/ In virtual space with Valentin Heinrich

Valentin Heinrich is a 3D artist. He began his art with flip books on notepads and his first stop-motion films in a 500-strong village in Baden-Württemberg. Then he discovered his passion for motion design and now lives and works as a freelancer in the 3D sector in Berlin. His customers come from a wide variety of industries: from a publisher for a manufacturer of colorful building blocks to a Canadian cannabis producer and WYE. For our home story segment, he also placed WYE pieces in the room - in contrast to others, however, this is not a living space, but rather a weightless room.

Despite this, or perhaps because of this, we were allowed to ask him a few questions about his work as a 3D artist and designer:  

1. When and how did you get into 3D modelling? How can a non-expert imagine 3D modeling and creating 3D art? What are your tools like? Do you have a virtual brush and color palette?
   I use the program Cinema4D to create my works. In principle , it works in a similar way to CAD software. There you can create, texture, illuminate and preview objects in a kind of 3D space. The actual light calculations are then carried out or rendered by a plugin . I don't have a fixed color palette, but I move my colors in a relatively natural spectrum that is characterized by a warm-cold contrast.
   
   
2. How would you describe your style in 3 words?
    Sure, sometimes funny.
   
   
3. How do your ideas for motions and 3D art come about?
    Ideas for personal animations and renderings come to me relatively suddenly. I've gotten into the habit of always having something to draw or write with me so I don't forget them again. Then, at a later point in time, I sit down and work out the idea until it corresponds to what I had in mind.
   
4. How do you approach the design of virtual environments? What is important when designing the premises?
   When designing 3D content, I am relatively systematic. Starting from a kind of spatial sketch, I go ever further into detail and adapt one aspect after the other to my ideas. The most important point is the lighting. The light is the decisive factor for the overall mood of a room.
   
   
5. You developed a Dreamscape for us : What inspires you when designing the surroundings? Where do you get your inspiration from?
   If you go through the world with open eyes, inspiration can really be found everywhere in everyday life. Sometimes I catch myself "thinking in 3D" about objects and surfaces, i.e. how to recreate them. Of course, I also find many references on the Internet. But the inner inspiration is quite different: I try to create digital places and objects that convey a feeling of harmony.
   
   
6. What was it like creating a fantasy world for WYE?
   I had a lot of fun creating the visuals for WYE. It's just nice to work with a product that is so clearly designed and speaks to me directly with its design. The basic idea behind the design was to create an abstract world that appeals to the viewer on an emotional level and conveys a feeling of lightness. The basic form of the Chamfer furniture awakens a feeling of weightlessness in me, so the idea of ​​the floating furniture came up relatively quickly. When setting the lighting, I made sure to further develop the shape of the furniture and let it speak for itself.
   
   
7. What is the challenge in staging furniture and interior products ?
   The special challenge when presenting furniture and other furnishings lies in allowing consciously designed surfaces and shapes to come into their own. So it's about understanding the design as much as possible and using this as a kind of guideline for the design of the renderings. 

8. What is your personal favorite project ?
   In hindsight, the most important project so far was the " Red Series". A work consisting of 3 animation loops that were created in late 2017 and early 2018. When designing these loops, I was absolutely in the flow, forgot everything around me and was able to feel and design the animations from an inner drive. The feedback on these loops made me realize how strong the power can be that can come from virtually created but photorealistic images. In March 2021 I was finally able to sell the series to a digital art collector via the digital art platform KnownOrigin .
   
   
9. Is there anywhere to admire your art?
   My projects can be seen on my website, as well as Instagram and Behance .  

Thank you very much dear Valentin for this unique insight into your work and your very special art, which enables us to look at our pieces - in the truest sense of the word - from a completely new angle!