Getting Acquainted with MODO: Overview from Thiago Christo

Introduction

Hello, my name is Thiago Christo. I have worked with 3D for Advertising, Marketing, and Design doing Cosmetic Packaging Mockup, Food images, and 3D Images for General Advertising. At the moment of writing this article, I am looking for opportunities in the game asset creation market.

I have been in this market since 2000, - I went through Design office, Advertising, and Communication Agency and then started working from home. 3D has always been present in my work, and I've been looking for information, improving myself, and discovering new techniques and tools for some time.

Introduction to MODO

I started working in MODO in 2016 when I took a course at R3F.com.

The first thing that struck me was when I looked at one artist's portfolio and saw his work, - the end result, rendering, and modeling were perfect, realistic, just as I like it. With the tool I was working at that time I could not get the desired results, and I saw that it would be possible to get realism as well as better modeling and rendering workflows with MODO faster.

After learning the software I saw that in addition to getting the desired result, the pipeline became faster, so I learned its main tools and started to migrate 100% to MODO.

Possibilities in MODO

With MODO, you can get any finished result you want, from a simple product to complex scenes. You just need to have a concept, know where you want to go and what outcome you expect to get, and what tools to use to get the best workflow possible. If you want to have more control over key points, working with procedural tools is critical. Also, tools don't work alone, you need to combine techniques with art to get the best out of the program. 

The main modeling tools in MODO are great for building meshes. Mesh fusion tools allow you to work non-destructively and have more control over modeling. This helps a lot in the construction phase before finalization, - if the client requests a change, you don't have to redo all the work and can simply adjust some specific points.

Advice

From my experience, trying to learn the software on my own was frustrating, - I was used to another program, and I didn't understand how to work with MODO. So when anyone asks me how to start with MODO or 3D in general, I recommend taking a basic beginner course where you will be introduced to the main tools. Without it, it might be hard and you can waste a lot of time not knowing what to do. I do not suggest starting with online tutorials because they lack key information. So it's better to take a Mode course with an expert who knows the tool. With the foundation, it'll easy to follow tutorials. 

Thiago Christo, Freelance Artist

Interview conducted by Ellie Harisova