Recently, the design sleuth encountered one of the most interesting
show reels he had ever seen since he started keeping tabs on the
Computer Generated (CG) art scene in Nigeria. The show reel features
the character design portfolio of Onyechi Nnoli, a soft spoken digital
artist who just returned to Nigeria for a spell after concluding his
studies in animation at the Frameboxx institute of animation in
Bangalore, India. Onyechi's art is solid all through with absolutely
no fissures like you would find in the works of some CG artists who
are quite adept with different software but are weak in the actual
design of animated characters. Onyechi is a thorough bred artist with
his digital art finding a strong foundation in his abilities as an
illustrator, a painter and a designer. The design sleuth tracked him
down for a quick chat.
AA: You have an amazing portfolio of 3D character designs, what
inspired your interest in the art and how have you been able to
develop the skill to such an impressive level?
ON: What really inspired me was the 3d aspect of the art. It is really
being able see the totality of the object or character from any angle
that inspired me to develop myself in the field. I have always liked
sketching and painting, in fact all I ever wanted was for my parents
to just keep old diaries for me to draw my stick men on and paint
them. Along the line I started seeing 3d movies, then came across some
amazing 3d communities online and started building a collection of
pictures of 3d characters on my computer which inspired me even more.
During my training as a 3d artist, the passion I had for concept art
and modeling played a key role in the character design. I would
practice in the day time and spend most nights on research. I spent a
huge amount of money on 3d character design and modeling books and
tutorials which really went a long way in giving me ideas and
sharpening my skill. I also had to really dedicate hours on modeling
and concept sketching. My best friends were my pencil and paper.
Sometimes the model wouldn't come out as desired but the key factor
was never giving up and never listening to the praises of people
because there is a lot to learn and improve on. The desire to move
from one level to a higher level of perfection inspired me to keep
digging for better results
AA: India has quietly become a major destination for high quality
animation and visual effects and you have been immersed in that
development for the past four years while training to be an animator,
how has that experience shaped your career?
ON: The experience has been wonderful; it has really opened me up to a
higher level of art and creativity.
India is a country which has movies as part of its culture. Big
companies like DreamWorks, Rhyme and Hues and others located in India
provide internship for students. It has really shaped my career in
many more ways than one. When I sit and see a CG movie I see the
various stages and processes involved and it makes me appreciate the
movie and producers the more. It has given me the skills needed to
take up 3d movies and presentations with more courage knowing the
steps to take to get the required results.
AA: You studied fine art at the IMT Enugu before leaving for India,
what skill did you pick at Enugu that you rely on the most in your new
specialization.
ON: IMT was a training ground for me because I got the basics of arts
such as drawing, clay sculpting, basic designs, colour harmony,
balance and principles of design in that environment. As a concept
artist and a modeler, the art foundation made it possible for me to
skillfully convey my idea on a 2d surface with the traditional media.
This went a long way in affecting my art. Now as a CG artist I haven't
left my pencils but rather been introduced to other 3d applications
such as Maya, Z-brush, Animo, Photoshop, AfterEffects etc. However,
without the art background I had in IMT, it would have not been a
smooth journey being a concept artist/3d modeler.
AA: Bangalore is said to be the IT capital of India, does that also
make it the animation capital? What character does Bangalore lend to
your work, as a student, and now as a professional?
ON: One can definitely say it's an IT capital but not really the
animation capital because other cities like Mumbai, Chennai and
Hyderabad have a lot of animation studios just like Bangalore. Though
Bangalore may not be the animation capital, the city still exposed me
to a lot as I walked into seminars conducted by makers of top world
known animated movies like Lion King, Incredible Hulk, Kung-fu Panda
and Madagascar. This really brought a lot more meaning to my
understanding of animation.
AA: What has been the most challenging project you've worked on as an
animator / 3D modeler?
ON: The most challenging project I have every worked on was the first
project I did back in India as a student titled "The Dirty Pilot". It
was a short movie. I ran into a lot of challenges because I had
problems being able to finish the work within the time given. As a
fresher then my main problem was really carrying my team along and
sticking to a finished concept - without changing the CG - to the very
end of the project.
AA: If you had one chance to influence Africa's role on the global
animation scene in any way, what would you do?
ON: I would suggest good and quality trainings centers be established
in our society. Africa has a lot of talented people but few really
make out the time and opportunity to sharpen their talent. This has
limited the quality of output in so many ways. I would setup training
centers that don't just teach animation but focus on the creativity
and the psychology behind animation coupled with very good acting.
AA: For a new animation and special effects company on the scene,
Paperplane Studios seems to be poised to enter the industry in a big
way, what with the pool of talent you have assembled. Are there
in-house projects like feature films and computer games in the offing
or is it strictly about servicing bigger production houses?
ON: Actually the vision of Paperplane studios is to produce animations
that can stand out anywhere, having all the qualities of a well
animated movie. We aim at being able to convey a storyline in the most
convenient method whereby adults and kids would sit back and really
enjoy and look forward to seeing our products on air. Nevertheless,
Computer games are being work on currently as well as VFX adverts/
presentations. Our goal is to build a strong animation team in and out
of Nigeria, whereby we as Nigerians can proudly have studios and CG
content that can comfortably compete with any animation studio out
there in the world
AA: You've just visited Nigeria for the first time in three years,
what has this homecoming been like for you? Have you been able to
scope the 3D animation scene in Nigeria within the time you've been
here?
ON: It's been very welcoming and interesting. Seeing my fellow
Nigerians has really been a thing of joy. I have also observed that
many people are very eager to learn about the animation production
pipeline. It's still fresh here and at the same time coming up pretty
fast. I hope we start promoting CG in our society here and giving more
support to the young ones as the DADA group has devoted time and
resources to encouraging and empowering the youth.
.
AA: Where will Onyechi Nnoli be in the next twenty years? What will
you be up to?
ON: I hope to have animated at least seven world known movies and
trained more Nigerians in the art of 3d modeling /animation. I would
love to have affected kids and the youth with opportunities that would
give some of them the chance to positively affect their future and
that of generations to come.
show reels he had ever seen since he started keeping tabs on the
Computer Generated (CG) art scene in Nigeria. The show reel features
the character design portfolio of Onyechi Nnoli, a soft spoken digital
artist who just returned to Nigeria for a spell after concluding his
studies in animation at the Frameboxx institute of animation in
Bangalore, India. Onyechi's art is solid all through with absolutely
no fissures like you would find in the works of some CG artists who
are quite adept with different software but are weak in the actual
design of animated characters. Onyechi is a thorough bred artist with
his digital art finding a strong foundation in his abilities as an
illustrator, a painter and a designer. The design sleuth tracked him
down for a quick chat.
AA: You have an amazing portfolio of 3D character designs, what
inspired your interest in the art and how have you been able to
develop the skill to such an impressive level?
ON: What really inspired me was the 3d aspect of the art. It is really
being able see the totality of the object or character from any angle
that inspired me to develop myself in the field. I have always liked
sketching and painting, in fact all I ever wanted was for my parents
to just keep old diaries for me to draw my stick men on and paint
them. Along the line I started seeing 3d movies, then came across some
amazing 3d communities online and started building a collection of
pictures of 3d characters on my computer which inspired me even more.
During my training as a 3d artist, the passion I had for concept art
and modeling played a key role in the character design. I would
practice in the day time and spend most nights on research. I spent a
huge amount of money on 3d character design and modeling books and
tutorials which really went a long way in giving me ideas and
sharpening my skill. I also had to really dedicate hours on modeling
and concept sketching. My best friends were my pencil and paper.
Sometimes the model wouldn't come out as desired but the key factor
was never giving up and never listening to the praises of people
because there is a lot to learn and improve on. The desire to move
from one level to a higher level of perfection inspired me to keep
digging for better results
AA: India has quietly become a major destination for high quality
animation and visual effects and you have been immersed in that
development for the past four years while training to be an animator,
how has that experience shaped your career?
ON: The experience has been wonderful; it has really opened me up to a
higher level of art and creativity.
India is a country which has movies as part of its culture. Big
companies like DreamWorks, Rhyme and Hues and others located in India
provide internship for students. It has really shaped my career in
many more ways than one. When I sit and see a CG movie I see the
various stages and processes involved and it makes me appreciate the
movie and producers the more. It has given me the skills needed to
take up 3d movies and presentations with more courage knowing the
steps to take to get the required results.
AA: You studied fine art at the IMT Enugu before leaving for India,
what skill did you pick at Enugu that you rely on the most in your new
specialization.
ON: IMT was a training ground for me because I got the basics of arts
such as drawing, clay sculpting, basic designs, colour harmony,
balance and principles of design in that environment. As a concept
artist and a modeler, the art foundation made it possible for me to
skillfully convey my idea on a 2d surface with the traditional media.
This went a long way in affecting my art. Now as a CG artist I haven't
left my pencils but rather been introduced to other 3d applications
such as Maya, Z-brush, Animo, Photoshop, AfterEffects etc. However,
without the art background I had in IMT, it would have not been a
smooth journey being a concept artist/3d modeler.
AA: Bangalore is said to be the IT capital of India, does that also
make it the animation capital? What character does Bangalore lend to
your work, as a student, and now as a professional?
ON: One can definitely say it's an IT capital but not really the
animation capital because other cities like Mumbai, Chennai and
Hyderabad have a lot of animation studios just like Bangalore. Though
Bangalore may not be the animation capital, the city still exposed me
to a lot as I walked into seminars conducted by makers of top world
known animated movies like Lion King, Incredible Hulk, Kung-fu Panda
and Madagascar. This really brought a lot more meaning to my
understanding of animation.
AA: What has been the most challenging project you've worked on as an
animator / 3D modeler?
ON: The most challenging project I have every worked on was the first
project I did back in India as a student titled "The Dirty Pilot". It
was a short movie. I ran into a lot of challenges because I had
problems being able to finish the work within the time given. As a
fresher then my main problem was really carrying my team along and
sticking to a finished concept - without changing the CG - to the very
end of the project.
AA: If you had one chance to influence Africa's role on the global
animation scene in any way, what would you do?
ON: I would suggest good and quality trainings centers be established
in our society. Africa has a lot of talented people but few really
make out the time and opportunity to sharpen their talent. This has
limited the quality of output in so many ways. I would setup training
centers that don't just teach animation but focus on the creativity
and the psychology behind animation coupled with very good acting.
AA: For a new animation and special effects company on the scene,
Paperplane Studios seems to be poised to enter the industry in a big
way, what with the pool of talent you have assembled. Are there
in-house projects like feature films and computer games in the offing
or is it strictly about servicing bigger production houses?
ON: Actually the vision of Paperplane studios is to produce animations
that can stand out anywhere, having all the qualities of a well
animated movie. We aim at being able to convey a storyline in the most
convenient method whereby adults and kids would sit back and really
enjoy and look forward to seeing our products on air. Nevertheless,
Computer games are being work on currently as well as VFX adverts/
presentations. Our goal is to build a strong animation team in and out
of Nigeria, whereby we as Nigerians can proudly have studios and CG
content that can comfortably compete with any animation studio out
there in the world
AA: You've just visited Nigeria for the first time in three years,
what has this homecoming been like for you? Have you been able to
scope the 3D animation scene in Nigeria within the time you've been
here?
ON: It's been very welcoming and interesting. Seeing my fellow
Nigerians has really been a thing of joy. I have also observed that
many people are very eager to learn about the animation production
pipeline. It's still fresh here and at the same time coming up pretty
fast. I hope we start promoting CG in our society here and giving more
support to the young ones as the DADA group has devoted time and
resources to encouraging and empowering the youth.
.
AA: Where will Onyechi Nnoli be in the next twenty years? What will
you be up to?
ON: I hope to have animated at least seven world known movies and
trained more Nigerians in the art of 3d modeling /animation. I would
love to have affected kids and the youth with opportunities that would
give some of them the chance to positively affect their future and
that of generations to come.
