Pedro Conti seemed to have it all. Starting out ten years ago, the self-taught 3D artist was living in São Paulo, Brazil, got a break into advertising and worked as a partner at Techno Image, a studio that quickly developed a unique look and style in its concept art, illustration and animation projects.
But, as Conti can attest, Brazil can be a tough place to live as a 3D artist.
“When I started back in 2006,” he says, “the Brazilian industry was pretty much advertisement and arch viz. Due the crisis, both of these markets seemed to be shrinking.”
“When you live in a country where the market of CG is very small, sometimes you don't know if you are doing things right or not,” Conti adds.
However, Conti says there is a thriving community of 3D and CG artists in Brazil. He credits the internet as “giving an opportunity for Brazilian artists to work remotely for other countries and in bigger productions.”
The strength of community was brought home even more when Trojan Horse founder Andre Luis looked to bring Conti to Portugal for the first THU event in 2013.
“THU was one of the first experiences I had to get in touch with people who were doing CGI during their lifetime for big projects,” says Conti. “Getting in touch personally with people is very different than chatting online.”
In 2014, Conti returned to Trojan Horse and this time he and some Techno Image colleagues were asked to produce the official spot.
Now he has racked up experience at Walt Disney Animation Studios in California, where he moved in January this year to work on the studio’s upcoming animated feature Moana. It was actually a job he picked up after showing Disney his portfolio at THU in 2015. “That for me was a turning point,” says Conti.
Meanwhile, in terms of the industry in Brazil, Conti is hopeful some change will occur. “The resources are very limited, but we always find the creative way to make things happen. I believe that advertising will be our main market for next years. I hope we have more of this movement for doing feature films.”
With more and more Brazilian artists gaining experience through online work and in overseas postings, perhaps that possibility isn’t too far away.
