Masterclass Spotlight Instructor Interview: Krystal Sae Eua
The ArtStation Masterclasses is a chance for artists of any level to interact and learn from 10 of the best artists in the film, games and VFX industry. This rare event combines an all star lineup of artists’ courses that you can access from wherever you are in the world!
Krystal Sae Eua has had over 10 years of experience working in the VFX industry, having graduated from the Gnomon School of VFX Digital Production Certificate Program in 2007. She currently works as a Senior Character Artist at Blur Studios. Her modeling, texturing, and visual effects work can be seen in a broad range of blockbuster projects like Avatar, The Avengers, 2012 and Fast and Furious 6, to name a few.
If you’ve been wanting to brush up on your anatomy and sculpting skills, you’ll want to enro;l in her class! Read more about it and her work below and sign up before February 28 for Early Bird tickets!
Masterclass – Dynamic Animal Sculpting
The course will focus on her process for creating a digital animal sculpture from start to finish. Sculpting in Zbrush, Krystal will show how she approaches animal anatomy, pose and composition. She will share her practice proven sculpting techniques and take this piece all the way through to rendering the final image.
What made you want to pursue a career in VFX?
I have always been a huge fan of movies with special effects. I remember watching Aliens and The Thing as a child and wanted to know how they did these amazing things. I also was a huge Disney fan and dreamed of being a 2D animator when I grew up. I think one pivotal moment for me was watching Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within and The Animatrix. The character work that Francisco Cortina did was truly inspirational. I was in awe and wanted to be a part of this.
What is one technique students can expect to learn in your masterclass course?
I think the number one technique that my tutorial will show is the concept of staying loose with the work. I feel like in production, you have to keep things too rigid and when you are an artist, it’s a frustrating mental block. But organic sculpture doesn’t work that way. It needs to be flexible and Zbrush is the perfect tool for that. I hope to show students that they can let go, not be too precious and they can make big design choices without worry that they ruined the work.
Tell us about one of your most valuable learning experiences.
One of my most valuable learning experiences was to learn to be able to focus time on the thing you want to get better at. I was working for a long time as a hard-surface modeler and always wanted to be a character artist. I would get frustrated but I was also not putting in the time it really takes to learn the craft. Once I finally got over this (it took years and years) I was actually able to see real progress and it improved my work exponentially.
What is one of the most exciting projects you’ve worked on?
One of the most exciting projects that I have worked on was James Cameron’s Avatar. At the time (and it still might be) it was a VFX landmark and working with this particular director was a dream. Especially since he really has a vision and knows exactly what he is looking for.
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