19.12.2006
Interview with Rod Seffen
Hi could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background in CG?
I only got into computers and CG about 4-5 years ago. Before that I did some oil painting, watercolors, and portraits, but only as a small hobby. I have no official art training at all; I didn’t even do art class at high school.
I’ve spent most of the years since starting CG working on game mods for the experience, which is a good idea if you want commercial game work.
So, you are a freelancer, may I know what the reason of not joining any studio is?
I live in Northern Ireland; there is very little CG work around here, so I’m just some doing some freelance work while training myself, until I think I’m good enough to get a decent commercial job - in England probably. I don’t want to start off as the guy who fetches the coffee and does the UV mapping.
What software program(s) do you use for your CG and why?
I use Lightwave. I’ve been using since I started. I instantly loved the interface and clean workflow. When I started 4 years ago, I think it was the only dedicated modeling available, and that that time was clearly the best modeling software on the market.
There are more and more dedicated modeling apps these days, and I’ve tried them all, but none of them have lured me away from Lightwave.
I’ve basically got my Lightwave workflow so finely tuned, and integrate with the program so perfectly, that another app would have to be amazing to make me change.
If you could invent your dream job, where would you work & what would be your job title?
I suppose being a character artist somewhere like WETA and working on movies like Lord of the Rings, which I think had the best CG work I’ve ever seen. I’ve a way to go to reach that level, but I think the creative freedom and job satisfaction would be a lot higher than working in a game studio.
Please tell us what “The Dark Mod” is and what work you have done in that?
The dark mod is a project that will give fans of the Thief series of games a toolset to make their own levels. It is based on the Doom 3 engine, but we are doing a total conversion, we are changing everything except the renderer (and that’s only because we haven’t got access to the render code)
I was the character modeler on that, and made around 12 characters for it. I quit recently because it was just using up too much of my time, and I felt I wasn’t progressing the way I want to be. I’m the sort of guy who either commits to something 100% or not at all.
Of all of your artwork, which piece is your personal favorite and why?
The last piece I’ve completed is always my favourite. I aim to always improve, and if I’m doing that successfully, then my latest work will always be my best one. My last completed work was The Milkmaid, and that was the best I’ve ever made, so it is my favourite.
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