3DArtist of the Month
Jeroen Van Hoorebek
3D Character Artist
Long ago I found this artwork in one of the numbers of a 3D magazine and I got touched by the care and perfection of this piece. It was 4 years ago but looking at it now I have the same level of admiration of this timeless artwork.
- Artist Name: Jeroen Van Hoorebek
- Artstation: ArtStation – Jeroen Van Hoorebeke
- Role: Lead Character Artist at That’s No Moon
- Tools normally used: 3DSMAX, Zbrush, Marvelous Designer, Substant Painter, Ornatrix, Photoshop
- Popularity: 3,912 followers in Artstation (25th of January 2022)
- Website: killtimedreams.com
- Current Location: San Francisco,CA, USA
The character depicted here is the anthropomorphic cat protagonist of the comic Blacksad, drawn by the Spanish artist Juanjo Guarnido, and invented by the scriptwriter Juan Diaz Canales that started this awarded idea back in 2000.
The cat inspired by the actor Marlon Brando represents a noir film detective that solves mystery cases in a world full of stereotypes represented by animals. Many artists tried to bring this hard and charming “guy” into the 3D world, but I consider Jeroen’s, the best representation of John Blacksad so far.
Four years ago JEROEN VAN HOOREBEKE, our Artist of the Month, published this work for the wonder of many. This Belgian artist made this solid model which denotes talent in so many ways.
This job, among other things, is an exponent of how powerful Marvelous Designer is in the correct hands…
…but also, the great model expression, the correctness of its proportions, the wise textures, stunning fur, proper organic shapes and crazy detailed hard surface work of the Smith & Wesson make this job simply great.
The artist seems to have used the Morph Targets feature to print the movement (right arm and head) into the garment, the results of the Marvel physics simulation that projects dynamism, naturalness and weight.
The folds of the light but stiff trench coat are impeccable all around, and plays incredible with the stressed shirt and the silk tie. The classic pants match the overall mood of the outfit
Now we are going to pay closer attention to the small details of the seams all around the trench, gloves and shirt that flags the love for the detail of the artist. I love also the button holes with thick stitching.
I love the watermarks of the trench texture and overall the micro creases present all along the garment that makes it feel so real.
The pose causes the face and hands tension to flow into the rest of the body loading properly the shoulders with the required leadership result of the right volume choice that well works with the trench skirt.
Last and not least the right choice of eye texture and the wonderful bushy and tight fur shines so well in the render that makes the model a joy.
The fur direction has been well controlled and flows amazingly through the entire expression that stands out flawlessly even in the transition between the white to black section.
The tool used for the fur seems to be Ornatrix by Ephere which is a grooming plugin for 3dsmax, Vray and C4D that currently is in its 7th version (Jeroen used it on 3dsmax).
If you want to know more about this plugin you can find it at this link: Ephere.
Jeroen Van Hoorebek is our Artist of the month and we are pleased he found the time to create this stunning model while fully working in triple-a game characters (Mafia III and some unannounced titles).
Today is the Character Lead Artist at “That’s No Moon”! and seems not very active in feeding his portfolio, but we hope he will bring another jewel like this sometime shortly. (http://thatsnomoon.com) in L.A. California.
What do you think about this artist? Do you prefer Ornatrix rather than XGEN? …Leave us your comments and help us to continue learning from these great examples.
Miguel Angel Torio
HandyTales Founder & CEO
