Interview with CGI artist Mithun Tailor, Mumbai, India
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what did you do before becoming a CGI artist?
I am a CGI and visual artist specialized in product and automotive industry. I’m inspired by architecture, technology and art in all its forms. I believe in the exploration of CGI as a tool for developing authentic work and better results. In the past few years I have worked with clients all across the globe, making my work more precise and detailed. I did diploma courses in Animation & VFX from the institution of Mumbai.
How did you start with commercial CGI work? Can you remember your first client?
After the first year I started to intern at Designing Studio based in Mumbai as a “product visualizer” where my role was to visualize product concepts designed in CGI. There I started rendering CGI products daily—basically one product each day form modeling to texturing to finishing and finally retouching. Doing this for more than two years helped me sharpen my skills. I remember the first official brand project I did; it was for Samsung’s product launch. Very exciting. After I started representing Paintbox as a CGI visual designer, I got more opportunities to work with renowned brands from all around the world.
How did you learn CGI? Who was your biggest influence in the beginnings?
From the institute I got the basic education on CGI. After that, I pursued my passion to learn commercial art. From the very beginning I was inspired by commercial product photography. I loved how lighting and composition brings life to a product. Also, I was really influenced by Charles Helleu. I love his work.
In your studio, what does your typical day look like?
As always start with a cup of tea and slowly get productive. Most of the time I am busy with onboard projects, managing teams for the best outcome. Some days I start with retouching, others with modeling or lighting. When I don’t do commercial work onboard I love to focus on personal projects.
Describe your ideal client.
A client who knows what he/she wants..!! Sometimes clients without visions are very difficult to work with. The client with a clear brief is the ideal client for me, that’s for sure.
What’s your go to or most used CGI tool/software? Do you use many different ones?
I have started with Maya, 3ds max and Vray for rendering, but from the last two years I am using Corona Renderer and 3ds max mostly. I do a little bit of Zbrush for sculpting. I have also recently started exploring C4d and other software.
Post-production; what software do you use to manage and edit your images?
I use Photoshop and After effects to do retouching and Editing/post-production. Sometime Adobe Lightroom to do color grading. That;s it!
Do you retouch your images yourself or outsource the process?
Yes, I do retouching and post-production mostly on my own. During tight deadlines, I prefer to divide work, as we all know CGI needs lots of work to get good results so I prefer to get help by collaborating with other artists.
How do you promote yourself? What marketing challenges do you face currently?
Social media platforms work best for me. You should check out my Artstation, Behance or Instagram profile. Â
Your top advice for aspiring CGI artists?
My advice is to do practice and be passionate about your goal. Never stop learning. Distraction is easy, focusing on what you want is the most important ingredient. Always remember why you have started and what’s your goal. Learn your tools—software—understand it’s potential. Try to work daily. Find an object around you and start creating that. Practicing your craft daily will help you improve the necessary skills. Also, improve your observation skill, getting the right details in your artwork will help achieve the realism effect.
Very well said, thank you so much. Very inspiring. And m very fond of mithun’s work since the time i followed him on social media.
Every time when I look at an amazing piece of artwork, I’m often impressed by the artistic vision of the artist, but I also tend to forget the point that creativity alone has never made great works, it is mostly about the solid technical skills and great implementation on the project! Enjoy reading this interview! Thanks for sharing!