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Nicolas Crombez
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24/06/2010 |
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All it takes is one look at Nicolas Crombez's work and you’ll recognize a true master, diligent in his craft. His beautifully disturbing imagery conjures an emotional experience no viewer will soon forget, as I suppose art should. The pictures speak for themselves, telling stories without text, narration or movement. These static images are snapshots of worlds that exist only in the artist's imagination, becoming real or surreal through amazing talent and the use of innovative tools, such as LightWave 3D. It's pretty remarkable when you think about it.
These artificial worlds he creates with LightWave seem almost tangible, as if the images were taken with a steam-driven camera rig, covered in grease and blood. The photographer, wheezing into the dirty filter of his gas mask, is covered from head to toe in a sweltering radiation suit made of animal skins, black rubber and metal. Once taken, the final photographs are slipped through a hole in the fabric of our reality, printed on sheets of bloodstained bits of broken glass that cuts our hands as we pick it up. It's possible, isn't it? We had to find out for sure, so we contacted Nicolas Crombez, and asked him some questions. As we suspected, his answers are just as unique and inspiring as his work. |
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What got you into computer graphics?
I made an artistic career choice, both practical and theoretical in the 1980s, in Tournai, Belgium. At the time, computer graphics was in its infancy. Technology applied to the field of art has always interested me. The first video games, with their clumsy movements and approximated contours, fed my imagination. I appreciate the "toolbox" principle of the computer, it allows me a form of independence in a way. Since the advent of the Internet, I added interactivity. I consider my work as an infinite experimental game, and the computer as a great playground. |
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Drawing is my primary form of expression. I then follow up what I scribble onto paper with what appears on the computer screen. Exploring mental and sensory imagination, as well as the development of a visual universe has always amazed me. The rigorous technical aspect of CG forced me to overcome constraints in order to stimulate the off-frame, the unsaid, and the immersion of the viewer. I enjoy making unlikely connections.
Briefly describe your production workflow
Observe - dream - digest - create.
Very often, I start my projects with sketches scribbled on paper. I then turn to the tools, techniques, and play with chance. When I am modeling, I work in a very classic and basic method. I only use a few plug-ins. In Layout, I use its rigging functions and instance management, and render with FPrime. I also tweak some images in post-production work, by adding grading, detail enhancement or even redrawing parts of the image to suit my needs. I think the tools must serve an idea, expression, feeling, etc. but not a principle. I'm not a 3D purist. |
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Nicolas Crombez |
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