Seasoned and Tenured: Mr. Victor Hugo Sousa
With a tenure of 12 years as a CG artist, 8 as a 3D Generalist and Supervisor and 4 years as a character artist/digital sculptor, Mr. Sousa has definitely knows the ropes around the digital industry. And his long tenure is reflected through his impressive body of work which you can see over at ArtStation. The attention to detail, his regard for anatomy, and over-all character study are truly marvels to behold.
Of course, Mr. Sousa’s wisdom comes as no surprise as he had been a participant in workshops given by the best in the industry, including, Glauco Longhi, Rafael Grassetti, Justin Holt, Alexandre Troufanov, Katon Calaway and Pedro Toledo.
Let us get to know the 36-year old digital artist in this short feature and be inspired by his journey in the industry.
Xeno Creatives (XC): ZBrush technology brought a lot to the industry. What processes did you have to learn to be skilled in it?
Victor Hugo Sousa (VHS): ZBrush is a wonderful tool! It changed the industry and gave us unlimited options, especially with 3D printing. But for me, what really changed my life was studying anatomy and sculpture with Glauco Longhi. He taught me how to study, feel, and understand forms and pass my studies to ZBrush and my characters. And just after that, I was blessed to have great opportunities to study and learn from Rafael Grassetti, Justin Holt, Alexandre Troufanov, Katon Calaway and Pedro Toledo. They gave me the understanding of characters, textures, ZBrush and working process.
XC: What are specific ZBrush features do you employ in the production of your art? Has it helped you in improving your art better?
VHS: I think that I use everything that I can from ZBrush (lol)! I’m not familiar with ZModeler though and I have yet to study it. And definitely it has improved my work/art a lot! I can’t imagine my life without it!
XC: Was your craft really a passion to begin with, a hobby, or a mere job?
VHS: Well, that’s a funny question. Now that I work with collectibles and toys most of time, I can say that everything that happened to me led me to this path. I was always very curious about how my toys worked, I tried to fix them and always imagined how they were done. And when I was 24 I had my first contact with CG. I was a generalist for 8 years before I found what I really liked doing. Now I’ve been working for 4 years as a character artist/digital sculptor.
XC: What do you think is your edge as a 3D artist?
VHS: I really don’t know lol!! I’m always trying to improve and be faster, more organized. Ah almost forgot it, I’m suppppeerr nerdy!!! I watched each “Star Wars” (the original trilogy) like 70 times lol!!
XC: Whom do you do you consider your influence(s)?
VHS: The list is long!!! Lol. I mean, I will probably miss some names. I am sorry for that, but in the digital industry, I can say those who have influenced me are, Rafael Grassetti, Glauco Longhi, Igor Catto, Daniel Bel, Justin Hold, Paul Paulino, Romell Chopraa, Kucharek Brothers, Marthin Augusta, Martin Canale, Erlon Abrantes, Katon Calaway, Gio Nakpil, Fabricio Torres, Steve Lord, Adam Skutt the list actually goes on for like, 10 pages (I remember all of them, but they won’t fit here lol).
Then in classic sculpture I would say Bernini and Michelangelo have influenced me the most. Among painters I have my friends Chris Caraveo, Jeff Vargas, Ang Seng, Ed Bradley, Kat Sapene.
XC: So far, what were the challenges that you had encountered working in the 3D industry?
VHS: I think that being noticed is probably the most challenging of all challenges. Your work will be only noticed if you are good. You will only be good if you study a lot. And you will only study hard and work hard on something if you really love it. And at the end you will realize that you’re doing all this to have the opportunity to work on great projects and to inspire people.
XC: What is your most exciting project to date?
VHS: For real, I can’t name 1, because I’m really blessed to have worked so many amazing projects. Right now, I can name 3: Superman 1/3 Iron Studios (Superman is my favorite hero), XM Studios Doctor Octopus and Yakuza Joker (I had a lot of freedom working on these projects.
I’m actually working on 3 more which I can’t say lol.
XC: Do you have any advice to aspiring artists?
VHS: Well, I would say, use references!!! Use a lot of references!! I MEAN A LOT!!!!! lol. Get as many references as you can for what you intend to do. Without references, you’ll have a greater chance of failing.
Want to see more of Mr. Victor Hugo Sousa’s works? Click here!
