Phil
has been producing some of the finest clothing for Poser people
as long as I can remember,
a lot of it for free. You can't swing a dead cat on Renderosity
without hitting someone's version of
a texture pack for one of Phil's outfits.
Q:
Which part of the world do you call home?
PhilC:
I'm English, lived for 40 some years in London, then Leeds.
I now live in
Kentucky USA, moved here in '99. Long story, women are bound
to be involved
in it somewhere :)
A few weeks ago I took a trip back to England to visit family.
On the way back this very question was going through my
mind. Did I go back home to
visit folks or was I now going back home to Kentucky? I
concluded that it was the
people I was with that made it home, location became less
important.
Q:
How does PhilC spend his non-computing time, any particular
hobbies?
PhilC:
I enjoy my garden. I'm by no means green fingered. I don't
so much plant
shrubs as give them a descent burial. I practice archery,
my side yard
allows me to set up a target 100 feet away. About once a
year I get invited
to go deer hunting. I guess I'm just a trainee redneck :)
Q:
How long have you been artistically inclined,
do you have any other artistic outlets not computer related?
PhilC:
I do a bit of woodworking. I've turned a few bowls that
were half way decent.
Q:
How long have you been a member of the 3D community?
PhilC:
I just checked my first image in the Renderosity gallery.
Its dated Feb. 17 1999. My how time flies.
Q:
How does today's community compare to the one you first
discovered?
PhilC:
Much the same. Folks are still asking why when they add
a second figure the first one disappears.
Q:
I think most 3D users, from Atmosphere'ers to ZBrush'ers,
have some
of your work on their hard drive, how do you feel about
your popularity in the 3D community?
PhilC:
No one has stopped me in the street for my autograph yet,
so it's not that
big a deal. I'm glad folks like my work. To quote Shakespeare,
its twice
blessed. I enjoy making it. I enjoy giving it away.
Q:
How long have you been modeling clothing and characters
for Poser
and what prompted you to start
PhilC:
Since early '99. Probably because it was so incredibly difficult.
Fortunately with practice it gets easier.
Q:
What programs do you use to make your outfits?
PhilC:
I model in Truespace, UV map in UVMapper Pro and texture
in Adobe
Photoshop. I also have Max but I'm nowhere as fast in that
as Truespace.
Q:
When did you decide to start sharing your work your work
for free and why?
PhilC:
Right from the start. I think it was because at that time
everything was
new and we were all learning together. Now I'm still learning,
so still
sharing.
Q:
Do you still feel the shared learning experience exists
across the communities?
PhilC:
Yes very much so. There is a saying that a rising tide raises
all ships.
By learning from each other the sum of knowledge is greater.
Q:
What was your first uploaded freebie?
PhilC:
I think it was my Poser 3 French Maid. Its still on my old
site, still
being downloaded here
Q:
How long did the P3 French Maid take to complete?
PhilC:
No idea. .... ages :)) I remember that the Sorceress took
a month. Fortunately I've got
somewhat quicker with practice.
Q:
When did you decide to start making commercial products?
PhilC:
When I came to America I got a job with a software company
as one of their
trainers. I would go out and teach their customers how to
use the programs
they had purchased. As is often the case the company was
forced to down
size. The size was me. I decided not to try for another
position but
develop the 3D graphics that up until then had just been
a hobby. Three
years later I'm still here and the bills are paid ... at
least for this
month :)
Q:
What was your first commercial product and was it as
successful as you hoped?
PhilC:
The very first model I sold was a Sorceress Robe. Kinda
fun,
lots of morphs. Sold a few :)
Q:
Textures for your products are all over the 'net,
does it make you proud seeing other people making textures
for your products?
PhilC:
Proud? not sure if that is the right emotion. I certainly
recognize that
3D encompasses a great range of talents. I specialize in
modeling, others
create textures, some scenes, yet more are skilled in post
work. I am very
impressed with what a number of folks are able to do with
my models. Its
more of an equal partnership of skills. I'm certainly proud
of the final
result.
Q:
How long does it usually take to make one of your complete
outfits?
PhilC:
It varies with the figure. I can probably model a full detailed
outfit in
two days. UV map it and make it into a Poser figure in a
day. Then if
morphs are needed .... oh my... V3 & M3 .... you can add
an extra 3 days.
Q:
Where do you get the ideas for your period outfits?
PhilC:
Oh that was easy. I got a e-mail from a company in England
who were making a
multimedia historical production. They said "Can you do
it?" I said "Yes" :)
Q:
Do you ever take user requests or do you prefer to pick
your own projects?
PhilC:
As above that was a commission, others are because I just
fancied
doing it and a number are from people just making suggestions.
Q:
Do you prefer boxers or briefs?
(on every other interview we've asked "What color socks
do you wear?",
but c'mon, this is PhilC...the socks question just doesn't
do him justice!) ;)
PhilC:
If I was a French man I'm sure that I would reveal that
I wore a thong.
If I was German I would be wearing knee length breaches
and quote you the
strength of the cotton, If I were Italian I would delight
in telling you
that I wore neither. However I am an Englishman and only
a
gentleman's gentleman is privy to that information.
Q:
What other 3d artwork do you do?
PhilC:
Do you mean besides Poser? I primarily seek commissions
similar to the
historical figures. For example the BDU's in my catalog
were originally
commissioned by an agency creating training manuals for
the US Army. Other
work has included animated corporate logos and more recently
a 3D version
of a very well known English newspaper cartoon character.
This is still in
the production stage so I can not mention which one. Lets
just say that it
was an express job and required the bear essentials ;)
Q:
When did you start creating avatars?
PhilC:
About the time I discovered Adobe Atmosphere and Avatar
Lab
Must be a couple of years now. I've not done any recently
because
the Atmosphere program is still in development but once
it is released
I'll definitely go back to it. The program has naturally
improved, so
polygon counts can go up a bit. Not up to P4 or V3 levels
but 3000 for
a figure will be reasonable. The original avatars were below
1200 I think.
Q:
Where can we find some of your avatars to download?
PhilC:
On my site in the freestuff. However please note that these
will all
be revised when Adobe releases the full version of Atmosphere.
Q:
Do you have any plans to make your avatars commercial products?
PhilC:
I'll continue to accept commissions for avatars, these usually
from
medium to large companies for use on their web sites. I
will however continue to
keep a set available for free from my site.
Q:
What product of yours are you most proud of and why?
PhilC:
Not yet made it, I'm still trying to get better.
Q:
Are you ever completely satisfied with your finished products
or do you look back with any reserves?
PhilC:
Certainly satisfied that a model is of saleable quality
or else
it would not get issued. Can one always add to a model?
Yes naturally.
Q:
What upcoming projects can you share with us?
PhilC:
Currently I'm working on every day clothing for M3 and V3.
I was
surprised to hear that there was not much around. At least
not with the morphs in it.
The sets I produce contain a good number of the matching
body morphs.
Q:
What are your favorite 3D sites?
PhilC:
Most visited will be www.renderosity.com but I rummage around
here
and there. I'll often follow up links and those sent me
in e-mail.
Q:
What advice would you give a beginning 3D artist?
PhilC:
Start, then don't give up.
Thanks
again for your valuable time, it's very appreciated.
PhilC:
My pleasure :)
We'd
like to thank Phil for the great insight and all of the
terrific
freestuff he's contributed throughout the years. He's always
been an inspiration
to me and indeed another one of my Poser heroes. Do me this
favor though.
If you're ever wandering down a street in Kentucky and spot
someone you think looks like PhilC...
run up and give him a big warm fuzzy hug and ask for his
autograph. =oP
Interviewed
by Ben_Dover
©2003, PlanIT3D.com
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