Student Showcase - Mike Swan's graduation year project

Bucks student Mike Swan has just completed an ambitious project for his final year - the modelling, texturing and lighting of an Aston Martin sports car. We asked him a few questions about his project and how he put it all together.

Bucks: You have just completed a modelling project as part of your final year assessed work. Tell us about how the project came about.

Mike: I knew I wanted to do something big. It needed to be the flagship final piece of my time I've spent at University. I already had other projects completed throughout the year that covered Architectural Visualisation work, so I wanted to focus on a Product Visualisation piece. What better product than a car?

Bucks: What were the biggest challenges you faced in getting it right?

The whole project was intensely challenging. I viewed a friends DB9 and took near 150 photos of it; without doing this the project would have of been impossible to complete as the point of it was to make it recreate it exactly in 3D. The biggest challenge would probably be keeping everything perfect, because it had to be. Anyone could look at the photos and compare them to the renders, so it had to be same.

Bucks: What sort of work are you hoping to do in the industry?

Mike: I thoroughly enjoy creating both Architectural and Product visualisations.

Bucks: What advice would you give to anyone starting at Bucks, so that they can make the very best use of their time on the course?

Mike: My top tips would be these:

• Learn in your spare time
• Constantly play around with your software.
• Learn to manage and balance your projects, time keeping is important.
• Problem solving. The chances are that someone has had the same problem before - look online!
• If you can't fix it yourself, ask your lecturers, they are there to help.

Bucks: What software did you use to create the Aston? 

Mike: I used Autodesk 3DS MAX for the modelling, lighting, texture creating and rendering. Then I used Adobe Photoshop for the post production work such as colour correction, compiling the various different passes etc.

(Editor's Note: You can see more of Mike Swan's work at his website here.)

What Do Modellers Need To Get a Job?

At the end of last year I met with Royston Wilcox, who heads up the modelling department at Cinesite in Soho, one of London's leading VFX houses. We worked together on many projects at Cinesite, including Underdog, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Marmaduke, and between us we helped set up a super-efficient pipeline for realistic animal lipsync.


We are delighted that Royston has agreed to be one of our external reviewers, making sure our course at Bucks is fit for purpose and gives students the skills they need to find work in the industry. It is through developing and deepening our contacts with industry that we intend to make our course one of the best in the country.

And getting those jobs is more competitive than ever. Cost pressures on VFX work is driving modelling work out to China, farming it out to super-cheap studios who can do it for less. This places pressure on entry-level positions in London, making the job market even more competitive.

The good news from Cinesite is that they do offer entry-level jobs, and also internships. This takes the form of a competition - the submissions get judged and the best work gets an internship at Cinesite.

What does Royston look for in a modeller? - ideally someone who has worked on a film, understands the process. This kind of real-world experience is vital, because it lets an employer know that the candidate understands how the process works.

What about Runners? Does Cinesite hire them? Absolutely. Prospective runners get interviewed by HR and they spend up to a year working as runners, doing a fair bit of drudge work but at the same time learning the business and getting to know the company. This can be a great opportunity to start a career.

What should a good modelling reel demonstrate? Here is Royston's checklist of what he looks for in a prospective modeller:

1. Good surface topology, properly displayed. A good reel should show the topology of the mesh.
2. Show the reference used to build it. Does the model match the reference? Is the model accurate? This is super-important, as most studio jobs involve matching reference exactly.
3. A good working knowledge of Maya. Maya is now the dominant software in the industry in Soho - 3DS Max is less in demand, at least in London.
4. Watch out for objects built with ZBrush and Mudbox. These tools are very good for creating sculptures but the mesh ends up very heavy. They are not necessarily suitable for production.