Who is 'Doublecrash'? My name is Stefano and I am a 38 years old Italian writer. I already published some books in Italy and the next one will be on the shelves next March: I'm quite excited, because it will be my first book published by one of the Italian Majors and the first one to be nation-wide launched and distributed. I live in Milan, I love classical music, I translate novels from English to Italian and I'm a big, big, BIG fan of Inter FC, one (the "real" one, LOL) of the two Milanese soccer teams. How long have you been rendering/doing computer graphics? I started in 1997, when I found a copy of Imagine for Dos in an Italian graphics magazine. I was immediately hooked: those pictures were astounding! But I hadn't the money to buy the real software, so I switched to POVRay (what a fantsastic app and philosophy!) and trudged my way into 3D with no interface and text programming. Then my writing took over and I left 3D until, in '99, I discovered Bryce. Bryce has been my real first 3D love: with Bryce2, I became really addicted. I started making landscapes and then tried to do something more with Bryce4 and Poser2. At the end of 2002 I discovered Renderosity, and I have been here ever since... how couldn't I? :) Do you have traditional art experience? Absolutely not. It's frustrating: my hands seem to refuse to follow my brain's orders, LOL. I play piano more than decently, I take decent photographs... gosh, I'm even able to *knit*, but I completely lack any drawing skills. Everything I try to draw comes out like sticky-boy. What are you currently working on? Mostly proof-reading my book and writing my next novel. When I have time (and I have almost none in this period), I go to the studio to see how the anim progresses and learn, learn, learn watching others using XSI and Maya. There I produce a still from time to time because I love to post in the R'osity galleries. What software/equipment do you use and why? After Bryce, I switched to Cinema4D because I wanted to have modeling tools at my hands. Then, last winter, a small Italian studio bought the rights of one of my Sci-Fi short stories and decided to realize a 3D short animation of it. I was excited to the max, and I gave up on the most part of the money to be in the team: I didn't care if I have to bring coffee to the animators, but I wanted to learn, so I began using Softimage|XSI and, later, Maya under their guide. And everything changed: XSI is fantastic, but Maya is... super! The GUI, the architecture of the program... it seems to have everything I always dreamed in a 3D app. I'm amazed. Right now I'm using Maya 6, but I use it only when I am in the agency because I don't have the money to buy it. At home, on my AMD XP2400 with 1 gig of RAM, I use Cinema4D and Maya 5 PLE. One of the first things I'll do if my book sells good will be to buy Maya Unlimited and a monster-PC so I will be able to use it at home. Then, I think my outdoor days will be over, LOL... What do you think your best piece of work is and why? I'm specially fond of "Arcade!", made with Bryce, because it was so incredibly funny to realize. I wanted to write a short story for all the friends in the Bryce Forum, and then I began to "visualize" it... in two weeks, I modeled a "Tetris-Stadium" and it was really a wonderful time. I even won the Bryce Forum Challenge with that one! :) If someone is interested, there's the short fiction of "Arcade!" among the articles in my Artist Page. Why do you like to work with 3D software? I think that my lack of traditional art skills is the main reason for my absolute love with computer graphics: 3D allows me to express myself in a form that I always loved but that, before, for me was completely forbidden. It allows me to paint and "visualize" my fantasies: otherwise, they would remain secluded in my mind. And 3D is fantastic: with it, you can literally "create" worlds, emotions, situations. Incredibly addicting. Who/what inspires you? It's impossible to answer. Like for my books, I think that the only correct answer would be "everyone, everything": other people's work, music, situations, thoughts, views, feelings... I could go on for pages. How has this online community (Renderosity) enhanced your work, relationships, and learning? Incredibly. You really can't imagine how much. When I signed in my membership in 2002 and started to post my first pitiful Bryce images, I was confronted with the works of Rochr, Sbleci, AlvinYlaya and many others. I received a boost, a fantastic inspiration. And an incredible, totally unexpected support. And, even if it's more than one year that I don't use Bryce, the Bryce Forum is the first place I look when I log in: there I have friends and people that helped me a lot and taught me even more. And, with time, I had the opportunity to exchange opinions and advice with fantastic artists in all the various forums of Renderosity: it will be impossible to name them all, but I can easily say that, without Renderosity, maybe I'd still be making the ever-classic "Shiny Sphere On A Checkered Plane". Parting Comments / Advice to other Artists? I'd like to thank Renderosity and all the people who always supported me. Some of them became friends also outside the graphics community. Advice? Well... the most obvious one: be thankful for the appreciative comments, but examine always with double attention the negative ones, because without the ability to accept criticism there is no possible growth. And, when talking to a newbie, never, never forget that Shiny Sphere On A Checkered Plane that is somewhere in the Hard-Disk of everyone of us. :) thanks Stefano

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Be sure to check out Doublecrash's gallery! Click on 'AOM 2004' on the sidebar to learn more about Artist of the Month and to view our past winners.