Interview with Professional 3D Artist Darrien Murphy

One 3D artist I have been a huge fan of is Darrien Murphy. He’s an incredible designer.

I recently saw a piece he did called “Superheroes and Villains Trapped in the Egyptian Temple of Hathor” and I really loved it. The vibe is sick, the camera moves are great, the music is spot on, and the whole thing is just really clean and well-made.

I wanted to ask him about this video and his process so we can all learn a little about his workflow. Let’s go! But before we do, let’s watch the video, so we know what we’re discussing:

My name is Darrien Murphy and I’m a freelancer. I’ve been in 3D/motion design for 20 years. My favorite and most used software is Maya in conjunction with Redshift.

A bit of both. My friend started an online toy store called Lost City Toys and she hired me to create the brand and the website. I knew she would need a promo video and this project is the outcome. I have also been rebuilding my reel and felt like I needed one more project.

This is a promo to launch the website www.lostcitytoys.com & hopefully bring some eyes to it.

I used Maya, Redshift, After Effects, and Davinci Resolve. No plugins.

This project was the first time I really dove heavily into the new Redshift Standard Material with Subsurface Scattering. I knew the marble material would be in almost every shot so I spent a lot of time on it fine-tuning. For a long time, I’ve had some sculptures in my mind that I wanted to emulate. The Bust of Octavian when he was a boy and the ivory miniatures from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna which I visited about 15 years ago. Here are some images that I used for inspiration:

Yes, on two of my last three project I have used VDBs and I plan to in the future. The Pixel Lab VDBs are really great.

I love using VDBs because they allow me to get directly into look development. For example, on this project, after I created the volume material for the fire I didn’t even have to do a test render sequence because I already knew the sim was great. I also like the versatility and ease of use.

(Learn more about VDBs in this article)

Above fire asset is from VFX Elements Fire 3 Pack

The primary tip I would give for fire is finding the delicate balance between the gradient and other attributes in the material versus the (Redshift) Postfx Bloom. Getting the balance right will allow it to behave properly on screen meaning seeing detail in the flames when close and an overexposed flame from a distance with no adjustment.

(Above render is Darrien using our Fire VDBs)

Yes, if you use 3rd party assets, use high-quality assets. Pay attention to lens sizes in your 3D scene. It’s as much a part of the creative process as anything else. Be ambitious in your projects, particularly while you’re young and have extra time. Get in the habit of being outside your comfort zone. This will accelerate your learning pace.

I’ll also share a bit of my process. I chose music early (before my shot list). I edited the music, and then I made a video edit with just solid color backgrounds and text (see video below). I tailor my shots to the music, and then when I render I have an exact frame length with 10 extra frames of heads and tales.

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@theimperiumstudio

Art Station: www.artstation.com/darrienmurphy

I hope you enjoyed this interview with Darrien! If you want to use the same assets that he uses in his renders, check out our VDB Packs!