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Wacom Australia would like to congratulate Grant Warwick for winning first place in The 1st Annual Digital Modeling Competition on DigitalApprentice.net. In addition to other prizes, Grant will be receiving a Wacom Cintiq 12WX!

Grant Warwick was born in Orlando, Forida, USA, and grew up in Syndey Australia where he has worked as a professional 3D modeler and artist for the past 4 years. Grant started his career at one of Australia's leading VFX and Animation houses - Fuel International - where he was one of the core hard surface modelers on several film and television productions. Currently Grant boasts a successful freelance career having worked with studios and clients worldwide as a high resolution character and creature modeler.

For more on Grant, please visit his online portfolio and website: www.grantwarwick.com, http://sathe.cgsociety.org.

(Image courtesy of Grant Warwick)

What was your inspiration behind Hadron Mech, your winning entry in the Digital Apprentice competition?

Science fiction is my favorite field, especially in Film. The biggest inspiration was probably from War of the Worlds. The idea that such a simple machine (the tripod) could overpower us with ease really got me thinking how terrifying the idea is that something like Hadron may exist in future military use.

You used 3ds Max to build Hadron Mech? Do you have any other favourite software used for your creative work?

My other favorite pieces of Software are Zbrush, Photoshop, and a lesser known product that is still in beta called Topogun.

Topogun is basically a program that allows you to rebuild a high resolution 3D mesh exported from a program like Zbrush or other sculpting software with easy to use tools. It is designed minimally so usually the process of retopologising is slow and painful and would require a mouse. However it's very comfortable to use a tablet for this. Basically in a nutshell it's a new piece of software that is trying to make it as easy as possible to do a task that is usually slow and boring. In the past I had to use a mouse and now I can continue using the tablet so I am not swapping back and forth between a mouse and tablet every time I change software.

How long have you been into digital modeling, and have you won any other awards?

I have been modeling for 5 years but have never won anything as large as the Digital Apprentice competition. It's hard to find time between work to enter such large challenges.

Do you have any favourite clients or brands you have worked with?

I am currently freelancing for Marvel, however some of the favorite clients i have worked with are Sony, DDB Sydney and Pasozebra, a small animation company in Spain. Really fun stuff.

Did you use a tablet? If so, which model?

Of course. I think it would be hard to find any 3D modeler who doesn't own a Wacom, it really has become an essential piece of hardware equal to a mouse in the industry. I currently use a Intuos3 6x11.

How does the Wacom tablet enhance your workflow?

It detaches you from thinking so technically. When modeling with a mouse it can be really great for raw speed and repetition, but you lose the ability to think freely. So whenever I am sculpting or working on more artistic pieces I will switch to the tablet, and I instantly feel like an artist and not a technician. It's an awesome feeling.

How do you think the Cintiq 12WX will change your workflow?

100% it's going to allow me to focus on concept art. It's something I have always wanted to be good at however never really progressed far with due to making up for it with other concepting techniques in 3ds max. My current Intuos3 is great for sketching and blocking out ideas. However, having very little skill or practice in this area makes it hard to simulate the type of work I would draw with traditional methods such as pen and paper. The Cintiq 12WX is going to be perfect for this. No longer will I have to swap to paper and try and press Ctrl + delete every 5 seconds.