FROM CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TO SOAP AND SAILBOATS... ... CESCI ANGELL LEARNS ABOUT THE ARTIST'S CAPTIVATING CREATIVE JOURNEY
DISRUPTIVE AND BEAUTIFULLY EDITORIAL, Andrej Troha’s work succeeds at drawing you in, with subtle details making his creations perfectly imperfect in an attempt of true realism. Whether he’s battling with soap foam or visualising secret Soviet flying machines, Troha has had a fascinating career thanks to his knowledge of science and art.
It’s clear to see the influence his scientific training has had on his 3D work, and his soft spot for fluid dynamics proved an advantage when it came to the finer points of figuring out foam. In our discussion, Troha shares some insight on his creative process and work as an art director.
What’s the aim of your art? What is it that you’re trying to achieve? Phew, that’s the hardest question! What’s the point of my art? One is certainly improving and honing my skills. My personal projects are a way for me to learn new tools, materials, shaders and modelling techniques, and then apply that gained knowledge to my clientoriented professional projects.
There’s so much to learn and absorb with every new software update. As with most disciplines, there’s no finish line here, no now-I-know-everything feeling. It’s an ongoing process and it feels nice to be good at something, both personally and professionally.
The process typically begins with me envisioning a scenario and then attempting to construct a world based on these parameters, or at least some fragments of that world, solving any problems as I go. In the end, it’s a process of learning and discovering, and you need to do that on your own time. Clients don’t pay you to learn, they pay you to deliver.
The other goal that I have in my work is getting things out of my head; like a release valve for what’s going on in the old noggin. I’ve been on mood stabilisers called SSRIs for years now, and they have this bizarre and wonderful side effect for me: the most creative and vivid dreams. They’re visually and narratively heavy, and sometimes I feel the urge to model and render a few frames from my midnight premiere double-bill.
