Interview with Tamas Medve

Hi Tamas,
You completed high school of fine arts where you learned ceramic and you studied architecture. Could you tell us how it happened that you finally chose 3d art field?

Hello Everyone! First of all I would like to say a big thanks to Evermotion for the opportunity that I can present myself and some of my work. Well, I met 3d quite late, when I was 19. A really good friend of mine showed me 3ds Max2009 at high school and afterwards I started to learn it. At the beginning it was just a tool for helping my architectural presentations at uni. I remember that at time I built up my architecture plans with just boxes and I didn't even know Vray existed. You can imagine my first "3d visuals". They were really bad... (smiling) Then later I found the Evermotion Forum and another Hungarian 3d forum called World3d and that was the point when everything changed. I realized Max & Vray were such a powerful combination together and I just wanted to do images like the guys did on these forums. I started to learn 3d on my own, I spent many hours and many nights searching for tutorials on the internet and after a while I simply fell in love with it...

You come from Hungary and have already worked in London (UK) and Bergen (Norway). Do you think that it is necessary for 3d artist to move and change the job to develop the career?

Moving to London was one of the best steps in my whole life and if I wouldn't have done that I couldn't work where I am now in Bergen. I think it's a really important part of our jobs to see and experience different things and one of the best ways to learn is when you are learning from your colleagues, so my answer for your question is yes.

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Could you please tell us about your work for Foster+Partners and Mir? What are the differences between working in these studios?

Both companies have a totally different workflow and system. The main difference is that MIR is a self­sufficing studio in contrast with F+P where the visualization team is an inhouse team. At Fosters, you are working with the architects in the same building so sometimes you have the feeling that you are part of the designing stage. Which is really good and interesting but this also has a drawback because this situation could make your work a bit harder and when this happens (for instance they change something in the design) you have to be creative in a way to finish the image on time. At MIR it's a bit easier to avoid these things because the architects can't come over to check the visualization process whenever they want. Also we have got a bit more time to finish an image and that's one of the reasons why the artists at MIR can put more creativity and experimenting in their images.

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Your works are very moody and have their own specific climate. What is your main inspiration to create such images?

At work my colleagues are inspiring me a lot (smiling). But when I start a personal project I mainly get inspiration from movies and from the concept art word. I love searching awesome 2d concepts on the internet and I try to find my own style using those tools and elements on my images that concepts artist are using. Like athmospheric effects, mist or just adding a story to the image...

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You created the winning work for our last challenge in 3ds max, V­ray and Photoshop (Metallum City - ­ Giants in the Dust). Is it the main software you usually use? Do you use any other tools in your daily workflow?

Yes, this is the main software that I use for working at home or in the studio.

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Do you base more on 3d or postproduction in your daily workflow? Does it depend on the work you do?

It's a hard question but I have to say yes, it's depend on the project. I think post­production is equal to 3d and I know many people are thinking differently and I respect that, but just lets see the games, movies or some vfx breakdowns. They can't exist without each other and in my daily workflow I put the same amount of work in to the postproduction part as much as into 3d.

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What is your favorite part of creating a visualization? Is there something in this process that you don't like to do at all?

No, there is nothing I wouldn't like a least bit. Okay, maybe one (smiling). Importing the model into max is not my favorite part of the process but any other parts I like. I love to set up the scene in max for rendering, playing with camera angels, making shaders or experimenting with different moods. But if I have to choose a favorite part it's the post­production. This stage for me is like the spice when you are cooking.

Which of the projects you worked on over the years have been the most interesting and challenging?

I can't choose just one. All of the project I have been working on were challenging and interesting but all in a different way. For instance before F+P I have never seen and worked on such huge projects which were a bit scary at the beginning. But now the most difficult and challenging thing is to be creative from week to week.

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What are your future plans? Do you have a dream project that you would like to work on someday?

My long term goals are to learn new things, maybe to try myself in a different field. I'm really interested in matte­painting and compositing work so I would like to learn some software like Nuke. Dream project? Maybe working on big budget movie as a compositor.

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What do you like to do when you are not working? Do you have any hobbies beside the 3d graphic?

Yeah, I have a really bad hobby! I like playing online computer games with my old friends from Hungary. But when I'm not sitting in front of the screen I go to the gym or I am just going out for a couple of drinks with some friends (smiling).

In the end please give an advice for young 3d artists who are beginning now. Can you share with us your method for success?

I think one of the most important components for being successful in 3d is the dedication and love. If you own these then you can learn everything you want with hard work. Be open for new things and if you will get a chance to go abroad to work in a great studio, don't hesitate!

Thanks a lot!

Thank you for reading this interview and good luck!