
An Interview with Michael Marcondes
by Mike Lynch
Michael Marcondes is a man of few words in the forums,
but as the adage goes: Actions speak louder than words. His demo reel speaks
volumes for his skills, and his client list is equally as impressive. Whether
he's active in the forums, or not, his actions as an artist cannot be ignored.
With his hands in product rendering, matte painting, animation, composting,
and motion graphics he could be the most active artist in Brazil!
SQ - So tell us about yourself, Michael. Where do you live,
where were you born, where did you go to school... where do you work?
I live in a city called Curitiba, in south Brazil. It's
very calm and a good place to live and raise kids. I am self-taught, so everything
I know about 3D I got from reading manuals, tutorials, support forums and lots
and lots of nights awake experimenting.
I went to an Industrial Design University here in my town,
but I soon realized that I was giving them a huge amount of money, and they
were not giving me the info I needed. So, I got out from there and dedicating
myself to learning it on my own. I don't regret that, it was the best move.
I worked on several projects at that time: from carrying cables for the filming
crew to supervising special effects shots. I never worked on big productions
though, my local clients don't usually invest that much on commercials.
For the past two years I have been focusing my work on 3D illustration,
since I can put in more detail, and have a better deadline. The past six or
seven years I have been working as a freelance artist in my home office. It
is not easy, but it is very good to work near the family. Since 2006 I have
been working with international clients and it's been a joy to work with them.
Clients like Yodi Studios, CMI VFX, Umani Interiors, Energi Design, and Gnomon
Workshop.
Click
here, or on the above images, to view the animation