The Canadian self-taught digital artist best known as Huleeb has been creating a 3D-rendered artwork every single day for over two years. What began initially as a way to learn 3D soon evolved into a hobby and then into a passion. Recently, we were fortunate enough to learn what drives him as an artist and hear his story - one that is sure to inspire anyone who has ever dreamt of creating their own worlds.
KitBash3D: Thanks for joining us! Could you introduce yourself to our readers and describe your creative journey up until this point?
Hugo: My name is Hugo, I go by the name ‘Huleeb,’ and I’m a 3D artist. I've always been passionate about animated movies and simply 3D in general. I liked the idea of building your own worlds and bringing them to life. For some reason, it never really hit me to do it myself, but this all changed at the end of 2019. I was watching a lot of Corridor Crew at the time and this motivated me to start, especially the episode where they had Beeple on.
During that period of time, I had a lot of free time on my hands and thought that brute-forcing my Blender learning by doing like Beeple, [creating] a render a day, could speed up the process. And it did. After that, the motivation to keep learning came naturally because of the daily challenge. Now I’ve done a render a day for over the past two years.
KitBash3D: Your story reminds us of our conversation with The Dizzy Viper, who was also inspired by Beeple to start bringing his own visions to life. Making art is contagious! What is your thought process when creating your renders?
Hugo: If I already have an idea of what to do in mind, I go straight into Blender. But most of my renders start by going on ArtStation and browsing concept art, horror, and often just what’s trending. It’s crazy how many talented artists are out there. When I’m ready, I start to lay out my scene with the main elements and then start playing around with fog, lighting, props and small details. Everything has to fit well within the composition and lighting of the whole piece.
But if I could summarize this into one question for me, it would be: “How can I create a piece that tells an intriguing story with lighting, looks nice, is somewhat in my color scheme, and won’t take 8 hours?”
KitBash3D: Your art definitely has a consistent look. We can always tell when your work lands in our feed! What inspires or influences your aesthetic?
Hugo: Desolated and foggy outdoor scenes, dark woods, anything moody :). I really like those old vintage moody photos where there’s an eerie feeling just by looking at them.
KitBash3D: You capture that beautifully with your pieces. Many of your pieces feature our kits too - what’s your favorite part of kitbashing with our 3D models?
Hugo: The amount of assets that come in the kits. I love how there’s pre-made stuff, which is always the go-to, but also all the individual pieces that make up those pre-made sets, just to have the endless options.
I also really enjoy going into the viewport around the kits and trying to find a nice camera angle on the buildings. A lot of my renders started that way.
KitBash3D: Do you have a favorite kit to work with?
Hugo: FAVELAS. This is by far my favorite of all of the kits. It looks very interesting, but what I love most about this is its versatility. Because the buildings are so complex and have so many little areas, you can use them from afar but also really get in there. It’s full of life everywhere.
KitBash3D: Our kits team will be delighted to hear that! Since beginning work in 3D, what have you learned from making your art, or what lessons have you tried to employ while creating?
Hugo: The biggest lesson I learned was that lighting is everything. Lighting really sets the mood of every scene and it’s a massive key element every 3D artist should try to master.
KitBash3D: What is something that you would like to do more of?
Hugo: I would like to dabble more with the kits in a video format. I always only use the assets in a still image, it would be nice and fast to bring complex worlds to life.
KitBash3D: We saw your recent piece that incorporated motion! Very excited to see what new ground you’ll break in the video format. What drives you to keep creating and evolving as an artist?
Hugo: I like pushing myself to keep creating and improving. And also, because I create a piece of work so often, it’s interesting to see what new random skill or addon I’ll pick up next. When it happens, I see a shift in my style because I exploit it so much, sort of like picking up a new super-power for a bit. :P
KitBash3D: Speaking of heroes, what artists inspire you?
Hugo: There’s Henri Prestes, ASMU, Zdzisław Beksiński, Beeple, Ian Hubert, and so many more.
KitBash3D: Thank you so much for sharing all these insights. Any final thoughts for us?
Hugo: KEEP MAKING AMAZING ASSETS!!
KitBash3D: We’re on it!!
ABOUT HULEEB
Hugo, going under the name ‘Huleeb’ as a Digital Artist, has been creating an artistic piece of work every day for the past 2 years. His work evokes a moody and dreamy sensation and often features a gas mask, hazmat-suit-wearing character in a dark and foggy environment. To see more, be sure to check out his Instagram, Twitter, Website, and ArtStation.
