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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where does the name “SMAARTIST” come from?
SMAARTIST is a serendipitous combination of my initials SMA and the word ARTIST. Simple as that.
What are your top tips for beginning artists?
Experiment and try new things.
Network and ask questions.
Get feedback regularly and learn to apply it.
Learn how to observe.
Develop critical analysis skills and be able to decipher an artists general rules for design.
Don’t be afraid to fail.
Be patient. It will take time.
Don’t allow yourself to feel destroyed by rejection.
Keep working hard after you get your “big break” because people are still competing for your job.
Keep doing something on the side that keeps your inner fire alive.
Don’t be afraid to change tracks.
Did you go to art school?
Yes I went to school, but I didn’t go to an art-specific school. I went to BYU to study animation. I DO RECOMMEND GOING TO SCHOOL. Something to remember about art school is that it’s a business and they’re trying to build a portfolio just as you are.
Do you recommend any specific school to start learning digital sculpting?
ANYONE CAN START FROM HOME using the internet and a free download of ZBrush Core Mini. You also have free access to things like ZBrush LIVE or other livestreams. Other more economical ways of getting an education include getting tutorials from trusted sources such as industry professionals. If you’re serious about a school, I would check out Gnomon. It’s consistently rated the top in the world for VFX and Animation, the instructors are all industry professionals and it creates a powerful network for you moving into the industry while also enabling you to try out several different disciplines.
What are some important soft-skills for being an artist in the animation industry?
Communication - don’t wait for someone to tell you something if you’re unsure of something. Just ask. Better to ask too many questions than to frustrate people with a lack of getting things done right.
Learn to be self-motivated, but also to work well in a team.
Learn how to learn. Know what resources you have, and ways to find out what you don’t know.
Be flexible. Understand that you will likely have to wear different hats along your journey.
How do you find a job in the industry?
Be patient and work your butt off! Network with people who do what you want to do and ask them for feedback. I owe a lot of my personal progress to those who were willing to take a look at my work early on. The other thing I would try to do is find projects to collaborate on. This might include something like an indie project or a student project. Push yourself to get real industry experience like an internship while still in school if you can. I didn’t, and I feel it would have helped me a lot early on in my career if I had pushed harder to have that kind of experience.
How do you know when it’s time to stop sculpting and start retopologizing?
As early as possible. I love having clean topology for as much of the process as possible. Once you have the design most of the way there, that’s when I try to dive into topology. Almost anything else that I need to do can be done by editing my topology after it’s already clean. Clean topology is much easier to control than something like DynaMesh.
How long does a single character take you?
That depends a lot on what I need it for. If I’m just sculpting something to print, sometimes it can go quickly since I don’t have much to worry about prepping my file for rendering, so I don’t have to fuss over topology. Some quick exercises can run as short as 6-12 hours to up to 40 hours or so. Some of my professional characters at Marvel take as short as a week or two and as long as four months. It depends on how much of a hero character it is.
Do you have time for other hobbies besides personal projects?
No. Not really. lol. Personal projects are what really fuels me and allows me to learn new things. That being said, I do also like to read. I’m making my way through the Chronicles of the Avatar series by F.C. Yee.