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本期采访的嘉宾是一位在英国的 3D 艺术家，看看本期嘉宾将会给大家带来什么新的思路和有趣的分享。

本期嘉宾：Ivona Alexandrova

Winner of Chaos Group’s THU raffle at Total Chaos 2019. This render depicts the artist’s inspiring experience at THU 2019.

Q：Ivona, can you introduce yourself to us?

Ivona，你能给大家介绍一下你自己吗?

A：Hello! I’m Ivona. I am a creative artist specialising in 3D Visualizations with a strong passion for creating unique Story Telling using a variety of 3D tools. I have been in the creative field for over 8 years and I have been fortunate enough to meet some of the greatest talents in the industry. In my practice, I strive to implement my traditional background in the era of digital innovation and bridge the gap between the artistic and technical side in the pipeline. I am interested in producing 3D images – both moving and static and work out the most efficient way to visualise ideas. A particular interest of mine is the intersection of CG and Science together and using technology as a bridge to achieving photorealism and pushing boundaries on the screen.

你们好！我是 Ivona，一个创造艺术家，非常热衷于使用各种3D工具创造出独特的故事。我强迫这个创意领域已有 8 年以上，很幸运能结识一些某些最优秀的人才。在我的实践中，我努力将我的传统背景融入到数字创新的时代，在艺术和技术方面的鸿沟上构建轴向。我对制作3D图像很有意义-包括动态和静态图像，并发现最有效的我来特别注意的是 CG 和科学的交集，并使用技术作为同轴电缆来实现照片级写实表现，以及突破屏幕的局限。

Q：Can you share your winning work in Total Chaos and the inspiration behind its creation?

你能分享一下你在 Total Chaos 的获奖作品和它的创作灵感吗?

A：The initial work I applied with, according to the rules, had to be a written motivation. I told the unedited story of how grateful I am to all the obstacles and happy coincidences that led me to this point of my life and be part of the event. A lot of times, I see people striving to present things as being so well directed and perfect. In a way, it seems one has always had things figured all. It almost makes you feel insecure and doubt your journey.
My path was roundabout, and I went through so many areas. At times it felt like my normals ere pointing at the wrong direction, and I believe everyone experiences this to some extent. Yet, as long as you dare to make a change, it is never too late to reverse them. Instead of faking it, I embraced all my failures, and I was so blessed to find the right community and a few amazing people who appreciated this and gave me a chance.
After Trojan Horse was a Unicorn, I did a scene for my presentation and sharing the THU story. I created and 3D camera model and used some photos I did at the venue. The background is the actual building in Malta and the keyring is there to refer to a character at THU. Implementing both 3D techniques and some personal details enhanced the storytelling in the scene and made it more engaging.

根据规则，我最初提交的作品必须是一份文字描述的想法。于是我注意到了一个真实的故事，内容主要讲述了我是如何感激我所遇到的各种困难和其中美妙的巧合，这些困难很多时候，我看到有人努力使物体呈现得方向指向且很完美。在某种程度上，一个人似乎总是希望把事情都想清楚了。但是在追求完美的同时，它也会让你感到不安，甚至怀疑你的人生旅程。
我的创作道路是迂回曲折的，我尝试过很多领域。有时我觉得自己的正常状态指向了错误的方向，我相信每个人都在某种程度上经历过类似情况。然而，最好的改变时机永远是当下，只要敢于做出改变，那么永远不会太迟。幸运的是，我没有装模作样的忽略我之前的错误，当我勇敢的直面我所有的失败后，我发现了对我有益的社群和一些欣赏这一点并愿意给我机会的人。
在加入 Trojan Horse was an Unicorn（译者注：一个 3D，视效，概念艺术等相关的线上社区，简称：THU）之后，我为我的展示作品做了一个场景同时也分享了THU的故事。我创造了 3D 相机模型，并使用了一些我在现场拍摄的照片，背景是层次的剧院真实的建筑，钥匙圈指代了 THU 的一个人物。并且我采用 3D 技术和一些个人细节增强了场景中的叙事感，有助于更加引人入胜。

Q：Are you working on anything new these days, as everyone is working from home? Can you give us a brief introduction to the workflow of the software you use now?

现在每个人都在家工作，你有在创作什么新的作品吗？可以简单介绍一下你现在使用软件的工作流程吗？

A：I am a social person, and spending a lot of time in isolation is a great struggle for me. Working and doing 3D daily helped me keep my sanity during the lockdown. I am currently working remotely on a VR Project with some talented people from the VR Manchester community. Besides work, I’ve been spending the extra free time we were blessed with to dig deeper in Houdini and proceduralism. I love experimenting with new techniques and discover better ways to optimize my workflow and be more efficient in a studio environment.
I still stick mainly to the Maya-Zbrush-Substance Painter and Vray for Maya workflow. I am working towards implementing more Houdini and merging my artistic background with my passion for programming and science.

我是一个喜欢社交的人，花很多时间独处对我来说是一种巨大的煎熬，每天做点 3D 工作能帮助我在禁闭期间保持理智。我目前正在远程工作一个虚拟现实项目，与一些虚拟现实曼彻斯特社区（VR Manchester community）的人才合作。除了工作，我一直在用额外的时间深度挖掘 Houdini 和程序主义。我喜欢尝试新技术，发现更好的方法来优化我的工作流程，这会使我们在工作室环境中达到效率。
我仍然主要坚持 Maya-Zbrush-Substance Painter 和 V-Ray for Maya 工作流。我正在努力尝试更多的使用 Houdini，替换我的艺术背景与我对编程和科学的热情相结合。

Q：Chaos Group recently launched V-Ray 5 for 3dsMax. Have you tried it out? Which of these features are you interested in?

最近Chaos Group推出了 V-Ray 5 for 3dsmax，你有尝试体验吗？你对其中哪些功能比较感兴趣？

A：I’ve been recently working procedurally and tackling a lot of data and detail. I was curious to do some tests, and I was amazed that I managed to handle a lot of detail and visualize heavy scenes rendering on a laptop. The UVW randomizer is by far my favourite feature. This, combined with the post-production features, eliminates the need to constantly switch between software. It’s never been faster and more convenient to achieve convincing results.
I started my journey in CG using 3Ds Max and Vray years ago, and I am always excited to see how much things have evolved. When I was 8th grade, I was part of a Virtual Archeology club where we were doing a lot of research on the Bulgarian heritage. As an outcome, we reconstructed and visualized the Preslav Gold Treasure with Max and Vray. A passionate project I want to do in my free time is to revisit and rerender this scene and see how much things have developed. I am beyond excited to put these features in my practice even further.

我最近一直在有条不紊地工作，处理大量的数据和细节。我很好奇地做了一些测试，我很惊讶我能在笔记本电脑上处理大量的细节和可视化渲染的场景。随机纹理贴图是目前为止我最喜欢的功能。这个功能，再加上后期制作功能，就不需要在软件之间不断切换了。我感觉从来没有这么快、这么便捷地就能得到真实的结果。
几年前，我使用 V-Ray for 3dsMax 开始了我的 CG 之旅。看到 V-Ray for 3dsMax 的快速发展，我特别兴奋。我记得在我八年级的时候，加入了一个虚拟考古俱乐部，并有幸成为其中的一员，在那段时间里我们做了很多关于保加利亚遗产的研究。最后，我们使用 V-Ray for 3dsMax 对 Preslav Gold Treasure 进行了模型重建和可视化展示。很希望我能在空闲的时间再次重温这个美妙的场景，看看现在的技术都发展到什么地步了。我非常期待能将这些功能进一步应用到我的实践中。

图：PreslavGold宝藏

Q：If you are one of the contestants in this competition, do you have any novel ideas about this competition?

如果您作为这次竞赛的选手之一，面对这次的竞赛题目，你有什么新奇的想法？

A：When it comes to inspiration, I usually find mine in nature and the real world. My favourite source is the mountains in Bulgaria or urban architecture.
Sometimes, however, inspiration doesn’t come easy, and starting is the hardest part. When I feel stuck, I always rely on the exercise ‘crazy eights’ – doing 8 sketches in 8 minutes. The idea is to generate as many ideas as possible within a short timeframe, focusing on quantity of ideas, not quality. Once you’ve got a bunch of divergent thinking on one topic, to begin converging on some winning ideas by voting on the favourites. Throughout the process of ideation, you start to develop concepts even further. This exercise works every time, and some of the ideas your brain produces while being under pressure are unbelievable.

说到灵感，我通常在自然和现实世界中找到我的灵感，我最喜欢的来源是保加利亚的山脉或城市建筑。
但是，有时候灵感并不会轻易地出现，并且开始是最难的部分。当我感到困惑时，我总是依靠练习“疯狂八分钟”——在8分钟内完成8张草图。这个概念是为了在较短的时间内生成尽可能多的想法，重点是想法的数量，而不是质量。当您对一个主题有很多分歧的想法后，就可以通过投票表决最喜欢的想法来融合一些成功的想法。在构想的整个过程中，你会开始进一步地发展概念。这项练习每次都能奏效，有时你的大脑在压力下产生的一些想法是不可思议的。

Q：As a judge of this competition, what would you like to share with other young artists who are just starting out?

作为这次竞赛的评委，你有什么想对其他刚刚起步的年轻艺术家分享的？

A：Starting out and finding the right career path can be among the hardest periods in an artist’s journey. There are so many areas you can go into, and it is almost impossible to be equally good in all fields. The best piece of advice I can give is to learn the fundamentals and then keep on building your skillset. Don’t just learn the software it changes so rapidly. Invest some extra effort mastering the core principles. They will never go out of date!
It is easy to open an art platform and get discouraged by other artists quality of work. Yet we all share the same struggles, and there is no shortcut. Setting realistic goals and achieving them will have a much better impact on your development. Don’t worry, you will progress in no time, just be dedicated. Moreover, connect with as many people as possible. Getting feedback is priceless, and it is the fastest way to learn from your mistakes and improve. The CG community is so friendly and encouraging! Just be active even if you feel your work is not that great yet. Even award-winning Supervisors have their doubts and insecurities. It is normal, and we all have to embrace it.
One positive thing we can take from this pandemic is that a lot of events went online, and most of them are even free. It is easier than ever before to participate, learn new things and connect with people all over the globe. Don’t miss the chance.

在一开始就找到正确的职业道路可能是艺术家旅程中最艰难的时期。您会涉及到很多领域，但几乎不可能在所有领域都表现出色。我能提供的最好的建议是学习基础知识，然后持续地学习建立个人技能。不要只是学习软件，它们变化如此之快。花一些额外的精力来掌握核心原则。他们永远不会过时！
有时你打开一个艺术网站，然后很容易被其他艺术家的工作作品质量所挫败。然而，我们所有人都在进行同样的斗争，没有捷径可走。设定并实现现实的目标将对您的发展产生更好的影响。别担心，只要专心投入，你会进步得很快。此外，请与尽可能多的人联系，获得的反馈是无价的，这是从错误中学习和改进的最快方法。CG社区总是友好和令人鼓舞的！即使你觉得自己的工作还不是很出色，也要保持活跃。即使是屡获殊荣的艺术家也会有疑惑和不安全感。这是正常的，我们所有人都必须接受它。
我们可以从这次的全球病毒危机中得到的一个好处，那就是许多活动都会在线上进行，其中大多数甚至是免费参与，这让我们学习新事物并与世界各地的人们联系，变得比以往任何时候都更加容易。千万不要错过机会！

Q：As a young artist, what mistakes do you think are easy to make in the process of creation?

作为年轻的艺术家，您觉得在创作过程中会有哪些比较容易犯的错误呢？

A：In the modern world of digital innovation, we are overwhelmed with unbelievable content. It is fantastic to aim for producing high-end visuals, but unfortunately, it does not happen straight away. More and more people skip the foundation steps and jump straight in the deep. You can learn any software but the core skills I often see missing with some young artists is observation and understanding of the real world.
The first and most important foundation is identifying the right proportions and use them as a tool to troubleshoot what may appear off in the scene. Having a strong observation will help to create informed decisions about your work. Even the most beautifully rendered detail can evoke a sense of uncanniness if the base is slightly off.
Also, we are always talking about innovations in CG and the technical specifications, but the storytelling is often neglected. All the tools we use are just a way of unfolding the narrative. Creating the story behind every object in the scene and doing the layout in an informed way will make it more engaging and with the audience.

在当今的数字创作世界中，那些不可思议的内容会使我们不知所措。专注于产生高端视觉效果是很棒的，但不幸的是，它不是一件即刻就能做到的事。越来越多的人跳过基础步骤，直接跳入深渊。你可以学习任何软件，但是我经常看到一些年轻艺术家缺少的核心技能是对现实世界的观察和理解。
首先，也是最重要的基础是确定正确的比例，并将其用作解决场景中可能出现的问题的工具。进行有力的观察将有助于对你的作品做出明智的决定。如果基础有一点偏离，则即使是最精美的渲染细节也可能会引起不适。
此外，我们一直在谈论CG和技术规范方面的创新，但作品的叙事性常常被忽略。我们使用的所有工具只是展开叙述的一种方式。为场景中每个对象创建故事并有逻辑地进行布局，会使它更具有观众吸引力。

Q：Do you have any ideas about your future job? Would you consider coming to China to play or work in the future?

你对未来的工作，有什么想法和规划吗？在未来，你会考虑来中国玩或者工作吗？

A：Once the pandemic is over, I would love to be part of a big team of talented individuals in a studio. I hope I will have the opportunity to put my creativity into a more technical role and achieve new heights. I still cannot tell where exactly I am going to relocate in these uncertain times but I believe exciting opportunities await around the globe.
I would love to work on a project in China! I love the culture and it has been a dream of mine to visit this part of the world one day. In fact, I applied to be a mentor at a Summer school in China last year. I prepared workshops for 3D innovations, VR, Bio-printing and all the exciting career opportunities you can have with 3D. Due to financial circumstances, I had to postpone. Now it is another motivation for me to work hard and fulfil this dream in the future.

疫情结束后，我很想成为工作室里一群有才华人中的一份子。我希望我有机会将我的创造力发挥更大的技术作用，并达到新的高度。在目前这个不确定的时期，我还无法确定我要去哪里，但我相信，全球各地都有令人兴奋的机遇在等待着。
我很想在中国从事一些项目！我热爱中国文化，我一直梦想有一天能到中国去看看。实际上，我去年曾经申请在中国的一所暑期学校担任导师。我还准备了一些3D创新，VR，生物打印以及3D所有相关职业的工作坊。由于经济原因，我不得不推迟。现在，这是我努力工作并实现未来梦想的另一个动力。