Andy Goralczyk

The art director talks to 3D World about his background, studio setup, inspirations, and day-to-day life working on lighting and effects at Blender Animation Studio

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Blender started making short films in 2006. These Open Movies are a testing ground for open source software and a showcase for what’s possible with those tools. Since 2007, the Blender headquarters in Amsterdam have employed developers in tandem with a thriving animation studio.

As a Blender veteran, Andy Goralczyk has contributed to numerous film projects at the studio. He made furry rodents for Big Buck Bunny and rendered robots in Tears Of Steel. In Cosmos Laundromat, he was responsible for simulating a colorful tornado, and recently he directed the short film Spring, inspired by his childhood in the mountains of Germany.

Can you tell us about your background in 3D?

My journey in 3D is tightly knit with the history of Blender. I started learning 3D as a hobby while I was in high school. That was roughly 20 years ago! Back then Blender really was the underdog of 3D graphics, but it offered me my first steps in this exciting universe. Over the years, my hobby turned into my job as I became more involved with Blender’s development. My first professional gig in 3D was also Blender’s first Open Movie project: Elephants Dream in 2006.

I returned to Amsterdam numerous times starting in 2007 for various film projects and finally took a full-time contract when we made Cosmos Laundromat: First Cycle in 2015. Since then, Blender has grown as a company thanks to the Blender Cloud and Blender Development Fund, and along with our studio art team I’ve worked on several more film projects.

My biggest learning experiences recently have involved working as a production designer on Agent 327: Operation Barbershop and directing my own short film Spring.