An Interview with 3rd Place 3D Art War 3 Winner: Nikita Khrushch

Biggest inspiration when you started as an artist:

The understanding of the fact that my hobby will become my profession.

Favorite suite of software when working on 3D characters (3D only): 

I usually use Zbrush.

Coffee or tea: 

Tea.

Good habits: 

I'm an early morning person, and I like planning my day in advance .

Worst habit: 

Sometimes I go to bed very late.

Favorite movies: 

Oh, it's hard for me to answer this question. Actually I'm very glad that you don't ask me about my favorite TV show...

Favorite games: 

Mortal Kombat 3 Ultimate :)

Music while doing art: 

Deep house.

How to bounce back from a bad day: 

Keeping yourself busy and going to sleep early. Also memories about good days are helpful.

What is a good day:

It's something I can't even put into words... :)

Favorite quote:

 “If you can dream it, then you can achieve it.” –  Zig Ziglar

Future goals:

To be successful in my profession and travel the world. Also I want to improve my English, I think I don't need to explain how important it is for 3D artist from Russia. 

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Nikita Khrushch, I'm an artist from Omsk, Russia. I studied 3D by myself while I was a senior art student at the local university. Now I'm working at the ArtVostok company.

What got you into character art, when did it all start?

When I started to study 3D, the idea that one day I'll have a chance to become a part of an interesting project and make characters for it inspired and motivated me a lot. I also like that I have enough freedom of action in the creation of personal projects. Such a process makes me learn new things and programs, it is very cool and useful in work.

What influences were the most responsible for your current art style?

I can't say that I have my own style, but nevertheless, there are definite techniques which I often use in different projects. This is the result of studying art basis, 3D-modelling principles and expending my visual library; no more, no less.

How did you get to the level you are at today? Did you study in any particular way you would recommend?

Studying design and traditional arts in university helped me in modeling and texturing. I can say I worked hard and didn't avoid difficulties. The point is to develop yourself as an artist in various directions and study more than one discipline at a time.

How did you begin the process of creating your piece? What was your inspiration?

Everything started with the excitement: 

Will I be able to create a character from scratch, bound by the rules of the competition? 

I realized that in the process I'll have to learn many things and I'll be able to practice them. 

I don't remember why I chose a bat as a basis of my character. But after that everything went like clockwork: character's story, its nature and visual images started to occur in my head. In short, I imagined a bat-mutant who escaped from underground laboratory and stole a special weapon and badge. And now we here :)

What was your biggest hurdle during the process? What did you do to overcome it?

The biggest hurdle was lack of time, so I had to sleep less.

If you had to do it over would you do it differently? Why?

As I have already said I didn't have enough time to do everything I had planned. It was difficult for me to combine work, participation in the contest and personal life. That's why I had couldn't complete some polishing steps for my project, such as making pose more expressive and adding environment to the scene.

Why the villain or hero?

It just sort of happened. If it wasn't necessary to choose between the villain or hero, I could leave this for you to decide. Because I think it's all relative...

What do you think the Art War 3 challenge experience taught you, and would you participate again next year if you could?

The challenge taught me to plan personal projects more carefully. I'll participate in the next Art War with great pleasure!

Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring artists out there who might be looking to get to your level one day? What's your recipe for success?

It is necessary to work hard, not to stop developing and getting interested in industry trends. I think it's also important to be passionate about your profession.

Any final thoughts?

I'm glad to have an opportunity to take part in this competition. And I would like to thank all those who supported me!

Check out Nikita's entry: Dr. Mysh