NPOWER Software - Advanced Modeling Plugins for 3DSMAX and RHINO

Hello nPower enthusiasts, this month one of our favorite nPower architects joins us to talk about his passion, 3d modeling. Please help me welcome Carlos Fueyo..

What has been your experience to this point working with the nPower team?
The NPower team has always been there to answer any questions. It is refreshing to deal with a company that treats its customers with the respect and disposition that NPower does.

If you visit our forum gallery please vote on Carlos's images and let him know what you think about his work.

This past year has been very interesting and exciting. I have been involved in many different projects from working at Production Studio in California as a syndicated animator and 3d Artist to concentrating in different in-house projects and experimental works. I am currently working on a couple of Animated shorts; one dealing with a proposed project by renowned Architect and Artist Lebbeus Woods on the early 90’s in Sarajevo. Also in the design process is a proposal for a Art Institute in New York (also part of my dissertation) and hopefully a couple of collaborations with some very talented Computer Artists. I am very excited to see what comes out of this humble studio this year, specially with any collaboration; as I am a strong believer in working with other individuals to enrich the field and expand the possibilities of a project.

Attended Florida International University were I received my Bachelors in Architecture and where I am now working on my Thesis Project in order to complete the Masters in Architecture. From a young age I was always drawn to the arts; starting with watercolor at the age of six I have always looked forward to experimenting with different medias and always attempting to push the limits of such. Around 2000, as I began my Architectural studies, I was exposed to 3d through AutoCAD; quickly after switching to 3d Studio Max. This is when the technicality of the software became a sort of obsession and a substitute to art – becoming itself an art expression. Since then it has been a constant struggle to always push the envelope in trying to achieve the most realistic result as possible and as a result of that struggle Insomnia3d, Llc. was formed in 2004. The studio’s focus has remained as an experimentation of the 3d arts through my client’s projects as well as my own. A experimentation in search to gap the threshold between Architecture, Computer Graphics, Animation, and Art. With this background I would hope to one day not only design extraordinary Architecture but also being able to visualize it in the same way great Architects such as Mies and Wright did with their beautifully crafted sketches.

Each project, from the very first one, holds a very special part of my development in the field. I would obviously have to put my own projects first, since I had to deal with them from idea to completion. However, every project has meant a headache and a struggle that have taught me many lessons and helped me become better at what I am. Each of them has had their obstacles to overcome yet once revealed as a final product it all becomes worth it.

To me every aspect of the Arts (including Architecture in that class) is a lesson to be learn and inspiration to be drawn. I have always been attracted to deconstructivism – Architects like Zaha Hadid, Santiago Calatrava, Lebbeus Woods, Oscar Niemeyer, Daniel Libeskind, Louis Khan, Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando… one can only be humbled by the beauty of their projects and hope to successfully transcend some of those concepts and ideas onto personal design. Music has always been an great source of inspiration; the Beatles opened my ears as the first songs I ever heard and pieces like the 1812 Overture and Bolero become the source of inspiration for animations. Perhaps the one Philosophy that has impacted me the most has been that on Jacques Derrida. As the father of Deconstruction philosophy, his studies in linguistics and meaning have become a guide that forces one not to accept history and current events from a single source and question everything that we are presented with.
Two studios that has always inspired my work have been KdLab and Blur; always creating astonishing animations but never leaving the experimentation and concepts in the backburner.

I assume it is a very typical one. It always begins with a vision after visiting the site, that soon after become sketches and study models. I usually find myself lost in the process, constantly thinking about the concept and the many possibilities of design. Luckily all of the site analysis, models, sketches and drawings usually come together to create the final project which the becomes the rendering and animation that will help communicate the idea. To me Architecture is Process Art that at one point needs to be temporarily concluded, since there is always room for improvement and revisions of thought. One can only hope that the right decisions have been made and that the Process was not cut short.

I was hooked since the first time I became aware of Npower Software and Power Booleans and the amazing simplicity of the plug-in In tackling the troublesome native Booleans of 3dsMax. So there was no question in my mind when Power Solids and Power NURBS were released to implement them into my workflow. Once again, the simplicity of use and common sense philosophy makes the software a must on any of my projects. It has improved my productivity and helped me realized complex projects that otherwise could not begin to think how would they had been completed. Is has become a crucial part of my design process allowing me to create better work and express myself more freely.

I honestly cannot think of a Learning Curve. The software is so well designed that it makes it possible to take advantage of its benefits from the first day of use. My only advice would be that if you do not use Power NURBS, or any of the other NPower software, you should stop wasting time and implement it onto your workflow immediately. Any modeling package could only dream of having such an amazing array of modeling tools. Aside from this, any question will definitely be answered by the great online tutorials that NPower has – from beginner to the most advance user.

I would love to continue experimenting with different techniques and ways of achieving computer graphics that posses an artistic quality of some sort. I would obviously look forward to working on my own Architectural projects, which would represent a huge opportunity for this experimentation to occur – both in the graphic face as well as the Architectural Design. Yet I have seem to be drawn to production and animation as a gateway for better Architecture and a better understanding of projects. By getting away from the status quo Architectural animation and viewing such as a narrative instead; one could envision a building as the main character in a film that in a twisted way has a life of its own.
This I believe will be a huge advance in the way we look at Architectural Visualization and will take the tools (3d) that we have today to their full exploration. This is right now the intent with the short I am working on now ‘Project Woods’, looking at different possibilities of this breach between Architecture and creative animation.
As far as the field in the next several decades… We will probably see a lot more concern for the environment and designs that will project the issues we today have by means of taking advantage from alternative resources of energy as well as creating a greener and friendlier Urban Fabric. I would say that the next generation Architect will be one that understands the issues, like the past Masters, and will know how to use the tools available o create a better world, a better design – which in terms it is the same as fifty years ago. The Profession will remain as it is but the tools that allow us to communicate our ideas better will constantly change and improve.