We’re glad to introduce the interview with Roberto Brichese, a SOA student from the Masterclass#20.
Could you present yourself to our readers and tell them the position you currently hold?
Hi there, my name is Roberto Brichese. I studied Architecture at IUAV university of Venice followed by a Post Graduate Master Degree in Digital architecture MADI, also at IUAV. That was the very beginning of my career as a 3d Artist. At MADI I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to do an internship and worked as a junior artist at Factory Fifteen! In 2015, I took a chance to work for Kilograph, a vibrant office based in Los Angeles. Factory Fifteen and Kilograph were very different offices but both amazing environments. I’m very glad I had the opportunity to learn and work with such amazing artists.
After that I wanted to keep the momentum going and to explore even further what arch-viz is all around the world, so I moved to Melbourne, Australia first. There I did some freelance work, and then moved to Perth where I am currently working at a very fresh and vibrant company Blank Canvas.
Why have you chosen to become an Arch-Viz Artist?
As an architect, since university, visualization always caught my attention. Among the students I was known as the 3D guy. Also from my childhood memories, I used to draw and create stuff. I always loved to design the shape of the buildings in 3D and check how light and materials interact with it. It’s awesome when you do something that you really love. It never feels like work. I finally became a visualizer because in this way I can be an architect and an artist at the same time.
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What were the biggest difficulties you faced at the beginning of your career? How did you handle and overcome them?
The hardest part was understanding that even with a Master in Architecture and a Post-master, it is just not enough if you want to be a good Arch-Viz Artist. Especially if you want to challenge yourself at an international level. The quality out there is just amazing, people are doing incredible works. My first challenge at Factory Fifteen was all about understanding that there is a whole world out there made of architects that have already challenged themselves and pushed the boundaries of architecture and Architectural Visualization in an incredible combination of art, animation, film, virtual and augmented reality in a way that I could not even imagine before. The feeling that what I had learned in 5 years of university was still not enough to be a great 3d Artist was very frustrating and a bit hard to digest. But it was also very beautiful and motivating to realize that be an Arch-Viz artist is not a simple task. I guess that it mostly depends on the fact that the role of Arch-Viz artists is not taken too much into consideration in Italy. So it has been hard yes, but also very motivating.
Is there a work/ an image/ a project that you created which is most valuable to you? Why?
This is an image that I did for an internal competition here at Blank Canvas. I got second place for this rendering, which was great, but I also believe that this image helped me get a permanent sponsored position in this office. This was also my first personal project created in V-Ray after taking the State of Art Academy Masterclass, so I really felt the benefits of learning at SOA. When people ask me what I really learned in the Masterclass, I like to answer that I learned the right way of doing things – not by using a rigid and very strict workflow, but by understanding the principle and the rules to make a good 3d rendering. I think that some ways this image shows those principles.
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What do you do in your free time after work? Can you balance your working life and your private one?
For me it is very important to feel that there is a good balance between work and private life, so when I’m not working I try to stay away from screens. I avoid video games and overusing my phone, and I try to do as many outdoor activities as possible. I think it also important to remember why I chose this job, and I feel quite lucky to be able to do what I really like for my career.
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