Masato Ohata, active since 2013, discusses digital sculpting, his creative process, and insights from his new book STRING, blending art and entertainment.

Interview with Masato Ohata | Pioneer of Marvelous Designer for Digital Sculpting | Figure Sculptor

Masato Ohata has been active as a sculptor since 2013, engaging in various forms of entertainment production, including commercial prototypes and original figure production, as well as character design both domestically and internationally in Japan. In this interview, we delve into his insights on digital sculpting and explore the behind-the-scenes stories of his works featured in his newly released book, "STRING".

Could you please briefly introduce yourself?

I am a figure sculptor, Masato Ohata. I started producing original figures three years after becoming a prototype sculptor, and since then, I have been active in both commercial prototypes and original works. I've also had the opportunity to do character design work, and recently, I was in charge of character design for the puppet show "Fantarne!" broadcasted on NHK.

Please tell us about your recently released book, "STRING Masato Ohata Artworks & Sculpting Techniques".

It is my second art book. It features original sculptural works I have produced over the past six years since the release of my first art book. I also created a new piece titled "BREAKING FREE" for the cover of the book.

How did you use Marvelous Designer in your sculpting process?

Since I started producing original sculptures, I have been using Marvelous Designer mainly for simulating clothing and fabric for figures. It allows me to express wrinkles, textures, and thicknesses of clothing that match the poses of the figures. Specifically, I create the figure's body first, then design the clothing, and use Marvelous Designer's basic avatar to drape the clothing. After that, I adjust the clothing data in ZBrush by exporting it as an OBJ file.

Do you have any tips or precautions for digital sculpting with the intention of 3D printing?

One of the most important considerations for 3D printing is managing the thickness of the model. I use the thickness option in ZBrush's dynamic sub-division, but before that, I need to convert the clothing objects created in Marvelous Designer into quadrilateral polygons. I used a plugin to convert triangular polygons to quadrilateral polygons in ZBrush, which I purchased from ArtStation. However, I heard that the latest version of Marvelous Designer allows for topology editing, which is very convenient.

If there is a favorite moment during your digital sculpting process, please share.

The moment when the envisioned image is materialized into a sculpture is the most enjoyable for me. By using tools such as 3D scanning, Marvelous Designer, and various simulation software, I can create sculptures that exceed my abilities and imagination. However, the most important thing is not "what tools to use" but "how to express." I aim to experience and refine my sculpting skills by trying out various tools and software and opening up new horizons as an artist. The most enjoyable moment is when I feel that I have achieved that goal, even if only slightly.

If there is a favorite moment during your digital sculpting process, please share.

The moment when the envisioned image is materialized into a sculpture is the most enjoyable for me. By using tools such as 3D scanning, Marvelous Designer, and various simulation software, I can create sculptures that exceed my abilities and imagination. However, the most important thing is not "what tools to use" but "how to express." I aim to experience and refine my sculpting skills by trying out various tools and software and opening up new horizons as an artist. The most enjoyable moment is when I feel that I have achieved that goal, even if only slightly.

If there is a memorable piece or expression that you created using Marvelous Designer, please introduce it.

The cover artwork "GAME" from my art book released six years ago was a memorable piece for me because it introduced Marvelous Designer's clothing-making technique to many people in the sculpting field at a time when it was not widely known among figure sculptors. Also, the sculpting of the veil in my recent work "言霊" would not have been possible without Marvelous Designer.

Are there any new features you would like to see implemented in Marvelous Designer?

Since I have been using the perpetual version of Marvelous Designer for several years, I am constantly amazed by the features of the latest version. One feature I think would be great is the ability to import models created in external DCC tools and convert them into Marvelous Designer avatars (including automatic rigging). This would be very useful for figure production. Although there are some limitations in the simulation, such as wrinkles generated due to particle spacing, I think it would be interesting to have variation presets for directions in which wrinkles are more likely to occur. Since I am not yet proficient in utilizing all the features of the latest version of Marvelous Designer, I plan to study and enjoy exploring the various functions!