MARCH 11, 2004
John Shakespeare
Bringing 3D to the people
Award-winning newspaper illustrator enters the 3D world.
Working in 3D is often compared to sculpting in the real world, and John Shakespeare’s experience modelling in clay was the perfect introduction to this well-known illustrator’s move to Cinema4D. The readers of Sydney’s biggest selling newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald, are now enjoying the results.
“I’d always loved the ‘spitting image’ caricature latex sculptures, and began creating my own, in clay, with the idea of using photographs of these models as illustrations in the newspaper” says Shakespeare. “These proved very popular, but after a few years of making them, I was very keen to move on to 3d software, and try and replicate my work on the computer.”
Choosing the tools
His first attempts, some 2 years ago, were the limited shapes of Adobe Dimensions, and then Strata Studio. To truly explore character modelling however, Shakespeare needed true polygon/nurbs modelling capabilities.
“I decided to take the leap and try a true high end programme, and after quite a bit of research Narrowed it down to Cinema4D, Lightwave and Universe. I tried demo versions of all three and instantly preferred Cinema—mainly for the easy to use interface.”
His move also coincided with Maxon releasing Cinema4D in modular version, which was perfect for Shakespeare as he wasn’t particularly interested in animation and could save money by just purchasing the basic version plus Advanced Render and Bodypaint.
Learning how to sculpt again
“I was in a rush to learn it so I got up early every day and practised for a few hours” says Shakespeare. “I downloaded the human modelling tutorial from the Maxon site, which was done with the box modelling technique. It’s difficult tutorial for a novice, but it taught me a lot about all the different modelling tools. A few lessons with Peter Gifford of Universal Head taught me point by point modelling. I now use that method for faces and box modelling for the bodies.” Shakespeare also finds Cinema’s workflow perfect for on-the-fly creativity. “I don’t usually have a base sketch to refer to. I prefer to just have an idea in my head of how it will look and go from there—unless it’s a caricature, in which case I’ll use photo reference.”
Shakespeare is now doing regular cover illustrations for the Sydney Morning Herald using Cinema 4D. “I find the render quality and speed of Cinema very good, and as I gradually build a library of objects, construction time speeds up a lot. I’ve recently started using HDRI lighting, and this has been a big hit with my editors for its realism, although it multiplies the render time for large works.” Will he ever go back to modelling with clay for his illustration work? “One of the things I love about 3D computer work as opposed to clay sculptures is that I can work on the model anywhere—at work or home or on holiday—and no more mess!”
Artist Gallery
Click on thumbnail for larger images
John Shakespeare works as an illustrator for the biggest-selling newspaper in Sydney, the Sydney Morning Herald. His personal site is at www.johnshakespeare.com.au.
