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Artist Interview: Viktor Fretyán (Radicjoe)

Artist Interview: Viktor Fretyán (Radicjoe)

VD: Please introduce yourself and give a brief background on how you got involved in the arch viz industry.
My name's Viktor Fretyán and I come from Budapest, Hungary. I started showing interest in 3d many years ago in elementary school. I saw a demo version of 3d studio max 2 at a friend's place and I was really amazed although as far as I remember it we only put boxes and spheres down in the viewport. Still it was something huge in those days. Years later at the University while I was studying architecture I found out that I could make money using 3d in architecture. Now-a-days it's such a common thing but at that time it was only intended to be a temporary student job to make some pocket money.

VD: Which software do you use on a daily basis?
3ds max, Vray, Photoshop

VD: What are the reasons behind the pipeline and software that you've chosen to work with?
I used to use mental ray for many years but then a newer version has been released (I think it was MR 3.5) and I thought it's rather different from the previous one. By that time I already had a little experience at Vray and I found it easier to get use to than the new MR.
Photoshop was there from the beginning. It goes together with max like bread and butter, I couldn't be without it. The essence of the image is added in Photoshop. That's my favorite part.

VD: Are there any tools out there that you couldn't do without at this point in your career? Why is this tool so important to you?
I'm always thinking about switching max to XSI because I read a lot about its capacities. I'd also like to try Maxwell render. Photoshop looks like the only program I couldn't replace. I'm using a lot of plug ins for it most of them are only to make things easier but not mandatory. Photoshop's most basic tools are the most important for me such as exposure control or color balance.

VD: How would you weigh the amount of work done in 3d v. post production?
If it's only a matter of time spent on the project then I'd say 90-95 percent of it is spent in max. But I consider the post process much more important.

VD: Are there any specific artists that have inspired you throughout your career?
Of course! Many! Just a few names: Jeff Patton, Alex Roman and Hao Ke La.

VD: How has this person had an influence on your work and the way that you view architectural renderings?
I loved the earlier personal work of Hao La with only a few elements in the scene. He was the first one I saw to use color balance so nicely. I don't recall ever seeing something great technical achievement from him. His work kept amazing me only with the atmosphere of the lightning, compositioning and the colors and I loved that! I was really sad when I saw that his new web page no longer has his early renders. I also loved Jeff Patton's work but for other reasons: his renders were one of the most photo real renders I ever saw. And he kept helping people. And today there's Alex Roman. He really changed everything in the past few years since he showed up at this field of 3d. It was like all things came finally together in his work. Technical knowledge, photo realism and composition all at the highest level. I always get blamed of copying his work too much and I never tried to run against that. As a matter of fact I'm always telling anyone who ask for my advice to go to his website and just study his work. I think there's a lot to learn there.

VD: What is the most challenging thing about working in this industry?
I think it's the compromise I always have to make. I'm posting all my personal work on the net and I feel guilty and keep finding myself looking for excuses all the time because obviously that quality could never be achieved while working on an assignment for a client for many many obvious reasons.

VD: How do these challenges influence your work?
Deadlines and just the overall pressure of an assignment has a very negative impact on my work. When I don't feel comfortable with a project I just want to get over it as fast as I can. Overall I guess I just don't like the challenge that much. I like to feel from the beginning of a project that I will now all the answers to all the questions I'll meet during this work.

VD: Do you work in this industry as a professional or do you mostly do what you do as a hobby?
I do it for the living.

VD: What is the most satisfying part of doing what you do and what keeps you moving forward?
Getting acknowledged is what I'd say gives me the most satisfaction. Getting awards and getting published is always a good thing. But ironically that's really not moving me forward. My last work, the Armani Teatro got mixed reviews and much less attention than the rest and I immediately felt the urge to sit down and do something huge to prove myself that I can do better. Hence the Kumu Museum project was made, and it did outdone its predecessor. So I guess ultimately the greatest motive is the fear of failure if that makes any sense.

VD: Are you actively involved or do you participate in any online communities / forums?
No...I have my online portfolio at CGtalk but that's all...I take a look at the Evermotion galleries once in a while but rarely comment. Honestly I don't often look at CG sites. I look at architectural sites much more usually like Archdaily.com.

VD: In such an artistic and creative profession / hobby, we are always looking to better ourselves and our techniques. How do you do keep up to date with new software and how do you better your techniques to keep your work competitive with your peers?
That's my weak spot. I know there's a lot to learn but I hardly ever get my hands on any new software. Even in 3ds max there are a lot of territories I would like to advance and I get this feeling that I get left behind. I concentrate too much on the essential problems of rendering like composition, color mood while I don't pay enough attention to the technical part. Instead of solving problems I try to come around them and I know that one of these days this will backfire.

VD: Is there any advice that you would give to someone looking to get into the industry?
Mastering a 3d program is not enough to make nice renders. There are things that are harder to learn and yet more important. I'm talking about stuff like the sense for compositions, colors and an overall balance in the scene. If you want to be good in this field first grab a camera instead of the mouse and keyboard and go out some place and practice.

VD: Please include a few images that you're most proud of and a short explanation of things such as; Why you chose the perspective shown, what is unique about this image, what you like most about this image and perhaps any new techniques or unique facts about the creation of the images.
I have an online portfolio where I have my favorite renders most of which I already presented here at Vizdepot so this time I chose to show you a selection of images I made for assignments. These are no personal projects.

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