We continue are series with interviews with people from CG world with Bob Bennett from Luxology. Bob Bennett is a well-known veteran of the 3D software industry, having worked on 3D Studio, Maya and now modo®. Currently he is in charge of marketing at Luxology. The interview is about him, Luxology and also about modo®, the artist-friendly 3D software that combines modeling, sculpting, painting, animation and rendering in a fused workflow. We would like to thank Bob again for his time by answering our questions.
At the bottom of this article you can see gallery of CG artworks created using modo®.
Q: Luxology was founded 10 years ago, how long you are working there?
A: I am coming up on seven years here at Luxology, though it does not feel like it has been that long at all. Every day goes by very quickly as there is a lot to do!
Q: You are in charge of marketing at Luxology. Can you describe a typical day?
The first thing that I do every morning is to look at our Gallery and see what new images have been uploaded overnight. These customer-created images are the basis for much of what I do in terms of marketing and so I look at them very carefully. I actually visit the Gallery multiple times per day. If I see an image that might work on the website, or perhaps in an advertisement of some sort then I reach out to the customer to engage them in a conversation and to seek his or her permission. Often, the artist needs to get further approvals but it is always a positive part of my day to interact with these modo® users. I have come to know many of them over the years, though we have never met face to face in many cases. In addition to Gallery gazing, I also work hard on the website, press releases and customer stories. One thing I love is being to work with the daily build of modo®, so I can see modo® evolving every day. We have very strong relationships with our beta testers and I enjoy seeing what they have been producing and saying about the software as it develops. It is a great job I tell you!
Q: Many of our readers are beginners in Computer Graphics. Why do you think they should choose modo®? Is modo® better than other software?
A: What software people use is a matter of personal preference and of course, budget. Sometimes people are actually told what to use in their job. And many people use multiple 3D software packages together to get their job done or to satisfy all of their CG needs. modo® is an awesome product in that it has been lovingly built and tended to by a consistent group of developers who also use the software and who really love it. modo® is very very well taken care of here. I like to think that is shows in the software. modo® has a certain consistency and if you can put the time into it to learn one thing, then the next thing is easier to learn. Learning any 3D software takes an investment in time. You should use software that you really WANT to use if you can possibly arrange it. If that software is modo®, then that makes me happy and you are immediately part of a like-minded community because I do not think anyone is "forced" to use modo®! You should use modo® only if it "fits" the way you think and makes you want to interact with it.
Q: Is modo® specialized for a certain area of application (visualization, game industry, animation…)?
A: Unlike some companies we do not "slice and dice" our 3D software for different markets. When you buy modo®, you get all of the features and everyone has the same tools available to them. We do produce special "Kits" that accelerate certain workflows and some of these are good for markets like product packaging or CAD visualization. Kits are really collections of "smart content" that are optimized for certain task like say, studio photography. But all the Kits are optional and modo® can be used for all of the markets you mention quite effectively.
Q: What unique technology or tools can be found inside modo®?
A: I do not think we have some "killer tool" that is unique. And we do not develop modo® to try and have that unique single thing or to get a "checkmark" on some list of what a 3D software should have. What is unique or at least a focus for us, is making all of the parts fit together consistently and implementing a user interface that is natural and adaptable to various tasks. I guess that is the part that is "killer" - how the parts are put together. One thing I do really like about modo® though is the Preview Renderer, which is a rendered view of your scene that updates with every modeling, material or lighting change. Once you work in this kind of environment, the idea of saving "rendering" for the last step in the process seems old-fashioned.
Q: You have a lot of experience from the CG industry. Where do you see the biggest difference since you started and now?
A: While there is certainly more technology now, the biggest difference is in the accessibility of the software. It used to be that a few big companies charged a ton for their software and they sort of "owned you". Now, everyone is much more free to use what they want and so personal choice has become the dominant market driver. This ability to pick and choose your favourite tools is the biggest thing that has changed I think. You might think I would say the technology is so much better but I tell you that the technology at any given time has always been considered at time to be pretty good - it just gets better and better.
Q: And what is the biggest difference you see in styles and techniques of modeling and animation? In what you see the biggest progress?
A: One of the areas with the biggest progress is getting away from what I call the "blank screen" where you have to create everything from scratch on a grey screen. Sure there have been 3D models out there for people to use for some time, but I am not just referring to 3D models. When you use modo®, for example, there are so many "presets" for things like materials and lighting that I rarely construct something entirely new in my own projects. I generally adapt stuff or use presets that I download from the web. Everything is become more re-usable and you do not have to start every project with a simple sphere or cube and "build up from there". Now we can evolve our scenes and use what others have done to get much more quickly to that point where it really gets interesting. This has all happened with falling into the trap of "clip art" that all looks the same and is very boring and formulaic. Nobody wants that!