Eduardo Morales is one of the youngest members of the Animation teaching team at L’Idem Barcelona. At 29 years old, he has a degree in 3D art for video games, a diploma in traditional animation and postproduction, and a master’s degree in 3D and production for video games, video game design and interactive content.
Since 2015 he has been working in the video game and real-time graphics sector. He combines his professional activity with teaching at our Poblenou campus. We talked to him to find out how his professional career has developed.
When did you decide to dedicate yourself to the world of gaming and why?
I have always, and to this day, been in love with videogames. A born gamer, I got my hands on a Game Boy when I was 4 years old, and it was love at first sight. When I was about 12 years old, it was clear to me that eventually I wanted to draw to make videogames, and everything until now. Video games have been with me throughout my life, still are and will be in the future.
What are your sources of inspiration?
More than people, my inspiration and references have been video games. Final Fantasy X’ turned my world upside down when I was a kid. World of Warcraft’ took me by the hand during my teenage years. And as an adult, ‘Dark Souls’ turned what a videogame had to offer me upside down. I still pay homage to games like ‘Metal Gear Solid’, ‘Devil May Cry’, ‘Kingdom Hearts’, ‘God of War’, ‘The Witcher’ and many more.
Tell us how your career has developed.
Initially I started in the world of traditional illustration/animation. Later, thanks to my knowledge of animation, I got into the world of video mapping and made projections for various events in Spain with the visual studio Palnoise. It was then when I started to investigate more into the 3D world and I ended up studying what I love: 3D design for videogames. At the end of my studies, I worked in indie studios like Moonbite until I got to work in Mediapro, for projects like LVP, Esports Overwatch and League of Legends.
What would you say is your most outstanding professional project?
To date, I don’t think I have a particular project that stands out. Perhaps working on the development of ‘The Crown of Wu’, an indie game for PS4 that we did with Sony Spain. This project meant getting a foot in the industry doing what I love and it was also a kind of professional confirmation for me.
And which project have you enjoyed the most?
The same one. It may seem like a lazy answer, but it’s really true. For me, the projects you enjoy the most are the ones you are most emotionally attached to.
What has been your biggest professional challenge and how have you faced it?
Having to go out of my comfort zone to design an interactive environment for Cupra, Seat’s premium brand. It was difficult to understand exactly what and how the client wanted the project, and we had to find a way to iterate quickly in the development of the project in order to move forward smoothly. I was in charge of designing the elements of the scene in such a way that, no matter what was changed, it would have a minimal impact on the project as a whole.
Tell us about your latest professional project.
My latest project has been working as a 3D Artist at Mediapro. I created Augmented Reality environments through Unreal Engine for Esports and LVP. I can’t say much more hehe.
Apart from teaching, what are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on a small library of characters which are already prepared so that whoever wants to can animate them directly and make them 100% functional.
The videogame industry is constantly evolving. As a professional, how are you adapting to the new demands of the sector?
Generally it’s always good to keep up to date with forums/blogs/webs dedicated to the industry (there are many, such as 80lv, Stylized Station, Polycount…). I always advise you to take a look at the latest published projects that interest you and look for interviews with the development team. If you add that to practising and playing with the new tools that are coming out, you’ll be able to keep up to date.