Nikola is Principal PD/PO based in Toronto, working with multiple teams and projects in Autodesk. He is responsible for Maya Color Management, Hypershade, Render Setup, directly working with Arnold Team and designing Maya future workflows like MaterialX – LookDevX and Procedural world building. He was previously working on various positions with smaller and large studios as Sony Imageworks and Framestore. Nikola will be presenting Maya Modern Rendering Workflows at Computer graphics and art conference and share his knowledge how to advance academic programs at Education in Computer Grapnics panel.

You were working in VFX productions such as Sony Pictures Imageworks and Framestore, and now on development of software that you used as a lighting artist. What is the feeling when you know that some of your solutions will affect the development of the VFX industry? Is there something you are missing about the VFX?

I feel challenged since working on beast as Maya it’s not easy task, it’s kind ‘a nerve-wrecking because you are aware that specific change will affect many users through a whole planet. Additional “good” problem is that Maya is CG industry standard that surrounding large sets of different workflows but in same time it’s used in many other diverse Industries that dictating different requirements. To complicate even more, you can divide CG industry requirements in at least 3 groups that in some cases dictating quite different requirements. Yeah, choosing right path many times would need some brave decisions that are based on many factors.

We could truthfully state that I am in some interesting position where I am affecting industry to lean in to specific direction however, greater truth is that behind every struggle and final success is a group effort and there is nothing different in my case.

Working on shots, struggling trough Pipe and finding solution is something that I miss a lot from industry. I guess biggest difference is that in VFX Industry you would see ramification of your work on daily basic, compering to Software developing where your products are coming out after one or two years and actual feedback is delayed even more.

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