Arunkumar Boyidapu - Lighting & Composting Artist at Sparky Animation

Mr. Arunkumar Boyidapu is a lighting and composting artist at Sparky Animation. Boasting of Jedi Masters Certification in Texturing awarded by Lucas Film Animation Ltd. in Singapore, he has over 4 years of experience in architectural walkthroughs, TVCs and animation feature films. He has also performed his role to excellence as a texturing artist at Visual Computing Labs and Rayudu Vision Media Ltd. He has also picked up valuable 3D animation and VFX skills at the Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics.

CG Today : Mr. Arunkumar, a very heartful welcome to you and thank you for obliging to our request and agreeing to talk about your insights and experience in the animation industry.

Arun : Thank you. In fact I’m thankful for this wonderful opportunity.

CG Today : Let’s start with your current job. Sparky Animation has some excellent projects coming up like Dinosaur Train and Fleebag, Monkeyface. As a lighting and composting artist what are the projects you are working on? Are you excited about the upcoming phase in your career?

Arun : Sparky Animation is wonderful studio with a lot of exciting projects that are lined up. And I’m eagerly looking forward to working on those projects, but unfortunately I can’t share much detail about the projects now.

CG Today : Your show reel is very impressive with some well known films and popular TVCs. As an artist what helps you keep your motivation levels high? Is it public adulation or constant challenges or both?

Arun : Thanks. Working on good projects has always been the driving force in my short career. I strongly believe that an artist always enjoys and gets motivated by both the factors as challenges are always faced by an artist through the course of the project. But, the ultimate satisfaction for an artist lies when the work done by him has been well received and appreciated.

CG Today : You have received the JEDI Masters Certification in texturing awarded by Lucas Film Animation Ltd. Singapore. Can you tell us a bit more about this certification and how it has helped you further hone your skills as a 3D artist?

Arun : JEDI Masters Certification is unique professional training program that has been conducted by the Lucas Film Animation Ltd. Singapore in association with the Economic Development Board of Singapore. It’s a unique opportunity for few selected professionals who are selected from all over the world through a rigorous selection process. It’s a very good initiative taken by the Lucas Film and the Government of Singapore to develop the Animation Industry in Singapore. The training helped me a lot to develop as an artist to a new level. The training was also rigorous starting from the basics and reaching to the advanced levels as the training progresses. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from the experts who were the pioneers of the VFX and Animation Industry.

CG Today : You had the valuable opportunity to take up professional apprenticeship at Lucasfilm Animation working with professionals from Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). How was the experience of working with experts? You mentioned in your profile that you also got a chance to work on an animated feature film. Can you tell us more about it?

Arun : It’s a unique experience to get trained from the people who worked on some amazing projects like Star wars, Avatar, Transformers and so on. They trained us not only in texturing but also in all aspects of the pipeline as they believe that every artist should have a strong knowledge on how the work done passes through the pipeline. During the Training program we had the unique opportunity to work on the Lucas Film’s upcoming animated feature, but unfortunately I’m not supposed to disclose any further details about the project... But all I can say is its going to create wonders.

CG Today : You have worked as a background texture artist at Visual Computing Labs for over 3 years. This is also when you came up with some of your best work being involved in projects like Arjun - the Warrior Prince, Roadside Romeo, CavinKare, etc. This was also where you had taken up the additional responsibility of background lighting, although you were initially working only on shading and texture. What attracted you towards lighting department and how did you manage to work your way further?

Arun : Visual Computing Labs is the place where my career really got the boost that is required for every artist working in this industry. I worked on many wonderful projects like Roadside Romeo, Arjun , Kelloggs, Tata Motors,etc. Yes I started as Texturing and Shading Artist but I always had keen interest towards the Lighting and composting, which I was developing right from the start of my career, when I expressed my interest they readily encouraged me. And that’s how I got into the additional responsibility of Lighting which has greatly helped me to understand more detailed concepts like how the textures and shaders react to the lights. It’s this experience that is guiding me in my current position in Sparky animation.

CG Today : You had some experience in lighting along with shading and texturing while working at Rayudu Vision Media Ltd. You worked on TVCs as well as on Lava Kusa, an animation feature film. Lava Kusa has been credited as India’s first scope 2D full length animation feature film. What kind of learning experience did it offer you and what was your role in the film Lava Kusa?

Arun : I worked for a period of one year at the Rayudu Vision Media Ltd (RVML). It was the fully equipped animation facility that has just started up and was working on the Project LAVA - KUSA. I’m proud to be part of such a legendary animated feature Film. During my stay at RVML I worked on many local TVCs and the Lava-Kusa which was in the early stages of its Production. It was a very unique pipeline where 60% of the movie is done by the traditional 2D artist and rests of the things are done in the 3D. It was very challenging to match the look continuity between the 3d objects to that of the hand painted. It was very unique learning experience which paved the way for me to develop as a better artist.

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