About
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My name is Andrei Cristea and I am a character artist based in Iceland, primarily focused on the games industry.
I have 23 years of experience in computer graphics, working in a variety of fields related to it. I have worked as Lead Character Artist at CCP Games for 12 years, and prior to that as a freelancer for 11 years, contributing on a variety of projects including video games, cinematics, commercials, advertising, publishing, TV animations, architectural visualization, product design and concepting.
My journey started in the 80s when I was learning Basic on Z80 clones. Later on I went to study computer science, and I was active in the Demoscene in the 90’s before joining the industry as a professional. I have a strong background as a Character Artist, a foundation in Python, MEL and MAXScript and worked with game engines such as Trinity, Unreal Engine, and Godot.
In my offscreen time I am mostly immersed in modular synthesizers, film photography, or traditional art mediums.
Publications: Exposé II, Exposé VII, Exposé X, 3D Creative Magazine, 3D Artist Magazine, Digital Art Masters, Render Out, ZBrush Character Sculpting, ZBrush Essentials, EVE: Source, EVE Universe, Vertex 3, Anatomy For 3D Artists, ZBrush Characters and Creatures, PCGamer, GamesTM
Featured on: CGSociety, 3D Total, CG Channel, Polycount, ZBrush Central, Kotaku, CG Hub, ArtStation
Tools: Zbrush, Blender, Maya, 3dsMax, Mudbox, Arnold, Vray, Mental Ray, Keyshot, Marmoset Toolbag, Xnormal, Substance Painter, 3D Coat, Quixel, Photoshop, After Effects, Unreal Engine, Marvelous Designer, R3DS Wrap
Skills:
Understanding of Anatomy, Design Fundamentals, Color Theory and Composition
Organic, Hard Surface, High-Poly and Low-Poly Modeling
UV Mapping, Texturing, Displacement and Normal Map Creation, Skinning, Rigging
Retopology, LOD Creation and Optimizations
Character Creation and Customization Systems, PBR Rendering, Shading Networks and Workflows
R&D, Prototyping, Consulting, Pipelines and Tools Design
Mentoring, Visual targets, Outsourcing, Documentation
Scan Data Processing, Topology Transfer, Blendshapes, 3D Printing
Concept Art, Character Art Direction, Cover Illustrations and Key Art
Offline Rendering, LWF, Scene Assembly, Lighting, Color Grading
Clients:
CCP Games
E-On Software
Simcito
Hearst Magazines
Rustmonkey Studios
Gleukos
Nice Render
TV Designers
Contrast
Factor
Delmer
Lost Toy
