All images from Inspired 3D Character Setup by Michael Ford and Alan Lehman, series edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford. Reprinted with permission.	Rick Grandy

This is the latest in a number of adaptations from the new Inspired series published by Premier Press. Comprised of four titles and edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford, these books are designed to provide animators and curious moviegoers with tips and tricks from Hollywood veterans. The following is excerpted from Inspired 3D Character Setup.

A Brief Introduction
Rick is currently a character setup artist at Rhythm & Hues in Marina Del Ray, California. Rick’s approach to building characters is finding that fine line between too simple and too complex. Here Rick talks about his approach to character setup and problem solving.

Michael Ford: Give us a little background on your career.

Rick Grandy: I guess it pretty much started when I decided not to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. I was working part-time for Ohio State University, helping maintain the computer labs for the Industrial Design department, and one of the professors encouraged me to think about changing directions. I had never before thought that I could actually make a living as an artist; I saw drawing as a hobby, something I had always done for fun. I applied to the program and was lucky enough to get accepted. My next lucky break was getting an internship at a small production company.

I was in my first year of the design program (third year overall) and found myself as the second shift Paintbox artist for Mills-James Prods., doing mainly 2D elements for use in edit sessions. This led to a staff position creating graphics for the Business Theatre Group and eventually starting an interactive multimedia group. I believe this was around 1994 before the medium exploded with things like Java and Flash. As time went on, I kept my ties with Ohio State and my evenings were spent at the Advanced Computing Center for Art and Design, where I had access to an SGI with various software packages. I took an introductory programming class and then a RenderMan programming class while teaching myself Alias PowerAnimator and Wavefront Visualizer. At work, we had just purchased a new 3D platform, TDI Explore, and I switched from multimedia graphics back to post-production and became the primary 3D artist. I’ve been doing 3D work ever since.

[Figure 1] Rick helped create the rigging for Imhotep and the priest mummies for the 1999 release of The Mummy. All The Mummy images © 2002 by Universal Studios. Courtesy of Universal Studios Publishing Rights, a Division of Universal Studios Licensing Inc. All rights reserved.