WHAT DOES A SURFACING ARTIST DO? (In the Entertainment industry.)

Surfacing / Photo Credit: Amol Gaikwad - Prana Animation Studio

WHAT DOES A SURFACING ARTIST DO? (In the Entertainment industry.)                          

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What does a Surfacing Artist do?   

Surfacing artists bring three-dimensional models to life; they add texture and color to the 3-D characters, environments, and props in an animated feature to enhance their visual appeal. Part of the credit for the ratatouille in Ratatouille looking good enough to eat goes to the surfacing team.

A virtual 3D model is just a shape, the surface is how it appears. The way something looks is part of telling a story. You can tell Mater is an old car from his rusty brown surface and how his life is different from Lightning McQueen with his shiny red surface. You can find surface design everywhere you look.

Duties

Surfacing artists construct each aspect of an object’s appearance using computer programs called shaders. They break down a complex appearance into specific elements. One shader may define Mater’s underlying brown color, another his rough texture, and yet another puts the gleam in his eyes.

Surfacing artists are master digital painters. They enhance the appearance of characters, props, and environments in an animated feature film according to the visual style set forth by the art director, production designer, and director of the film. The surfacing artist is responsible for technically demanding and complex surfacing setups. They work closely with the modeling and lighting departments to ensure that surfacing needs are met alongside the needs of other departments. These artists use computer rendering environments such as Body Paint, Maya, Renderman, Zbrush, Mudbox, or Photoshop to develop the needed surface materials, textures, and UV maps that overlay 3-D models.  They must produce consistent, high-quality work while maintaining a steady flow of assignments into the pipeline and meeting rigid deadlines.

Skills & Education

Being a surfacing artist requires creativity and an eye for design elements such as detail, scale, composition, color, and form. The artist must be able to learn new programs and create in different visual styles as required; an understanding of polygonal and NURBS texturing and UV mapping and layout is necessary. Knowledge of modeling and lighting/shading is a plus, since surfacing artists work in tandem with these departments. Artists will be very desirable if they have additional experience in advanced surface types, global illumination, and subsurface scattering. Educational requirements are not as important to landing the job as relevant industry experience and a killer demo reel, but a bachelor’s degree in computer animation will give you a competitive edge.

What to Expect

You may have been a talented artist in your childhood; now you are painting with complex equations and specialized software. Expect to work “alone in a crowd”: You may be part of a large team, but you’ll probably be interacting more with your mouse and screen than anyone who can talk back to you. Expect eyestrain, incipient carpal tunnel syndrome, and the satisfaction of shouting “That’s mine!” when the most lifelike fur, scales, or lava ever animated pops up on the Cineplex screen.

Sources, References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, WikiBooks, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, Film Daily, New York Film Academy, The Balance, Careers Hub, The Numbers, Film Maker, TV Guide Magazine, Blurb, Media Match, Quora, Creative Skill Set, Chron, Investopedia, Variety, No Film School, WGA, BBC, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Best Sample Resume, How Stuff Works, Career Trend, Producer's Code of Credits, Truity, Production Hub, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Variety, Wolf Crow, Get In Media, Production Beast, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, UCAS, Frankenbite, Realty 101, Careers Hub, Sokanu, Raindance, Film Connection,

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Surfacing / Photo Credit: Amol Gaikwad - Prana Animation Studio