How Toy Story and Monsters Inc. inspired a career in 3D art
(Image credit: Thales Simonato) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Careers in art rarely follow the plan, and Thales Simonato's began because his…
(Image credit: Thales Simonato) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Careers in art rarely follow the plan, and Thales Simonato's began because his brother got bored with a computing course. One family swap introduced him to Photoshop and Illustrator, then 3D, and he's never really looked back. Since then, the Brazilian artist, now based in France, has worked across advertising, film, TV and games, while developing a colourful, stylised approach to character art that's impossible to mistake for anyone else's.It's also a good reminder that the tools only get you so far. You can spend hours debating the best 3D modelling software or investing in one of the best drawing tablets, but Simonato's work comes back to the same thing every time: strong design, expressive characters and knowing exactly what you want to say before you start clicking buttons.That doesn't mean he's ignoring the latest tech, far from it. He's fascinated by the explosion of hybrid 2D and 3D workflows, from comic-style linework to painterly textures and watercolour effects, and he's happily beta testing new tools if they help him create faster, not slower. In this interview, he talks about falling into a career by accident, why he no longer equates five-hour renders with great art, and the joy of stylised 3D.Visit Thales Simonato's ArtStation portfolio. (Image credit: Thales Simonato)Creative Bloq: Where did your artistic journey start?Thales Simonato: It was lucky, really. My brother had signed up for a basic computing course covering Windows, typing, and Office. When it moved on to Photoshop and Illustrator, he lost interest. The school wouldn’t cancel, so my mom swapped him out for me. I finished the course, fell in love with the software, and went straight on to a one-year course focused on 3D. That accidental handover is the only reason I’m doing any of this.Source: Creative Bloq AI Art — Published — Category: Image AI