Interview with Rafael Grassetti

A new interview with Rafael Grassetti, a 3D artist from Brazil.

I think you’ve become a legend of the 3D world so far, so tell us, when did you first get into 3D modelling and when did it become your profession? Do you remember your first work? What was it?

Thanks, really appreciate that. I started to learn 3D in 2005, and my first "real" work with 3D was at one of the biggest advertising companies at Brazil, my first project I will never forget, I was suppose to model some really detailed plants for an highres printed advertising, was really painfull at that time.

Exploring your portfolio one can notice a lot of characters from comic books. Why did you choose this genre and where else do you get insipiration for your works?

I love comics as you can see. I had the pleasure to work for the past years on a few comics titles that I always dreamed of. I get inspiration everywhere, as you can tell from comics, from books, movies, television, and a lot from websites and forums.

Let’s talk about some of your works. A professional project called “Man 24” is the most reallistic model, I’ve ever seen! How did you make it? What software and features did you use?

I work on a studio with a few other friends named Ten24 (http://ten24.info), we do outsourcing models for Cinematic production, advertising and game. I made that model for a texture tutorial we made inside the studio. We used 3Dsmax, Cinema 4D, zbrush and photoshop on that project.

I first modeled the human on 3dsmax with correct edgeloops and uvs than with ZBrush i worked on face and body details. After that my friend James Busby worked on textures and rendering in ZBrush, Photoshop and Cinema4D.

Looking through your personal projects I’ve noticed a lot of amazing game charecters! Do you play any video-game or you don’t have time for it? What do you do in your free time except for personal projects?

I always check for new releases and gameplay but i dont get the chance to play a lot of games, I dont have so much freetime for it, I usually choose one favorite game to play in every 4 months.

Its funny the things I really loved to do before start working with cg became a part of my profession, I love sculpting, watching movies, drawing. Beside that I love going to the beach and have fun with my girlfriend, family and friends.

Your last personal work “Mecha Girl” inspired by Marc Brunet. Why did you decide to make a 3D model of it? How long did it take to make it?

Since i started to work with 3D I’ve always been a fan of Marc's artwork, and I always wanted to do something with it, he is brilliant. I’ve been doing models for game for a few years and when I thought I was ready for the challenge I picked up that artwork from Marc and tried to do my interpretation of it. I didn’t had so much freetime at that time so it took almost 2 months to finish it.

Can you tell us a bit more about software you use at every stage of your workflow? What is your favourite feature in Zbrush?

I have experience with XSI, Maya, 3Dsmax, ZBrush, Mudbox and Photoshop.

3Dsmax is my main tool, beside that I use ZBrush for sculpting and Photoshop for texture.

Can you say something to inspire those who are just entering the world of CG?

The CG industry is just amazing in so many aspects and its a great ride for everybody ho is a part of it. Study hard, share your stuff in websites and forums and have fun doing it.

Thank you!

Rafael's web-site - https://grassettiart.com