Ali Chenari is an art director, illustrator (3D, 2D), he has been working on animation for 18 years and has received various awards. He has been working for Nickelden, DreamWorks, TV Unity Technology and other famous companies, and now he runs his studio (Nilian Animation Studio Studios) in Toronto.

This interview was recently published by Autodesk site.

When was the golden time you said to yourself “I was born to do this job”?

I used to work on 2 and 3D art. The golden time was when I was drawing the sketch for an animation, I had to change the two-dimensional design to three-dimensional while maintaining the style of the work, which was exciting, of course. That is how my skills helped me to find out I want to be an art director.

What was your first job in 3D-animation industry? And how was it?

I was a TV commercial designer, I knew little about teamwork at that time, so every single day was full of adventure for me, which was very exciting. At that time, everyone was using a separate program, and it really made it difficult to connect those programs through a network. In addition to 3D design, I did other things like texturing, animating, and drawing the storyboard, and probably I have this job now, because of all those different works I had done.

What inspires you at your works?

Animations like Gery’s Game and For the Birds affected me a lot. At that time my parents had bought me a computer and my mom had insisted me to take animation courses. 

What do you like more in your job?

Being creative, I love it. I get excited when I create a character that did not exist before, I also love new and special drawings. I love teamwork too and it satisfies me.

What do not you like about it?

To change a design that I really like according to the customer's request has always been a challenge for me. Sometimes it seems that what they offer is not visually interesting, but at the end they choose the option that suits their project.

What is the most difficult 3D- project you have worked on?

I think the most difficult project I have worked on was “Santiago of the sea” for Nickelodeon company. It was full of digital effects, and I had to learn a lot of new things as one who was in charge of it.

I was also in charge of the beauty department, which was very challenging; Because it had a variety of tools such as digital effects, space and personality, but finally we managed to overcome all these challenges.

What new changes do you like to happen in 3D industry?

The industry has changed in recent years, but the best change would be to make it easier to use software and tools, to have easier access to platforms.

the above works are created by Chenari and Nasim Nourouzi

Which project have you been proud of?

All of them, specially Santiago of the sea, Middle school moguls, Astrolology and short animations of Unity technology. 

What is the process of doing your work?

There are several methods that I choose based on each project and its scope. But in personal projects I start with sketching and then painting. Then I prepare the work modeling by the use of Madbox or 3D Max program.

For the next step, I execute it through Photoshop or Substance Pinter and complete the lighting by 3D Max. Finally, I do the final step using the Nuke program.

What is the best piece of advice one has given you in your work?

When I started my work, I was spending a lot of time knowing 3D tools and techniques, one day an artist told me you should know the principles and rules of art to improve. Which had a significant impact on my work.

Dou you have any piece of advice for artists who want to have their own style?

Studying the principles of art, knowing the science used in each piece of art to understand the process of creation better, it is helpful to look at nature.

What is your project in near future?

Some new short animations.