Join us for an engaging dive into the world of digital artistry with Mihai (Misu) from CGTalk in our latest episode of CGCast! Mihai, a talented photorealistic CG artist from Romania, shares his journey from graphic design to mastering 3D graphics for
film and television. Discover his unique approach to modeling, texturing, and lighting, his surprising aversion to animation, and his ambitious plans to expand his horizons in Canada. With candid insights into his daily life balancing personal relationships
and demanding freelance work, Mihai offers invaluable advice for aspiring 3D artists, emphasizing the power of self-learning and perseverance. Don't miss out on this inspiring conversation packed with practical tips and behind-the-scenes glimpses
into his creative process!
Welcome everybody to the fifth episode of CGCast.
Today is the 3rd of October and today I have an interview
with Mihai or Misu on the CGTalk forums.
He's a very good CG artist. He's won a few CGTalk awards
for his photorealistic characters.
And today I'll ask him a few questions.
Mihai, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Yes. What do you want to know about me?
Anything.
Okay, as you know, I'm from Romania.
I have about 30 years.
And I started CG, I mean, 3D graphics about five or six
years ago.
I started working in television from passion, you know.
I started as a graphic designer.
But meantime, I've discovered the 3D graphics.
And now I'm working in both areas.
television, mostly design, and 3D graphics for games or
film.
That's pretty cool. How did you get into CG, though?
Yes, I've worked a lot of 2D graphics and searching for new
stuff on internet.
I discovered the CG channel and CG Talk.
I've posted some simple works on Romanian forums.
I discovered the works from Peter Sionka.
You know Peter Sionka?
No, I don't know him.
He's a Ukrainian guy who does some amazing human modeling.
And that was my first contact with real 3D.
I was very impressed by his work.
And that day, I started to learn 3D.
Oh, cool.
So he inspired you.
A lot.
What's your favorite part of CG, though?
Most favorite, I love everything means CG.
I can do anything, but not animation.
Not animation.
Not animation.
Yeah, animation is, if I have to choose between modeling,
texturing, lightening, rendering,
I will choose all because I love all of them.
And I can't understand modeling without texturing and light
ening.
You know, I want to see everything done by my hand or at
last I try to improve my technique in all area.
Okay.
What's your least favorite part?
I don't like animation because I've tried to do some
animations and it was something very, very ugly.
We can understand.
Well, it takes time to learn.
No, but maybe some parts from learning process inside that
you have just to discover.
And I think the animation is not inside me.
Well, animation is very hard.
I've tried a few times.
It's very hard.
Of all your artwork, which piece is your personal favorite
and why?
From my artwork?
Yes.
Sandra.
Sandra is my favorite.
Yeah.
It was my first finished human face.
I've learned in that time a lot.
I've tried to achieve some specific motions from the human
faces.
That was the sadness and the happiness, you know.
And what I've posted on CG Talk and on my website, it was
just the happiness.
I have a poster for Sandra in satin.
You should post it.
I've seen Sandra and she looks amazing.
I would love to know how you made her look so alive.
With a lot of work.
I was working about three months on this portrait.
It was my first Finnish human head.
I've done some other human heads before Sandra,
but that was just some tests and I was concentrated in
modeling for the first,
after that on texturing and finally on lighting.
But with Sunderland it was another story because I have
done everything in the same time.
I was modeling and in the same time I was preparing the
texture.
I was doing the research for texturing, for lighting, and
for rendering.
So what's a typical day for you?
Well, yeah, I don't know if it's good to say what's my
typical day,
because, you know, it's not very scientific,
because I'm awake about 12 o'clock,
because I'm working the nights.
I have two jobs, you know.
I have a job in television.
And the second job, it's my preferred job.
It's on my house.
I'm working as a freelancer for many clients.
And if I don't have clients to work for them,
I'm working for me, for my personal projects.
And the typical day will be in this way.
wake on 12 o'clock.
I drink
a lot of coffee,
a big cup of coffee
with a lot
of sugar.
Everybody who are watching
me when I drink the coffee
are scared because
they are telling me
I drink too much coffee and
too much sugar.
Nobody can drink that coffee,
just me.
We all need caffeine.
And after that, I'm playing for about 10, 12 minutes, 50
minutes with my cat.
Yes, I have cats.
Yeah.
My cat has one year.
Yeah.
It's a big cat.
Cat.
And after that, I'm going to job.
It's not so interesting there.
And the very interesting part comes when I'm home.
Home.
At about 10 o'clock.
Here it's such a crazy thing because for the first, I have
to spend some time with my girlfriend.
She wants more attention.
And I have to make some shortcuts to go fast at the
computer.
Because sometimes you have to choose between your personal
life, your feelings, and the computer, your job, your
career.
Okay.
You know you have to do some research in that day, but at
the same time, you know that your girlfriend wants to go to
see a movie, to walk on the streets, to some crazy stuff
like the Yankipa.
And that's not so comfortable when you have to choose
between work and your personal life.
Yeah, I guess we have to make some sacrifices.
Yeah, that's true.
Are you working on any projects right now? And if so, what
are they?
Yes, I'm working on one project right now.
It's a long project, started about two or three months ago.
But because it was a very long project and here in Romania
we were working many people,
we were involved about 10-20 people.
I don't know exactly because the project was broken in many
pieces
and we are small teams who are working on this project.
We have always to refine the project and to do some
modification.
Now, in time, it becomes boring because the client wants
many changes.
He doesn't know very well what he wants.
How did you learn 3D?
Did you go to a university for it or did you just teach
yourself?
No, I finished computer science at university.
I was passionate when I was young about programming.
I was fascinated by viruses, you know.
You may think I was a diabolic young boy, but it wasn't.
I was just interested by the small code and by the power of
destruction of that small code.
So you wrote viruses?
What?
You wrote viruses?
No, I've done no viruses.
What did you, when you were programming, what did you write
?
What kind of programs?
What kind of programs?
Some search engine, search for files from bytes in a string
.
You have some strings on computers in a buffer,
and you have to search for a specific string.
And I've done some algorithms for searching these strings
to minimize the time.
It was something very used in the virus code
and in anti-virus code also it was a very useful code.
And about 3D, I've just told you, I've learned by myself.
Nobody has told me you have or put the hand here
and press this button and push this vertex
or I start to learn everything by myself.
What's mean a vertex, what's mean a line or a handle, you
know.
Has programming been helpful in 3D?
Like knowing how to program, has it helped you in 3D in any
way?
No, in no way.
No way at all.
You don't write scripts or anything?
No.
Yes, programming helps me if I'm doing scripts,
but now I'm more concentrated in modeling, texturing,
and I left the other side, the programming and scripts,
because I didn't like so much in this time, you know, like
modeling.
But I think this is another stage in my life, you know.
When I was young, I loved the programming.
Now, when I'm old, I don't want to do right now the
programming,
Maybe when my eyes and my inspiration will not be so prol
ific,
I will start again programming, scripting.
What are your goals in life?
Yeah, it's a hard question.
Because I don't know if somebody can tell you very well
what he wants from his life or what he wants to do with his
life.
I want to do what I like.
That is for the first.
But, you know, the life is very unpredictable.
You can't say what I will do tomorrow.
But I can say that I want to explore new worlds.
Okay.
I'm planning to move in Canada for about one, two, or three
years
to learn more about 3D graphics and about texturing.
This applied for the games.
Oh, good luck.
I hope you get to go to Canada.
Thank you.
Where do you see yourself in CG in 10 years' time?
I don't know if I'll stay 10 years in CG,
because I like to do many stuff.
If I like CG for five years,
maybe another five years will be enough for me.
Maybe I will try to improve my skills
and my technique.
And after that, I will try to learn other people
to do some 3D graphics.
So you want to be a teacher?
Yes, I would like that.
But for the first, I have to learn by myself
what means 3D and how to do that.
And after that, to learn others.
But also, I would like to be a leader,
to have a position.
I will try that.
I have tried already with my own company,
but here in Romania, you don't have so many opportunities.
And my company is, it's okay for Romania,
but it's not okay for international markets.
I mean, I have here some people and I'm working with them,
but I can do many things.
So who or what inspires you artistically?
Everything. Yeah, everything.
I'm inspired mostly by my girlfriend, by some powerful
figures, you know, actors.
Can you tell us something about yourself that most people
don't know?
I don't know if I can say something like that because I don
't know myself about many things, you know.
I mean, I discover many things day by day and I'm amazed by
me, you know.
Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but because you don't have so
much time to study by yourself,
and you pay more attention in the day-by-day life, at job,
at your colleagues, with your girlfriends,
you have too less time for yourself.
Sometimes you discover some things about you, something
very, very new,
no yeah that was a very original answer to that question
very unexpected yeah what is one piece
of advice you would give to any artist looking to get into
3d yes i just i i say uh that 3d is
very easy everything is very easy in this life if you like
it very much you know okay um when i
start 3D, I was so enthusiastic and I was like everything
what I've done, some spheres and some
cubes. And I was so excited about that. And I was
everything everywhere saying, wow, what is 3D?
and I think every new 3D artist
has to be proud by his work,
even if it's a simple cube or a simple sphere,
because...
Yes, you're laughing now.
No, it's cool.
But it's true.
Yeah, I believe that too.
Because every man starts from zero, you know.
Nobody has born with some special techniques and with
something there.
Everything is put in learning.
Everybody should use internet in these days.
Because on internet you find many resources to learn.
You don't have to learn something from 3D Max or Maya.
because you have to concentrate more on the technique.
You have to do some research about tutorials,
about interviews.
No, no, no interviews.
Tutorials, yes.
And to try to combine these tutorials
and to extract just what interests you.
I mean, Internet is the most powerful university in 3D, I
think.
Could you explain some of your work methods?
Because I know you're planning to write a big tutorial on
character modeling.
Oh, yeah.
But could you give us a nightmare with that tutorial?
Because I was planning to do that tutorial one year ago,
you know,
But I was planning that day by day.
And today I'm saying tomorrow I'm going to do that tutorial
.
And tomorrow I wake up at 12 by drinking my VIP coffee.
I'm going to the job.
There my boss is screaming at me,
Hey, get to finish that ugly job.
After that I'm coming home.
I'm spending time with my girlfriends.
And after that, I'm in my few spare time, if I can say that
.
I'm trying to improve myself.
And after that, I remember, oops, I have to do a tutorial.
And I sleep.
I'm sleeping with that in mind.
I hope you get some time in the future to do it.
But could you explain?
I know, and I'm sorry.
And I'm sorry because many people have written to me on
email
asking me about this tutorial.
and sometimes I'm so embarrassed about that
because I have done that promise to finish a tutorial
and look at me after one year,
I didn't start that tutorial.
Yeah, because your work is amazing
and I would love to see a tutorial on how you made it.
But could you give us some examples?
What's your modeling technique?
How do you make the faces?
Yeah, I can tell you how I started 3D heads.
I started searching for inspiration for the first.
It's very important that you have to work on something with
pleasure.
Okay.
And for that, you have to find something very beautiful.
Okay.
And I choose the heads, you know, human heads and mostly
the human heads.
And after you search the references, you have to search
from the front, from the side, and from many other angles.
And with many details, you have to study many details, but
the eyes, mouth, nose, hair, hairstyle.
Okay.
And after that, I'm starting the modeling with a simple
cube.
Okay.
And that's why I'm saying if you are doing a cube, a simple
cube, you have to be proud by that.
Because from a simple cube, you can evolve into a very
complex set.
All you have to do is just to use some simple instruments
inside the Max.
no cuts uh delete uh insert the edges okay and uh you have
you have to choose very well
uh your technique i mean between polygons NURBS because
many people can work with NURBS
i'm in this case i love polygons because i'm managing my uh
very well the polygons okay you
You have to know how to start working on the head.
Because many people are trying to get the head from the
first time.
But you can do that.
You have to increase the level of head, the level of
details.
For the first, you have to do something like modeling in
clay.
Is that right?
Is that the right expression?
Yeah.
and with less detail, and the number of colligons have to
be very, very low.
Because if you have a lot of vertex there, millions of
vertex, you can't manage all of them.
And yes, if I have an alt head and somebody will put me to
modify this head,
I will say simple, I can't modify the alt head,
because it's very difficult to move millions of vertex just
like that.
And for that, it's very important to keep the number of
polygons very, very low.
How low is possible.
After this stage, after a simple form of the head,
you have to add details in some area, like eyes, eyes for
the first, and mouth.
And after that, the nose.
Yeah.
And the ears, you can model separate and just attach it
fine.
Okay.
And the texture?
No, it's nothing special.
I'm using a cylinder-repelled map for the first, for the
head.
I'm using an unwrap after that.
Using unwrap just to arrange some vertex on texture.
And after that, I'm exporting with the exporter
or simple just with a Prince 3 directly to Photoshop
because for the first time I didn't use the export tab
because I didn't know that the plugin exists.
And I've used just Prince 3.
And after that you have just to paint over this vertex,
over this projection.
How do you do the hair?
The hair, yeah.
I'm using the hair with polygons.
It's a simple technique.
It's one of the first techniques called hair polygons.
And with some texture done very, very simple, very
primitive in Photoshop.
It's not something very amazing.
Now I'm researching something with shake hair.
Shake hair.
Hair effects and ornatrix.
But I have to learn a lot about Ornatrix.
I like Ornatrix.
It's a very interesting plugin for hair.
You know Ornatrix?
Yeah, I tried it with the beta when it came out.
Yeah, I love Ornatrix.
But I have to do some research about this plugin.
And also, I hear about the new hair plugin inside the new
Max.
I don't know.
I think it's about shave and hair cut.
Yeah.
but mostly
I'm doing with polygons
simple polygons
so for the first you have just to
paint some spline on your head
on your simple head
and after that you
are if you just
draw some simple planes
with some level of
vertex there
just to deform the
plane over the
shape over the spline
you can use that simple function
named path follow
yeah
add the form
add the form
and that's all
and after you have finished
one hair
you can copy paste
hundreds of hair
that's a good explanation
well I think that's about
all the questions for today
I want to thank you very much for coming
onto the CG cast for the interview.
It's been a great help for me.
It should be very cool.
I hope maybe you can come back in the future,
maybe in 10 years, to see where you're at.
I want to say something.
I want to apologize about my bad, bad, bad English.
I didn't want to stress people with my language.
It's all right. There's no problem.
I'm sure a lot of people that do CG don't speak English
natively.
But do you want to put your website, say your website, so
people can visit it?
Can you write it there at the end?
Yeah.
www.xmg.ro
Okay, I'll put it in the show notes.
So for the website, check the show notes.
Well, I think that's all for today.
Good night, everybody.
