A small world with BIG opportunities: Inside the world of digital sculpting with some of the best at Lucid, Ford, Oakley, and Apple

Senior Digital Design Modeler, Lucid Motors

Education

I studied at YRGO University Sweden, where the main focus was on 3D modeling. It was an interesting group – 16 girls and only 4 guys.

Background

My mother was an artist, and my father engineered at work as well as at home. I came from a passionate DIY family. I’ve always enjoyed sketching, aesthetics, and had an appreciation for beautiful design. It was natural for me to be in an industry where I could take ideas from A to Z and draw creatively on the technical side, to understand how it’s engineered.

Work Experience

After school, I did several consulting jobs on product design – for example: garden equipment, boats, cameras, airplanes, Ikea products, etc. During this time, I worked in ICEM Surf. I noticed, however, that my colleagues using Alias were able to be more creative. It was after I moved to the U.S. and switched to Alias that my creative and technical interests aligned.

Learning Alias

I learned Alias myself, which meant I was able to direct my own learning. Others can make it look so effortless, but what I found was it’s essential to break it down into steps. Then when you know it well, it’s almost like Alias becomes this third colleague, and we’re all connected in this triangle of design.

The Job

I work with great colleagues, and we’re all focused on the same outcome. It’s this network of knowledge because Alias is a common language. Being so connected, we can feel each other’s struggles as we all know what it’s like. We collaborate, ask for help, and send things back and forth.

Any Regrets?

This is not an active job! There’s a lot of sitting, which means I need to find ways to stand more. But I get to travel and meet people, and see my work come into the market. It’s like nothing else.

Advice for Young Designers

This is a complex career choice, for sure. It’s a collaboration between aesthetics and engineering. The upside is that I can look at pretty much any product and know how it’s made. But there’s so much to learn, and it takes a lot of discipline and endurance. I believe it’s important to take every chance that comes your way, even if you’re not sure you’ll like it. Because you just never know.

Final Thoughts

This is a small world with BIG opportunities, but it’s not for everyone. I can work on something for weeks and then have to scrap it. But I am never bored and there’s always a new challenge.

Digital Sculptor, Ford Motor Company

Adjunct Professor, 3D Modeling, Lawrence Technological University

Education

Graduated from Lawrence Technological University in Michigan where I studied transportation design.

Background

While growing up, I loved cars, drawing, computer games, and making things. These naturally combined into a career path, and I aimed toward working for the automotive industry, especially Ford. Ford always felt familial to me for many reasons.

Work Experience

I did some rendering work for RTT (now 3DExcite) as an intern, and then I came to Ford to intern and later work full time. My schooling had such an influence on me – thanks to Keith Nagara at Lawrence Tech – that I now teach Alias and VRED there as well.

Learning Alias

I learned it in school and am now using VRED in my workflows as well. Teaching Alias is the best of both worlds; I get to reinforce what I know and learn new things alongside my students. In that way, I like to say my jobs are symbiotic.

The Job

Our skillset goes beyond automotive into industrial design and M&E (Media & Entertainment) – so we’ll always have value.

Any Regrets?

No – it’s a little more complicated and less natural than 2D sketching, but I love it.

Advice for Young Designers

Let yourself encounter all the components of this field and then choose. The biggest learning I’ve had is being efficient with time, because it really flies when you’re on a project. And if you’re still a student: get an internship or hands-on work ASAP – it’s a game changer.

Final Thoughts

University teaches you; work trains you. Our skillset is in high demand, and there is always something more to pursue.

Senior Manager, 3D Design, Oakley

Education

I actually ditched high school for a day (a month before graduation) to come and apply at Oakley – though there wasn’t much of an interview process back then. I was hired to do the graveyard shift at the lens coating lab. After I graduated high school with honors, my family moved to Foothill Ranch in 1995, which is where Oakley would move to in 1997. When I was given the opportunity to learn Alias, I decided to pause school for a bit to focus my energy on learning from my design and engineering mentors at Oakley.

Background

My brother started at Oakley back in the 1990s, and he used to bring me around when I was 14, where I would do small jobs for them. I spent a lot of time sketching and doodling as a kid, and I would take any computer course they had available.

Work Experience

I also worked in accounting and lens cutting at Oakley, when I moved into the day shift. Then I was hired into design to come up with new colors for some of the new products that were coming out. From there, I had the chance to run the 3D printers and the chance to learn 3D modeling.

Learning Alias

I learned it when I moved into 3D modeling, because everybody was using Alias. So when I wasn’t taking care of the 3D printers, I taught myself Alias. There was a crew of about 5 guys at that time working in Alias, and they were my mentors. I was 20 years old, working 80 hours a week, and probably 50 of those hours was training on Alias.

The Job

This is a job I didn’t know I would love as much as I do. It’s sparked creativity in me and allowed me to do things I didn’t even know were possible (like start a jewelry company, with my own designs and models). When I look at a design, I break it apart like it’s a puzzle and ask how I would construct it in 3D. I thrive on that kind of work, because it’s challenging: some of these puzzles are harder than others.

Any Regrets?

None.

Advice for Young Designers

This is one of those jobs where once you get in, you find out real quick if it’s your thing or not. To be good at this, you have to put the time into it. There are no shortcuts in this game, and a lot of it is about experience. You won’t know how to model some things until you actually dive in and model. So don’t be afraid to fail.

Final Thoughts

There’s a beginning stage where everything is new and fun, and then you hit a plateau. You can get stuck in this rut – but you have to keep going, because you get over this hill and all of a sudden, things open up and you see everything – not just your projects, but everything in the world – differently because you pick it apart. It’s like you reach this new high of understanding how things are made and put together and the way you look at things is completely different. Push through, because it’s completely worth it.

Industrial Design, Sculpting Team Manager, Apple

Education

I attended Loughborough University for Industrial Design and Technology.

Background

I wasn’t great with books but loved art and invention. I could make a clock, make a sculpture – so it seemed like design school was a natural path. In my third year internship, I got a sense of mass production and really came to love 3D modeling.

Work Experience

I had an internship through Mars Inc, using Solid Works, then went to Mexico, working on concrete parts for washing machines. That’s where I discovered Rhino and started teaching it. After that, I worked with Craster on hotel and restaurant tableware. When I arrived at Apple in 2010, I was introduced to Alias.

Learning Alias

Alias is a super steep learning curve. It is very different from other programs out there; it feels designed to be used by people who know how to use it. It’s phenomenal to use once you’re a professional, but it’s brutally hard to learn. Apple really showed me the value of spending the time to learn a tool to do it right.

The Job

There are a lot of people who would be fantastic modelers that just don’t know about this world. People who love design, who are quiet, deep thinkers, who have a deep passion for getting the details right. It can feel like design is about representing oneself as the decision maker. Whereas with sculpting, it’s the quiet way to shape a product, and nobody else has the ability to form the final product the way the sculptor does. It’s truly your product, when you’ve made the surfaces, and it’s this beautiful relationship of different personality types that come together – these extremely inventive designers and a sculpting team that is deeply dedicated to and so focused on realizing the beauty that the product could be.

Any Regrets?

I definitely made a number of mistakes, but it’s good to learn. I wish I’d known about sculpting earlier. But I’m here where I need to be right now, and I’m trying to help other people understand that there’s a career in this space.

Advice for Young Designers

Don’t let your work be average or simply “OK.” Take the time to make it excellent, think about the details, think of the whole product cycle. Always to push to be better. Be persistent in the pursuit of excellence.

Final Thoughts

Find a company that has the same ideas around the value of work that you do. The idea of doing something really great requires time and energy, passion and hard work.  Working with people dedicated to the same goals is vital to great design.