As our MGFX team grows and expands into new territories, we wanted to give you an insight into its talent. Who is behind the scenes, conjuring up our motion graphics magic? This time, meet Rafael, Bicalho, 3D Generalist. With experience across everything from art direction for games, to creating motion graphics for film, Rafael has a broad skillset which means each of his projects at Revenant have that extra bit of magic. Discover more about his journey and work below.
Who or what inspired you to get into the art of MGFX?
I kind of fell into Motion Design without realising it- I started doing digital art very early in life. I believe that the first software I ever installed on a computer was photoshop CS6 and cinema 4D r13, and the first thing I saw on Instagram were artists doing abstract animation- which I later discovered was motion design. I believe the first artists I stumbled on were Ash Thorp and GMUNK, and they were doing a little bit of everything, with an incredible sense of design and individuality which was something that was always in my mind. The expressiveness and the type of freedom in the work that these giants were making lured me in and I’ve been following that trail ever since.
And who/what inspires you now?
Pinterest! Truly, I have to mention Pinterest because it allows me to see what’s happening in the current moment of art as a whole and that is truly inspiring to see. I love to see the hundreds of individuals pushing creativity on all fronts, which is the same feeling I get working with the Revenant team to be honest!
It’s hard to say a single group of individuals as I could be listing names forever, however I believe that I’m still chasing past heroes of the Motion Design community, like Michael Rigley, Chris Bjerre, Ash Thorp, GMUNK, Toros Kose and so on…Ultimately, any artist that isn’t afraid of expressing their individual tastes and that chases change, or is able to swap fields in an instant are also huge inspirations for me. I look up to people less bound to conventions and more focused on an impressive quality of work and self expression.
What would your dream project look like?
For me I think it would be three types of projects. One is- and I think it’s safe to say any motion designer would love this- a big and crazy sci-fi film, especially in the style of Cyberpunk or Star Wars, since they have a lot of room for holograms, fictional UI’s and this type of work. I’m a fan of glitch art and I think I would like to flex that muscle on some holograms!
I would also love to help construct a pivotal project in the motion design community, like the FITC Tokyo titles was for the community in 2015. I think that a 100% Motion Design oriented piece would be a lot of fun.
And to complete the triad I would love to work on anything where I could create a crazy motorcycle again, like I did for Revenant’s project Iron Sail. I’d love to make that piece pushes the field of motorcycle design further into what it could be- a design that looks modern but is out of the ordinary; something that makes people feel what it’s like to actually be riding a motorcycle, rather than simply visually sell an engine with tires.
The industry is changing more than ever right now. How do you see MGFX helping to shape the future of animation and VFX?
Motion Designers themselves have evolved a lot in the past few decades, with most of us also being capable of creating short films and animations. As the separation of these two fields become more and more blurred I think new pieces that look completely different start to emerge; pieces that move differently and are narratively constructed in a unique way. For example, animated films like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse are a place where motion design and animation itself have been combined to create something unique and different once again. I feel that there are many styles, techniques and processes yet to be uncovered within the field.
Lastly, what’s your favourite project you’ve worked on at Revenant, and why?
That would be Iron Sail for sure! At the time of creating it, I was working as a concept designer for a game studio whilst I was a freelancer for Revenant. I played a very small part on the project but it was still a blast to put that design together. I just love to flex the vehicle design muscle whenever I can!