Year End Special Interview – Tronks Xu, Unreal Artist, Pixomondo Beijing

Year End Special Interview – Tronks Xu, Unreal Artist, Pixomondo Beijing

December 27, 2019 – With 2019 coming to an end, VFX Online presents a series of Special Interviews that highlight some of the VFX and Animations artists’ favorite works of this past year. These interviews touch on their favorite VFX and Animated shows of 2019, memorable events from the last 12 months and artists’ expectations for 2020 in VFX/Animation.

Tronks Xu’s work in the VFX work took its roots back in art school, when he tried 3D modeling for his sculpture work.This inspired him to enter the CG industry. He landed a series of projects using Unreal Engine to create new content and pipeline for feature and animated film, commercial video, location based entertainment etc. He joined in PIXOMONDO as an Unreal Artist in 2019.

Today, Tronks Xu talks to VFX Online about his experience about VFX and Animation Industry.

// From Tronks Xu, Unreal Artist, Pixomondo Beijing

How do you describe yourself professionally?

I am a creative and technical artist which is what I expect of myself. It’s not only a title to me, but also what I am really into.

What sparked your interest in visual effects?

It’s the possibility of creation – creating shapes, effects, and all the things that might not appear in real life.

How did you enter in this industry? What was the key to getting inside?

I was a special effects sculptor, learning 3D modeling and using 3D printers. Then I tried CG modelling and that just set off so many sparks inside me, which never would have happened if I hadn’t tried it. CG triggered my passion to keep learning more and more skills to fulfill my desires.

What was your favorite VFX and Animation Film of 2019?

The Wandering Earth.I am a big fan of the book’s author Yan Mo.

What do you think will be the evolution of VFX and Animation Industry over the next few years?

Evolving technologies – like GPU real-time rendering for hardware – and Artificial Intelligence algorithms for animation software, will smash the traditional industry in ways such as promoting work flows and shrinking project’s budgets. But beyond technologies, the appreciation of beauty is always at the core of VFX and Animation.

What is your best professional memory or professional experience of 2019?

The four weeks I spent with my colleague ChrisYu, an animator, on a project for Tencent. We did the whole CG content in a really efficient way, including making and upgrading animations, environments, cameras, etc. There were certain issues like lack of assets, and pipeline difficulties between MAYA and Unreal Engine, but we quickly solved those in a very short time.

How has your experience been working at Pixomondo?

I feel really lucky to have reasonable, humble, and professional people around me when I am working.Communication is quite easy and relaxed at PXO, and everyone is happy to share their knowledge with one another. The first producer I worked with, Echo, impressed me a lot. She is a really tough and lovely person. Well, tough to the client and lovely to us artists. My group leader is a really nice person who takes care of a lot of details during the work process. She manages to make things easy which is a difficult thing to do.

Which film you’re excited to watch in upcoming years?

Avatar 2

What are your expectations for 2020?

To keep learning software and languages (including computer language), and to travel more places to enrich myself. And bring my best work to PXO.

What will be your ‘dream project’ to work on?

Avatar. It’s my favorite movie.

What advice would you give to someone who wishes to get in to this industry?

Keep learning all the time, not only software, but every interesting skill because eventually it will come in handy.

What is your Holiday Greetings Message for Christmas 2019 and New Year 2020?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I wish you all many varied and exciting things to experience, and interesting people to meet, in the coming decade.

We would like to thank Tronks Xu for taking the time to talk to us. If you would like to know more about visit at Pixomondo.