Tell us about yourself: who is AntoMacoda?

I am from the Piedmont Triad area of North Carolina USA. I began studying art and design in college and graduated with an architectural design and art history degree. I spent many years as an illustrator. Later I became interested in the free forms of nature and landscape architecture and have been involved with building landscapes for some time. As an artist, the transition from paper/canvas to computer graphics was a little disconcerting at first. The usual hand-to-eye coordination that traditionally had felt so comfortable with conventional mediums, took some getting used to when applied to the digital stylus and monitor. There are many advantages to electronics. Probably, the most important feature of digital painting is the ability to make mistakes and not panic

You have a fascinating sense of the surreal in your works; where did this come from?

I’ve always been an avid reader with interests in philosophy, ancient religions, mysticism, sci-fi, and fantasy. From very early on, I enjoyed bringing the things I read to a visual format and was always illustrating the stories contained in the books.

What is the typical workflow on a project and what software do you use?

Generally, I begin with photoshop to lay out a basic concept for a piece, and later in the 3D process, my primary tools are E-on-Software, Modo, and Poser. Depending on the time constraints, Modo is preferable, especially for the modeling of detailed, irregular, and organic shapes. However, most of my architectural type illustrations are crafted with VUE primitives and boolean objects.

Who are some of the artists that have influenced you?

Undoubtedly, my study of the many European renaissance masters has been invaluable. Men whose genius spans the centuries, such as Michelangelo, Pieter Bruegel, Jacopo Bassano, and Raphael Sanzio are particular favorites. Raphael and his contemporaries formulated a workable, two-dimensional construct for depicting visual perspective. The notion of the vanishing point was absent in most art prior to his genius. Another name that stands out is Hieronymus Bosch, a late 15th century, early Netherlandish painter, whose fantastic imagery was used to illustrate moral and religious concepts and narratives. In a more contemporary vein, there’s Boris Vallejo, Frank Frazetta and probably one of my most preferred visual sages is Albert Whitlock, a British-born motion picture matte artist. His work spanned most of the 20th century and can be seen extensively in film and television. Wow, I could go on, but the list would exceed our scope here

How has Renderosity made a difference in your life as an artist?

It’s wonderful to have access to so many great and diverse works of art all in one website. The talent here is not only inspirational but allows one to access and explore 3D content that can be used to create anything that is imaginable.

Any words of advice for a beginning digital artist?

I greatly admire the kids that are on the cutting edge of the gaming industry and movie animation. The individuals in the concept departments of Blizzard Entertainment, Eidos Interactive, and Fox Animation Studios, for example, are definitely some of the creme de la creme from the world over. Creating unique and never-before-seen characterizations and dazzling scenery is a difficult task for many artists to achieve. These talented people seem to be virtual wellsprings of visual wonders and they have the ability to make it look effortless. In their company, I would definitely learn some valuable techniques. Just follow your dreams.