A Renderosity member since 2009, our Vendor of the Month for February 2024 is, Truform, who hails from South Africa, and is known to family and friends as Sebastion Govender. He spends his time primarily as a freelance graphic artist.
TruForm operates as a self-owned company producing graphic works, previously in 2D, but now almost exclusively 3D.
“I consider Renderosity to be my main work since it takes most of my time, and because I simply love it!” he said.
It’s not well known, but on the side, he does a little music composing, too. “The promo videos for the Lavish home and Cliffside home feature my tracks. So, all round media production!” he said.
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We asked TruForm about his interests, aspirations and inspirations, and how he feels about the Renderosity community.
Tell us about your early interest in computers and developing that into a career?
I've only ever done graphic work and never explored much into other fields because I started really young. From my childhood, I was drawing non-stop. In my teens I was still drawing like crazy but then began taking computers apart and reassembling them, so I guess that I just progressed deeper into it.
Doing this kind of thing (freelancing) in South Africa didn't seem all that big at the time, especially when I got into 3D. A lot of people asked me if it was profitable…. It kind of wasn't initially, more like a side income. So, leaning on the PC hardware skills I acquired, I could provide tech support and used that to aid as an income source, and eventually built a PC capable of more advanced 3D design around 15 years ago. I'm currently 35 if you want to calculate dates.
The first big project I recall was the Luxury home, my tenth product. Of course, it's not as complex as what I've created in recent releases, but the scale of where I wanted to go was already hinted there. Since then, I'm fond of the Luxury yacht because that was a really complex one, too. I'm especially proud of it since I didn't know many of the faster workflow processes I know now (and the fantastic advancement of Poser) and yet I managed to see that one through to completion. Now that I know better, the Lavish home/Cliffside home serves as a fun monument of the knowledge gained.
What was it that made you realize you wanted to move up to producing designworks to sell as a vendor?
Describing myself, I'm more passionate than directional, meaning I put all my attention into developing my artistic skill rather than figuring out where I was going with it. First, it was physical drawing, which turned into 2D drawing through MS Paint, and then more advanced imaging software, and finally 3D when coming across Daz 3D and some content for it. They were all linked in my progress before the desire to build content for 3D scenes arrived. It was all for fun at first, but I would say it's being part of Renderosity that made me take designing more seriously and eventually becoming a vendor. If you look at the dates, you'll see my gallery images precede my product uploads.
What are the programs you first used while learning to create digital designs?
Gosh, if I think about the very first, they were software that probably doesn't exist anymore, in fact I can't even recall the names. It was a basic introduction to geometric manipulation. I think one of them was called animator or anim8or... something like that... In any case, that gave momentum to learning more recognizable ones like Maya (PLE) and Google Sketchup. But, of course, something about Blender's interface kept me, even back when it was criticized in the world of 3D packages for its difficult interface and limited output capability. On the 2D graphics side it was Paint Shop Pro (under ownership of Jasc, before it became Corel) with an occasional tinkering in Photoshop. But Photoshop, being a premium software, clearly wanted premium hardware, which at the time I didn't have. Gimp however could run on a USB drive so that quickly became a favorite, despite its unconventional 3 window interface.
What is the typical workflow on a project and what tools do you use most now for modeling, texturing, etc?
It's actually funny (this sort of relates to the previous two questions) because I wasn't sure where I was going with my skill, I started learning on free programs since it didn't require a major investment, and they ended up sticking with me: Primarily Gimp and then Blender. The process starts with finding references that provide a base to start modeling with. From there it's a rough model out of basic shapes until the look is good enough to start detailing. From then on it can be randomized from props in a room to larger furniture or the detailing of the structure. Also having Eevee (Blender's real-time renderer) helps a lot because I can visualize the scene a lot better while building, rather than waiting for a render, to see what's amiss or could use attention. Texturing typically comes after modelling, except when it comes to plants. It's way better to texture a leaf first since I'm going to end up duplicating it. So naturally, I've added my phone camera to my toolset because I tend to make plants that are found in my neighborhood.
It actually wasn't a direction I thought of originally, it sort of just happened. I visited the Renderosity chatroom (when that was a thing) and between myself and those who were already vendors and some who were just having fun creating, we'd often share the projects we were working on. At the time I uploaded a few freebies and slowly it made it all the more attractive to participate.
What other vendors or artists have influenced your work?
I always looked forward to seeing Blackhearted's inspiring designs, even though I'm not into character creation, yet! You know that sense you have where a design type is not directly up your alley, but you can envision how it would translate into your scope or specialty? I don't know how else to explain that, but that's the effect his work had on me. But the more directly influential one would be Humster3D. Though I don't think they sell through Renderosity anymore, their car models were incredibly detailed, and they had a huge catalog, too. I used to enjoy browsing their catalog. And then there's Exnem, Ironman13 and Dreamland.
How has Renderosity made a difference or helped in your growth as a vendor?
In quite a few ways: for starters, one grows much faster when there's feedback and accountability. With messages from buyers on my products, I discover things that could be improved or issues that need fixing and learn better ways of doing things. Then there's fellow vendors who give me useful tips on getting the most out of the software, and user requests that can sometimes become challenges to grow my skills. It’s not just limited to buyers/vendors, but many community members give valuable information.
Do you have any advice for someone thinking of becoming a vendor?
If you feel inspired enough to create projects to share, then go for it! I tried it out and it's worked for me. Just make sure you're passionate enough to keep it up and want to release more and more, because if you lose interest in your store, others will too. Plus, it'll only help you grow more as an artist.
What are some products you want to create in the near future?
This is a dream list since they're huge in nature and I would need a great deal of time to complete them:
- A multi-story mall, though I see Bluetreestudio's got the community covered ;),
- I've gotten a request for a golf estate which is great, but also a big one to take on,
- a bigger city with winding ramps/bridges and train tracks, including mountainous routes and perhaps even coastal areas and neighborhoods branching off. That's the ultimate goal.
If you're talking about actual releases, I think a jewelry store is most likely underway, and yes, some more "everyday" vehicles. I see those comments... or should I call it criticisms lol!
Any last thoughts or comments?
I must say I'm curious as to the expansion of software packages on Renderosity. I know Poser and Daz have a large portion of users, but because Blender has become so popular and is easily available, and because I design in it, how many are interested in working with the Blender versions of my designs? I've seen Blender forums and participated in one here and there but might take a bigger consideration at it if the interest is high enough.
