Interview with Guido Vrola: Modeling, Sculpting, Printing, Loving It

Guido Vrola is a great guy who made this Zbrush video tutorial on modeling crabs (who might later turn out to be of the "giant enemy" kind and with a weakspot underneath). He's also a versatile modeler with years of experience under his belt. Guido is also a CGTrader challenge winner! Read all about his journey to modeling success in this interview!

Tell us about yourself - what do you do, where are you based?

Hello and thanks for the interview. I'm 36, I'm Italian and I have a degree in engineering. I have a studio based in Belluno (Italy). I work as a freelance 3D artist and as an industrial designer. Part of my job is to create digital illustrations for advertising and models for 3D printing, games and movies. A consistent part of my job is also related to stock contents industry.

How did you get started in 3D modeling?

Ever since my father gave me my first computer (I think it was 1991 and I was a little more than a child) I was immediately attracted by the artistic possibilities that this offered. I preferred the vector graphics to video games. That was my first love. Back then, however, 3D technology was on the rise and I was attracted by it, believing that 3D was better than 2D. So I immediately started with the 3D graphics and my skills have grown in parallel with that technology. My major interest at that time was science-fiction, so I discovered how easily I could create fantastic space ships working in 3D. And I never stopped...

Do you design for CG, 3D Printing or both? Why? What are your favorite design concepts to work on?

I work both for CG and 3D printing. In my freelance work I have requests for both. I must say that 2 or 3 years ago, I worked almost exclusively with traditional CG, while now, the demand for models for 3D printing is huge. I also own a 3D printer and I am pretty sure that, in the near future, this technology will be available to everyone, and the demand for skilled modelers will be even greater.

I have not a single favorite design concept, I have many. I like challenges, so I always like to challenge myself with new things. Sometimes it’s technology, sometimes medicine, sometimes food. In general, I am looking for photorealism. And photorealism is not only a matter of rendering, because photorealism starts, first of all, from the model. Render engine will never save a model if it is not perfectly realistic.

Why do you sell 3D models online?

Selling model online is, potentially, a very good business, in particular if you work as a freelance in the 3D industry. Clients usually don't want to pay bigger prices to get exclusive rights to their models. Sometime you model something only to improve yourself or to show off your skills. Soon you have your hard disk full of very good models that stay there without a use. Well, selling these models online can earn a lot, even years after you have modeled them. I also think that selling models is a great way to show your skills to potential clients.

How did you discover CGTrader?

Well, actually is CGTrader that discovered me and asked me to upload my models. Indeed, they offered to upload them for me and, although I was initially skeptical, I agreed. And I have to thank them for that, because CGTrader has become, for me, a great way to improve my business. I think that I had my first sale something like three days after my registration on CGTrader.

Did you have any interesting stories as a result of your presence on CGTrader? Maybe it let you earn a nice income stream, meet interesting people, or land new clients?

One of the most interesting stories to tell is regarding my collaboration with CGTrader.
Some days after my registration, the staff of CGTrader informed me about a challenge they had organized and asked me to participate. I was working on some models that would have been fit for the challenge so I decided to participate. Well, I won that challenge. But the fantastic thing is that one of the fabulous prizes was a Zbrush license. I had been thinking about buying a ZBrush license for a long time. So I started right away. After a couple of months, between job requests, I found a customer on CGTrader who needed statue models to 3D print. I got that job, then another, and now making 3D statues with Zbrush is a daily part of my job. And this all started with the request, from CGTrader, to upload my models on their site...

What are the most inspiring 3D designers in the world for you?

Wow, this is a question you have to think a lot about. They are so many. Traditional art is in crisis at the moment, but digital art has so many great exponents that it is impossible to mention them all. I will mention some of that which have inspired me the most, but I am forgetting somebody who is equally important for sure.
Just to name some names, I can mention Neville Page and Carlos Ortega Elizalde for character design, Daniel Simon for sci-fi vehicles, Stefan Morrell and James Paick for environments.

See the tutorial Guido made and download the free model here: