Artist focus - Antonis Kotzias
Yafka
Could you briefly introduce yourself/Company and describe your current role in the animation/graphics/VFX/CGI industry?
I’m a 3D generalist and VFX Supervisor. I founded Yafka right after I left Animal Logic back in 2006. We work mainly on TV series and feature films. Yafka is based in Athens, Greece, and we have around 15 full-time staff; we can go up to 30 with freelancers depending on the project.
The Invisible Fight (2023)
How did you get started in your field, and what inspired you to pursue this career?
An almost debilitating passion for films and adventure games made clear to me from an early age that this was the career I had to pursue. There was no real expectation that this will evolve in a profession as there was no clear career path to follow. The industry was still very young.
As a kid I started with a ZX Spectrum, moved to an Atari ST and then an Amiga before I got into PCs.
Around 18 I moved from Greece to UK, did a degree in London on computer graphics programming and then a Masters in Glasgow School of Art on CG and animation. I graduated around 1999 and since then I'm working professionally.
Little England (2013)
Who or what are your biggest influences and inspirations in your work?
It has to be science fiction films like 2001, Metropolis, Alien, Terminator, Predator so respectively artists like Giger, Harry Lange, Ernest Archer, Walter Schulze-Mittendorf, Ron Cobb, Stan Winston to mention a few. I also love the work of Edward Hopper, Simon Stalenhag, David Hockney, Burne Hogarth, Gustave Dore, Constantin Brancusi, Mark Rothko.
What about 3D?
Some 3D artists that I have worked with over the years and I look up to are: Andrew Helmis, Amaan Akram, Sergio Caires, Marco Carpagnano, Artur Vill, Antonis & Stavros Fylladitis
Smyrna (2021)
What Projects have you used Lightwave 3D on?
It's hard to list them all. Here is a small selection from the last 10 years. There are also some new ones I can't mention yet due to strict NDAs.
- King Shaka (2023) TV series
- The Invisible Fight (2023) Film
- Westworld (2018-2022) Seasons 2/3/4
- Shining Girls (2022) TV series
- Smyrna (2021) Film
- Debris (2021) TV series
- The Magicians (2017-2020) Seasons 3/4/5
- Not to Be Unpleasant, But We need to Have a serious Talk (2019) Film
- The Field Guide to Evil (2018) Film
- Kill Switch (2017) Film
- The Other Me (2016) Film
- The Sky Above Us (2015) Film
- Forget me Not (2014) Film
- Little England (2013) Film
17 Threads (2023)
What initially attracted you to LightWave 3D software, and when did you start using it?
Because of different jobs and colleges, I have been something of an unwilling software nomad. I started with 3D Studio 2.0, then pov-ray, MAX, Power Animator, Softimage 3D. Around 2000 I got a job at Digital Animations in Glasgow, a well-known LightWave studio where I got really into it. After that, I switched between various companies and had to work with Maya and Renderman, but as a personal choice - it's always LightWave!
I Magissa (2023)
What are your favourite features of LightWave 3D, and how do they enhance your work?
Initially, I loved the renderer and speed of modelling. Soon it became second nature to use and that fact alone was enough reason to keep using it even though, in the meantime, other competing applications evolved more in areas where LightWave initially had an edge. In the last few years Octane, Turbulence FD and lately VDBs have kept me on board. Nowadays I have great hopes for the new Octane plugin.
Do you only use Octane these days?
I do mainly use Octane render, however I often use the native renderer for shadow and reflection passes. I also still use it for all types of vdb.
