me on the Carson Daly show?
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News

Pretty unexpected, but I got a call a couple weeks ago from the Carson Daly show wanting to spotlight me and Gnomon! They came to Gnomon last week to interview me and film the school. It aired a couple nights ago and it turned out pretty cool! Just ignore Carson’s embellishments in the beginning. I am not one of the best creature designers in the world. heh.
To check it out, click here.
Fast Company Magazine – Profile on Gnomon/me!
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News
Check it out… Fast Company magazine has done a feature story on Gnomon/me for their July issue, just hitting the shelves this week! Very cool… Thanks so much to Diane for her interest and support with this story! Click here to read the story on their website…

CG Overdrive – fun in Singapore
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News

Well, CG Overdrive came and went. Thanks so much to Sen, Justin and Elle for inviting me to Singapore. I had a great time there and look forward to going back next year! (hope I get invited back, heh). It was very nice to see familiar faces and meet some very talented artists. Thanks Martin for the pics! Below: dinner with Martin Krol, Feng Zhu, Tony Kieme and Peter Nalli.

New Image: Draeke
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News
Draeke: Spectral Harbinger of the Orbital Guild
Just finished a new image thanks to catching a cold and being away from work for a couple weeks. heh. I’ve added it to the 3D Artwork page with a link to a high-res version… as that’s how it is intended to be seen. Now it is time to do a big print! I just wish I could display it on a framed 40″ vertical HD screen as that would just be so much better than paper…
-Alex
CG Overdrive – Keynote Speaker
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News
I’m honored to have been asked to be the Keynote Speaker for the upcoming CG Overdrive conference this June in Singapore! I plan on speaking about, of course, the importance of education in our industry… not just for students, but for professionals as well.
Entertainment Design @ Gnomon
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News
So we are very excited to have recently announced our new Entertainment Design program at Gnomon! Launching this summer, the one year full-time program will be a great opportunity for those seeking a career as either a 2D or 3D artist in the industry. I wish I had the time to attend… heh. But I will definitely be sneaking in to some of the new courses.
We just had our first Advisory Board meeting which was truly inspirational and exciting. The members are all such wonderfully talented people who are, like me, passionate about education and helping aspiring artists fill their potential. Here is a pic from the evening:

pictured from left to right: Aaron Sims, Jerry O’Flaherty, Fausto de Martini, Ben Procter, Neville Page, Iain McCaig, David Levy, Dylan Cole, me, Darrin Krumweide. Missing… Jonathan Berube cuz he was taking the picture.
JJ Abrams digs Gnomon!
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News
This month’s issue of Wired magazine features guest editor JJ Abrams who was awesome enough to mention Gnomon in the playlist section! JJ swung by Gnomon a couple months ago and this was extremely exciting not just for me, but definitely for the many students who got to see him poking his head in classrooms and walking through our labs. JJ has hired Gnomon alumni at Bad Robot and, as it turns out, discovered Neville Page by watching Neville’s Gnomon Workshop DVD. How cool is that? Neville has since worked with JJ as the lead creature designer for Cloverfield and Star Trek.
Here is the pic published in the magazine with a link to the Gnomon Workshop. Some people think that is supposed to be me… hmm. lol.
The Art of Steambot Studios
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News
Come one, come all, to the opening for Exodessey, the art of Steambot Studios, at the Gnomon Gallery… This Saturday, May 9th at 7pm. The artists will be there as well as snacks, drink, DJ and more. The event is open to the public and it should be a great way to spend your Saturday evening!
More info is at the Gnomon Gallery site: http://www.gnomongallery.com
Master Class Demo
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News
Here is the creature I made for the Gnomon master class entitled ‘Creature Head Texture Look Development’. I made some style variations in Photoshop starting with a simple layered comp rendered from Maya. About 30-40 minutes each. Very fun to do! I create these at 4096×4096 so that I can project the image onto my model in Bodypaint as a solid startpoint for final texturing. Click on the image for a high-res version.
Gnomon Master Classes
Posted by alexalvarez | Filed under News
I recently organized a bunch of super cool master classes that will be running the week of December 12th-19th. I can’t wait to watch them all!! Check them out the Gnomon School site.
Tags: 3dsmax, compositing, gnomon, lighting, master classes, mattepainting, maya, mental ray, modeling, mudbox, texturing, zbrush




