m just enjoy doing them! But as I said, when I start a personal one or commercial one, I’m always searching / preparing many references for
them. I think that it’s the most important point when I start any work. I have to look into those refs deeply.   When I sculpt using mudbox to make character, I’m always careful about the steps of sculpting. It means we don’t have to sculpt from final details. We have to start the   sculpting work from primary steps. Don’t need to have tiny details from the first step.

How do you manage to combine your personal life and work? Do you have any hobbies? Is it easy for you to find the time for your family, friends?

Fortunately, I can leave my office on time everyday so I can get the time to spend with my family somehow. My family time is really important for me. When my family is not
happy, I can’t do well on my work. When my wife knows very well about my work so it is very easy to combine both. She is a great wife. My hobby is Fishing, and playing with my son. When my son becomes bigger I’ll take him fishing.

What can you say to inspire those newbies who are just starting to work in CG? What do you think is the most important in this field?

Recently we can start digital work with more ease than before. And it’s easy to make realistic or hi-quality works. But before doing digital work, we should study or learn the
basics, such as ; drawing, painting, and so on. We have to have those skills from now on if our digital work will develop well.
Thank you.

Thank you for the interview and wish you all the best!

Visit the website of Kenichi Nishida

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