David Quinn: Interview with 3D artist

Hi everyone! We continue series of short interviews with the best artists from Hum3D competitions.

David Quinn, author of the “Tacos Del Rosas”, will answer six questions and give us a look behind the scenes of his work.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do and how did you become a 3D artist?

My name is David Quinn, and I am the owner and designer of The Digital Blacksmith. I am an autistic designer with over 20 years of experience designing for video games, the automotive industry, and prop design.

All of my life, I have been working with any medium I could get my hands on, and when I got a trial of 3DS Max, it just instantly clicked and became my main go-to tool. I grabbed every tutorial I could get, learned as much as I could, and ended up getting my first big 3D job only half a year after using the program!

What was the workflow behind your latest challenge image? Where did the idea come from?

I have also been an award-winning chef for many years, so I wanted to pay homage to that in this challenge with a food truck design. And who doesn’t love a good taco truck?

For this challenge, I knew I had to go big. My workflow is usually less of a concise flowchart and more of a chaotic “what will look good here” kind of thing. I design something, maybe delete it later if I don’t like it, maybe move it somewhere it will be better, sometimes even saving it and putting it into another project. I ended up working with at least 5 different environments before finding the one I was happy with.

What challenges did the image creation? Did you learn something new?

I learned I needed to calm down a little bit when designing. I tried doing more and more and more with this project and ended up with a file that had over 200 million polys and took hours to render due to the thousands of lights.

How often do you do personal projects and keep your portfolio up-to-date? Which one is your favorite?

I try to do a few personal projects or challenges a few times a year just to keep my brain awake and moving. I am always trying to keep my portfolio up and running, but with life, family, and sickness at times, it’s been hard to keep up with it on a consistent schedule.

I cannot pick a favorite personal project. They are like my children! They are all unique in their own way, but if I had to pick one, it would be my first entry into these competitions as a whole, with a 1959 Impala. It did not win, but it got put into Lowrider Magazine!

What or who inspires you today? Are you a member of any art communities? Any favorite hashtags you check on a daily basis?

For this project, in particular, I was heavily inspired by the works of Syd Mead and older media such as The Jetsons and Megaman. In general, though, I am inspired by anything and everything. There is no one thing in particular that screams out to me.

Please tell us your five short tips for creating 3D art.

– Always try to do something new as often as you can. In this field, like all others, you should never stop learning!
– Join communities and competitions. You can never grow properly if you don’t receive feedback on your work. Plus, having friends in the community is always nice!
– Find your style. You need to learn what you excel at to be the best you, and your style is what will help you stand out in this field.
– Don’t burn yourself out. It’s ok to take a break and breathe for a moment.
– Embrace the chaos. You never know what’s going to happen, so sometimes it’s best to just flow with it and see what happens!