Mr. Márcio Miranda: Outstandingly Multi-Disciplined
Mr. Márcio Miranda, (known over at ArtStation as Jack Malone) has quite an impressive online portfolio. The variety of his works exhibits his grasp of not only his tools of discipline but of his own talent and strengths as an artist.
The adjective “impressive” is actually an understatement to describe Mr. Miranda as an artist. He is multi-disciplined and is well-versed with other forms of the visual arts. Also in his portfolio are solitary pieces of sculpture that he had created during his tenure.
So when he said that, “It was not easy to enter this market mainly because my portfolio was only of personal jobs.” it definitely came as a surprise. His recent pieces are already of top notch professional level; it is hard to imagine that he was once green.
So let’s get to know Mr. Miranda in this short feature and be inspired to be better followers of the craft.
Xeno Creatives (XC): Given your experience in the industry, what do you think is your edge as a 3D artist?
Jack Malone (JM): I started to work as a 3D artist in 2007 in an internship at a 3D studio, and it was my first contact with the area. I learned a lot about how I could be a generalist. I had a contact with rig, render, deadlines and projects in general. On the other hand, I had to improve my artistic skills like painting, drawing, and photograph because I knew that 3D was a result of different disciplines and I needed to be confident.
As time passed by, I found what I loved to do, to be a 3D modeler, because everything about sculpture, creatures, fantasy, and special makeup effects made me crazy. I figured out that it was what I had to put all my forces to.
In 2009-2010, I put all my focus on 3D characters. I started to study anatomy and sculpture deeply to get good projects built. It was a great time. I got in touch with good teachers and I learned a lot. In 2012, I joined Rede Globo – the second biggest TV broadcasting company in the world – as part of the cinematic team, creating characters, assets, and environments to opening titles for sports shows. There, I won one PromaxBDA Latin America Award, one PromaxBDA Award, and one New York Festival Award. Apart from that, I had the opportunity to work with a huge pipeline and projects.
Nowadays, multi-discipline and storytelling are my focus. I have to put both in all I do. I think that is my edge as a 3D artist.
XC: Whom do you consider your influence(s)?
JM: There is a huge set of artists that have influenced me like Frank Frazetta, John Buscema, Caravaggio, Rodin, Christophe Charbonnel, Fausto de Martini, Vitaly Bulgarov, Katsuhiro Otomo, Yukito Kishiro, Kentaro Miura, Hajime Sorayama, Alex Ross, Alex Oliver, Frank Cho, Ash Thorp, Gio Nakpil, Martin Canale, Don Lanning, Ian Spriggs, Bruno Camara and more.
XC: So far, what were the challenges that you had encountered working in the 3D industry?
JM: In 2006, I started to study 3D, but here in Brazil there were not many 3D studios to work at. It was not easy to enter this market mainly because my portfolio was only of personal jobs.
But when I started working, my biggest difficulty was with the company’s workflow because some were more robust than others. Only in 2012, I could have contact with this more robust and professional workflow. The companies and processes that I had worked on before were very amateur.
XC: What is your most exciting project to date?
JM: I always consider my recent work the most exciting, being it either digital or traditional. But in fact, my personal work “Cave Goblin” is one of my favorites because I put on it what I wanted the most: storytelling.
I focused a lot on creating a background for this character, so that I could understand it well and I could visualize mentally what it would look like—what kind of clothes it would wear, its anatomy and so on.
It was such an exciting job to do that I have been working on three more characters with the same background. With them, I will have a small army. Characters who would live in the same world and have the same graphical language.
XC: Do you have any advice to aspiring artists?
JM: Work hard, exceed your limits, be dedicated and have focus. Invest in personal jobs – they are the best tool to develop yourself. Try exploring different techniques in these personal jobs.
Want to see more of Mr. Márcio Miranda’s works? Click here!
