Interview with Scott Eaton
Hello Scott, could you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about employment etc.
 Hello to everyone at CGArena. Probably the only thing interesting about myself is the somewhat round about path that led me to this industry. Since I can remember I had an interest in both art and science/mathematics. Of course, when I was growing up in the 80’s, there was not really a CG industry so these interests let me to study engineering and art at university. There I learned to write code and took a course called Interactive Computer Graphics, where we programmed our own GL (before it became openGL) visualizations on Silicon Graphics Workstations. That was my first experience in computer graphics and I was hooked. On the side, I continued to draw and study art. After graduation I went on to the MIT Media Lab where I worked as a technical director in a research group studying artificial intelligence, similar to the stuff that is now in Massive. After working for a number of years on the technical side of computer graphics, I decided to dedicate a block of time to nothing but my art studies. This took me to Florence, where I studies for a short time before moving to London to work in visual effects. I am currently working as Senior Technical Director and Modeling Supervisor at Framestore, London
Please tell us about your journey from Florence Academy of Art, Italy to Framestore, London
My time in Florence was a great experience, but I didn’t stay too long. The academic method of drawing and painting is quite regimented, and leaves little room for imagination or creativity. In the end, because it teaches only technique and visual acuity, there is little room for experimentation or interpretation. Beyond a certain point, there is a danger in dedicating too much time to this method of study. It has its place, but as a complement to creative exercises.
When I finished in Florence, my wife and I moved to London, the best place in Europe for film and VFX work. At this time Zbrush 2 was just coming into its own and was a great tool for taking models to a new level. It was also around this time that I began developing my Anatomy for Digital Artists Course, which incorperates many of the lessons I learned in Florence and much of my own study, and applies it to the challenge of creating digital characters. While developing and teaching the course I started working with Escape Studios, then the Mill, and now Framestore.
Do you do any preliminary drawings before you model, or do you just start and see what happens and how long on average would you spend on an image?
I always do preliminary drawings before I start a model. It is a chance for me to explore a huge number of options and ideas and to work through all the problems I would encounter before sculpting the piece. It is also my way of clarifying the anatomy in my mind before I start into a sculpture. I probably used a full sketchbook to work out the horse anatomy before I started my recent centaur sculpture.
As to how long a model takes, it depends. I rarely have time to work on a model all day, every day until it is finished, usually my modelling sessions are about two hours a day. So an accurate estimate is hard, but all together a decently finished model probably take a few weeks.
Besides modeling, in which other field like texturing, lighting, scripting you also make the contribution? What was the reason of choosing modeling in all the fields?
Having been in the field a while now, I have experience in most areas (but I don't consider myself an animator at all). Beyond modeling and character design (the work that satisfies my artistic half), I enjoy the technical challenge in scripting/pipeline development and shader development. I have done quite a bit of work with RenderMan, so that is probably my other main focus.
Your Artistic Anatomy Masterclass sponsored by Escape Studios, postponed from Jan to Apr 09, what was the reason of rescheduling and have you done work before with Escape Studios?
I believe the course was rescheduled because early January didn’t work for a lot of studios and individuals who wanted to attend the course. It should be a great course though. I don’t have many courses open to the public, most are for studios, so if anyone is interested in anatomy and character design, it is a great chance to get exposed to a huge amount of valuable information.
I have a good working relationship with Escape Studios. I done quite a bit of consulting work with them over the years, even acting as Creative Technical Director there for a while.
|
|
|
