Today we’d like to introduce you to Rahul Gupta.
Hi Rahul, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born in Udaipur, India, the city of lakes. I come from a desert state called Rajasthan, the land of the kings. I have always been a creative kid. When I was four, I won a talent show and was given a modeling contract with a big mobile brand; this led to me meeting Miss Universe at the time Sushmita Sen and then for the next few years, I was on the most prominent billboards in India you could find and featured in the annual Calendar of the brand. When I was six, I used to have grand dreams of being like Galileo Galilei, the astronomer; I thought I would be the one to discover planets where life thrived and yell Eureka! As I grew up, this obsession with the cosmos became an obsession with music and Art. I spent most of my childhood in Malaysia, where I moved to when I was five, so I have constantly been exposed to other cultures and their arts. I came back to India when I was 13 years old.
In high school, I was the drummer of my band; we used to call ourselves the Pretenders after the hit Foo Fighter song. All this while, I wrote novellas, short stories or drew up comic strips. Slowly but surely, I started getting into digital Art, where I found my calling. I ultimately landed in the world of CGI and Visual Effects. While all my peers were studying to become doctors or engineers, I was at the back of the classroom, drawing fantasy characters and writing stories about space battles and aliens.
I spent four years pursuing a bachelor’s degree in digital media arts and was selected to participate in a student exchange Program. So, in the summer of 2019, I studied Art in Paris. Even though I learned French for three years before moving to Paris, for some reason, it felt like I forgot every word I had ever learned when I finally reached there. I and two exchange students; helped each other with our broken French to explain what the instructor was talking about. We used to take trips to the Louvre Museum and sit down with our giant artboards and draw the architecture and the people for hours while tourists walked around trying to peep and take a look at our amateur-ish drawings of the people who cared to sit/stand straight for more than 5 minutes for our life figure drawing studies.
Fast-forwarding to 2021, I came to LA to study Visual Effects at Gnomon in Hollywood. My ultimate career goal is to become an FX Artist and have my name featured in major movie productions. I want to be able to call my relatives, my parents, my brothers, and sisters and tell them to stay and watch the credits next time they watch a movie, so they can spot and be proud of my name along with other highly talented artists, that sacrifice a lot to come to LA and Hollywood to make it big, chasing the American dream.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not always; the first dilemma I had, and something I struggle with to this day, is what if? What if I had chosen a different career path, I was supposed to become a Doctor; I had passed university exams and had secured a position in an excellent medical college, but I chose to pursue my passion instead. Many people say Visual Effects or making movies doesn’t save or impact anyone’s life; they say films and games don’t solve an issue. While this may be true to a certain extent, and I agree, I also think that life is not just about pursuing what you are supposed to because that’s what every other person in society is doing. I think creativity and freedom of expression and thought through movies and short films are a way to express emotions and feelings and give life to thoughts and ideas, which is essential in our world. In the words of Carl Sagan, we are just a pale blue dot. Is there any meaning to any of this? The second bump in the road is present right now. With the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, many post-production and VFX houses have closed down, people are about to lose their jobs, and coincidentally with only a month left to graduate, this is less than ideal. But, like with anything in life, this too shall pass. Time leaves no aspect of life untouched.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in Special Effects, or FX for short. I am a FX TD (Technical Director), and my job entails simulations. Think of any CGI shot in a movie related to destruction, water, fire, explosions, magic, and smoke; that’s me. My job is to simulate and create photorealistic effects and replicate dynamic behaviors of physically based simulations from reference. In terms of achievements, I have been recognized with four best-of-term awards in two consecutive years for Demolition, Pyro, Liquids, and Sandstorm categories. I was also honored as Rookie of the Year Finalist by DNEG this past year.
What sets me apart is that I am adept at quickly mastering new tools and technologies while possessing strong artistic skills. Additionally, I am comfortable working in complex procedural pipelines and excel at problem-solving.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Most people probably don’t know that I have a Harley Davidson and I’m an avid bike rider; that is a part about me that I don’t get to talk about a lot in a professional setting.
I solo backpacked ten countries European countries in 20 days in 2019.
I also was and still am into being healthy and fit. I considered bodybuilding as a viable career option at one point too. Turns out I liked pizza too much.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.arctiem.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arctiem/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-gupta-595073179/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1q_IfGzOdZCU8EzzJdpppQ
- Other: https://vimeo.com/arctiem
