FEELING THE ART

Artists find inspiration in many different ways. Maybe it’s a song, or a painting or the way the sunlight reflects off the water. This month, I spoke with a handful of compositors about their art and what influences their work, and what I discovered is they look at the world differently than most people. They find art in absolutely everything.
Inferno artist Fred Ruckel of New York City’s Stitch says, “I am always inspired by others’ work. When I see tasteful executions of a great creative it just reminds me where it all begins — with the concept.”
And Ruckel sees composites in everyday life. “When I walk the streets in Manhattan, I look at the people — some fast-moving, some standing still — and the cars moving through at different speeds; it looks like a composite of many layers all at offset speeds.”
Something as simple as pouring creamer into a clear coffee cup, reminds Ruckel of fluid dynamics. “It looks like an explosion, or a convulsing cloud.”.
Even looking at nature reminds him of a composite. “When I am driving down a mountain and see a valley full of clouds and I drive into it... sometimes the real thing looks like a bad composite.”
Remi Larroque is an Eyeon Fusion compositor based in France. Prior to working in visual effects and compositing, he studied carpentry and learned the basics of architecture. “I am very inspired from the streets, as well as ‘old-school genre’ and mixing ‘30s and ‘70s graphic arts. Pop art and motion design influence me as well. It is fun to get vintage designs and put in some 3D.”
Larroque says he is inspired by films more than traditional art. “I like to know how people do there transitions because if you have a good idea for the transition you’ve got the point [of the piece].”
How does he transfer his inspiration into his work? “When I find something I like, I prefer knowing what the guy went through to translate what he saw; how he brought that into CG. I prefer to know how the pieces of CG or movies work instead why they work — it is not the same approach.”
He adds that his tool of choice helps by not getting in the way of his creativity. “Fusion is very helpful because the most important thing for me is to create [naturally]. You think, you drag and it’s done. I can drag and connect the nodes and see the tree growing up as fast as I think it.”
What inspires you?