Sava Zivkovic Demos Unreal Engine Using KitBash3D
In this episode of GameDay, we are joined by Sava Zivkovic, Director at the award-winning animation and VFX company Axis Studios, where he’s overseen many AAA game trailers, including Gears of War 5 and Outriders. As a consummate creative, Sava directs his own short films and is always looking to expand his skillset, so when we asked him to demo Unreal Engine for GameDay, he was eager to learn more about the program along with us and see what he could create with our Brutalist kit. Be sure to stick around until the end to see his final cinematic!
Along with his live experiments in Unreal Engine, Sava covers a number of topics, including how he transitioned from a CG Artist working in ArchViz to a career in filmmaking, the learning curve of becoming a director, and how remote work has affected his process – as well a delving into a myriad of insights for how he approaches visual storytelling.
Unlike many directors, Sava creates a large portion of the previsualization (“previs”) by himself. This previs acts as a dynamic storyboard that other artists working on the project can use as reference for things like composition, lighting, timing, etc. Despite being relatively new to Unreal, Sava is so impressed with the software’s capabilities that he plans on using it to help create previs (or even final renders) on many projects to come.
For those wondering whether previous 3D experience is necessary before diving into Unreal, Sava reveals the opposite could be true. As a 3ds Max user, Sava advises 3D artists to forget what they know and embrace Unreal for what it is. Once you’re past the learning curve, the ability to virtually explore different lighting and composition setups quickly becomes an enormous asset in the storytellers’ arsenal.
Overall, it’s hard not to get excited watching Sava fly around our Brutalist structures, determining vantage points, and tweaking the models in the scene and Unreal’s camera settings. The ability to create stunning images has never been so powerful and accessible. So, what are you waiting for? Join Sava and learn something new! Your art (and audience) may thank you.
About Sava Zivkovic
Sava Zivkovic is a Director based in Belgrade, Serbia. Born in 1989, he graduated from the Belgrade University of Arts in the department of Interior and Furniture design in 2012. Having developed a strong passion for film and animation, he decides to take on this career path and focuses on all things motion picture. He has a strong belief in devoting time to personal projects, has received several awards and recognitions from the CG industry and has also given back to the industry by publishing some of his insights and behind the scenes processes from his personal projects. In late 2017 he started his directing career at Axis Studios and continues the collaboration with Glasgow based studio, working on AAA game cinematics as well as never ending development of personal IP's.
Sava is also the creator of KitBash3D's Future Slums cover art as well as the director of the Kits 4.0 Launch trailer. See more of his work on his Instagram, ArtStation, and Behance.
About GameDay
GameDay is a video series from KitBash3D featuring world-building demos and interviews with artists from projects like THE LAST OF US PART II, HALO, STAR WARS, AVATAR and many more. GameDay is hosted by KitBash3D founders Maxx & Banks and originally aired live in partnership with LightBox Expo.
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