An interview with 3D Artist Fabricio Moraes, winner of pwnisher render challenges & Rokoko mocap user

Introduction

We recently sat down with Fabricio Moraes, to learn more about his journey as a 3D Artist and pick up some inspiration from his recent successes, the most recent one being his 1st prize in pwnisher's massively popular "Boss fight" render challenge, after also having won 1st place for pwnisher's "Endless Engines" challenge. Few 3D artists can pretend to such a feat, and we're incredibly proud here at Rokoko that Fabricio has been part of our community for a while now.

Hello Fabricio! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I am a passionate 3d artist with twenty years of experience. In my career, I have worked with game cinematics, commercials in many different media, game character development, animations, and image advertisement. I am constantly seeking knowledge in other tools and techniques to raise the quality of my work.

How did you get started in 3D and how did you first start animating?

I have always enjoyed special effects, animated feature films, and video games. I started studying 3d for curiosity and to have an idea of how the content I like is made. When I got my first job as cg artist in a very prestigious studio called Seagulls Fly, I had the chance to work with very talented people and learn much more about animation.

If you had to choose, what is the single most defining characteristic that makes your content unique and entirely yours? In other words, what would you say is your artist trademark?

In every personal project where I have complete creative freedom, I always try my best to make the piece the most appealing possible. In most of them, I try to learn new things, and I usually go for a mix between stylized and realistic. I can't say for sure what specific peculiarity defines my work, but people usually identify my pieces.

Do you have a favourite artwork or project you're especially proud of?

I am so proud of my animation for the Endless Engines Challenge. I enjoyed doing it so much, and in the end, I won first place. I couldn't be prouder.

But I must mention the character animation Chakan. It was one of the most challenging personal projects I made. It made me learn many new things in Unreal Engine and the motion capture pipeline and is one of the reasons Rokoko reached out to me.

The culmination of the knowledge gathered with these projects made my latest work possible, my submission to The Boss Fight 3D Challenge, and this is the one I am most proud of.

What has been the most significant change to your life, since you started creating 3D content?

Switching from employee to an employer was a significant change in my career. I co-founded my company which is called Gingerpic, with my former employer Fabiano Feijo ten years ago. Since then, I felt a big improvement in my quality of work and life.

Name three pieces of equipment (software or hardware) that you can’t live without.

My RTX 4090, Unreal Engine and Zbrush are irreplaceable to me. But I need to mention a 4th piece of hardware, my Rokoko Suit. This gear opened a range of new possibilities for my work.

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Do you currently have any artists that inspire you in your work?

Nowadays, I am inspired by an entire project rather than a specific artist. For example, I love the animations directed by Makoto Shinkai, but it's not just him but the entire team involved in these masterpieces that amazes me. The same goes for video games, TV series and movies.

What advice do you have for aspiring 3D creators? What would you say are the key ingredients when learning 3D you wish you had known from the start?

I believe patience and effort are the key ingredients for anything you learn. A 3D workflow consists of various disciplines, so pick a few that interest you most and try to understand one at a time. The time needed to start producing something notoriously good might be long, but you should always be confident. You need to remember that every great artist started from scratch, so anyone interested and hardworking has the potential to be amazing. Trying to start with complex projects leads to frustration, which is one thing I wish to know at the beginning. So, start simple and believe in the process.

Can you reveal some of your next projects that we can look forward to?

My latest work was for the Boss Fight 3D Challenge by Clinton Jones. It was very demanding, so I am catching my breath right now. I haven't started anything new yet. I have a few unfinished projects that I may or may not continue. Time will tell.

Thank you for sharing your story and inspiring us Fabricio!

You can find Fabricio's work and follow his journey as a 3D Artist on his channels:

• Linkedin
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Behance
• Artstation