Interview with Tony Alley

by:jtclancy

jtclancy - Thank you Tony for taking the time to do an interview for c4dcafe.com. Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you.

Tony - I’m Tony Alley.  I’m an Associate Professor of Art & Design and Mass Communication at Oklahoma Christian University.  I’ve been here at OC for a little over ten years.  Before that, I was with the US Air Force: a pilot, instructor pilot, and curriculum developer.

jtclancy - How did you get into Cinema 4D?

Tony - Let me go back a bit.  While with the Air Force, I was responsible for courseware development for pilot training programs (and later, the courseware used in some officer training programs).  Over the course of my career, this meant developing simulations, videos, interactive multimedia, and similar educational materials.  So, I’ve been working with CG for a long time.

My first 3D app was Silicon Beach’s Super 3D (back in the mid-80s, if I remember correctly).  After that, there was Macromedia’s Extreme 3D, Ray Dream Designer, Infini-D, Newtek’s Inspire-3D, and finally Maxon’s Cinema 4D (in the late-90s).  Because I teach, it’s important that I use an application that’s as easy to use as it is powerful.  When I surveyed the 3D landscape back in the late-90s, looking at several of the popular 3D apps, C4D really stood out in this regard.  Not only could I use it to produce professional work, students could learn to use it in no time.

jtclancy - How long have you been using Cinema 4D and do you use any other 3d applications?

Tony - As you can see in my answer to #2, above, I’ve been using C4D for about six years.  In the last couple years, I’ve also used Maya and Luxology’s Modo.

jtclancy - What do you like about Cinema 4D compared to other 3D applications?

Tony - Again, there’s just not another product on the market that wraps so much power inside such an easy to learn interface.

jtclancy - What improvements would you like to see for Cinema 4D?

Tony - C4D’s modeling, texturing, and lighting tools have really improved dramatically over the years.  Its animation tools deserve a little attention, now.  The basics are certainly there, but I believe there’s room to advance that part of the C4D package.

jtclancy - Tell us about your favorite 3D project to date.

Tony - The one I’m working on now.  ;-)  That is, I’m always excited to be working on something new in 3D.  Right now, I’m having my students model scenes for a “future past” assignment.  We’re using the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, The Jetsons, as our inspiration: modeling futuristic scenes but with a 60’s view of the future.

jtclancy - Do you have any favorite 3D artists? If so who?

Tony - There are so many 3D artists that I admire!  My favorites (in no particular order) include Steven Stahlberg, Pascal Blanche, and Rene Morel.  The Pixar team blows me away with each and every release!  They’re fantastic!

And although I look at a lot of 3D work, most of my inspiration comes from 2D.  For example, I love the work of Chuck Jones (especially his earlier work at Warner Brothers), Berkeley Breathed (Bloom County and Outland), Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), and Michel Gagne (Insanely Twisted Rabbits).  I look at this stuff on a regular basis.

More than that—and my advice for all aspiring 3D’ers—I try to look and study everything!  I really love the artist Vermeer’s work.  I occasionally read comic books.  I recently bought a couple old Car-Toons magazines.  I love Jimmy Neutron but I also watch Ren and Stimpy.

jtclancy - Tell us about your newest book and why you decided to write it.

Tony - Again, I teach 3D.  I had been using C4D for a couple years and the textbooks I was having my students purchase, while great in many ways, seemed to me to miss the mark when considered from an instructional designer’s perspective.  That is, the tutorials, when completed by my students, resulted in pretty pictures but little understanding of 3D.  So, I wanted to write a book that really helped students come to grips with the fundamentals of 3D modeling.  I finished “Exploring 3D Modeling with Cinema 4D” in the late summer of this year.  I am using it in my classes now and I’m pretty pleased with the results.

I received a really nice complement the other day.  Someone wrote in to a forum to say that after reading my book, they finally understood what it was they were doing when they worked through the other C4D books they had purchased.  That’s exactly what I was hoping for!

jtclancy - Can we expect to see a book from you in the future on other releases of Cinema 4D?

Tony - I certainly hope so!  I love to teach; be it in front of a class or via a book.  I’m really passionate about CG and I love to share that passion with others.  I’m really busy at school right now and I also stay actively involved with ACM SIGGRAPH (which I encourage you to investigate at www.siggraph.org).  Also, writing takes time away from my own creative activities.  So, it’s simply a matter of finding the time.  That’s one of the nice things about teaching, though.  I can dedicate my summers to writing and creating art.

jtclancy - How did you get into giving classes on Cinema 4D?

Tony - I think 3D will play an increasingly important role in our world: advertising, education, marketing, scientific visualization, product prototyping, etc.  So, I’ve always considered experiences with 3D to be an important part of every artist’s/designer’s education.

I was teaching with Infini-D when it left the marketplace in the late 1990s.  I looked at several possible replacements.  As I note elsewhere, C4D was (and, I think, remains) the best 3D application when both power and ease of use are considered together.

jtclancy - Is there increasing demand for it?

Tony - Absolutely!

jtclancy - Have you written any other books?

Tony - Yes, but nothing you’d have heard of.  I was author and series editor for several Air Force pilot training textbooks.  I also wrote a chapter for an edited work on military technology procurement (“Challenge and Response: Anticipating US Military Security Concerns,” edited by Dr. Karl Magyar, 1994).

jtclancy - For a beginner just starting using Cinema 4d, what can you recommend?

Tony - My book!  Okay, shameless plug aside, dedication is at the top of the list.  A few years back, when I was finishing up my doctorate, I bought a book titled “How to Write Your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day.”  One of the very first points that the author makes in the book is that you can’t write your dissertation in 15 minutes a day.  However, you do need to visit your dissertation every day: spend time thinking about it, reviewing what you’ve written so far, reading another journal article, etc.  It’s the same way with 3D.  Don’t ever let a day pass that you don’t spend some time working with it.  Read an article, complete a short tutorial, deconstruct a model…whatever you can squeeze in.  Do it every day!  And immerse yourself in the culture of computer graphics: old and new.  I recent saw a presentation by the CG team that did the movie “Madagascar.”  They talked about finding their inspiration for character movements in old cartoons.  So, watch cartoons, watch movies, read fiction, etc.  Even if you aren’t “in the industry” but, instead, you’re an eager hobbyist, you need to find time after work, on your lunch break, or before you go to bed to keep your head in it.

jtclancy - Where do you see the CG industry heading in the next 10 years?

Tony - I believe that it’s all about increased realism, fidelity, and presence.  That is, radio gave way to television because TV has the added benefit of seeing (presence).  Black and white TV gave way to color TV because color is more realistic than black and white.  High definition will overtake standard-resolution TV because high-def offers greater fidelity.  Older media forms/formats don’t die (each still has a place in our culture) but we will continue to evolve media until it becomes immersive and virtually real.  Look at the games available on X-box and Sony PlayStation today.  Compare those with the games of 10 years ago.  The future holds even more realism, fidelity, and presence (both graphic and in terms of improved artificial intelligence).

jtclancy - Apart from 3D is what other interests do you have?

Tony - Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been interested in how things work.  As a youngster, I’d take apart anything I could get my hands on.  When I was growing up, our house was littered with deconstructed clocks, toys, appliances, etc.  I’m really into understanding what makes things work.  Sadly, I’m not nearly as enthusiastic about putting things back together.  ;-)  I’m a science junkie!  I read everything I can about cosmology, Einstein, astronomy, etc.  I’m also a philosophy freak.  I even teach a philosophy course!  …really great stuff.  I am a music freak!  I love all forms/genres of music but especially trace, electronic, ambient, world, and techno.  I am also interested in simulation, visualization, and computer graphics in general.  The truth is, I love to learn!  I want to understand it all.

 

For those interested in Tony's newest book, check out this link for details and pricing:
http://www.delmarlearning.com/browse_product_detail.aspx?catid=13628&isbn=1401878776