Iain Collins also known as "Iain" here on SpinQuad has been working as an Architectural Technician since 1990
and gradually branched into visualization work where he found his future today.
Iain has had his work published in marketing media like the Sunday Newspapers and on the Gallery of the CGArchitect
website to name a few. Mr. Collins' keen eye for lighting and his amazing talent have proven him to be an outstanding CG artist and a pleasure to interview him for SpinQuad Entertainment.
http://www.iaincollins3d.co.uk/
SQ – Tell us a little bit about yourself, where were you born? When did you become interested in art and computers? I was born near Glasgow and spent my childhood and early adulthood in or near the city. It’s an amazing place but I moved to Edinburgh a few years ago and am happily settled here with my wife and two daughters.
I first got interested in art when I realized I could draw at about 6 or 7. I only started tinkering with Bryce, 3DS Max and then LW in my late 20’s, about 6 or 7 years ago.
Like most people of my generation who now work in CGI, it fascinated me when I was growing up and watching it slowly appear in TV and film but it seemed a very exotic and unattainable medium until quite recently.
SQ – Tell us a little bit about your background in 3D? My first contact with 3D was through my job as an Architectural Technician when someone in my firm showed me work he had done in Max. I got the first copy of 3D World which came with a version of Bryce and started learning it. Soon it became an obsession and I wanted something more powerful so I tried Max and LW, preferring LW and then spent every waking minute learning and practicing.
SQ – So before 3D you made your interiors the old fashioned way, with pen and pencils? Now with using 3D, how would you compare the two? Do you feel pen and pencil still have a place in the visualization market or is 3D the new wave of the future? I still like to draw every now and again. I love sketching existing buildings in cities I visit-I think it gives you an eye for proportion and detail.
I hope there will always be a place in production work for the freehand sketch, it’s still invaluable in the early design process but more and more, digital tools are filling the gap. Even old fashioned architects I know appreciate tools like Sketch Up for easy workflow.
