Nareg Kalenderian is a self-taught 3D artist and animator from Lebanon with over 11 years experience.

After graduating in Cinematography from the “Tarakki Institute” in Beirut, he focused on teaching himself the complex and creative world of 3D art.

His talent, devotion and commitment attracted several high profile companies. Offers to work on local and international projects in visual effects, lighting and team leadership soon came. He recently sat on the board for a Hollywood feature film, which will be announced soon. “Pixar Animation Studios”, "Helm Systems" and "Votary Films" where he was one of the lead visual effects artists on “The Legends of Oak Swap”, along with his work on trailers for animated TV shows and movies.

His portfolio is becoming heavy although still in his twenties, and the list of awards is putting pressure on the shelves carrying his gifts. The industry continually recognizes his work, like when he won with “Computer Graphics (CG) Society” and “3D Total” The Golden Eye Award for his contributions in the world of animation. Some of his work has also been published in international art books specialising in CG as the “Ballistic publishing: Exposé 3” and “Elemental 2”.

Kalenderian strives for innovation, direction and technological advancement in storytelling, making him one of the most outstanding animation artists coming from the MENA region. His name has started to resonate among industry circles.

DFI: It’s hard to believe that work of your high standard is by someone who taught himself. How did you make it on your own and get the attention of globally renowned companies like “Pixar”?

Nareg: With a lot of dedication, hard work and patience. I was lucky enough to start at a young age and to have very encouraging parents. I look back now and realise that it wasn’t easy on my parents to have that complete trust in me in pursuing my dream especially during the hard times of the region and the situation in Lebanon. Many of my close friends were being forced to pursue a career they never really liked with the ideology that they’re ‘failproof’ in the eyes of society. Most of them regretted the wasted time and ended up, years later, coming back to the career of their choice.

I also come from a family of artists with a traditional background of clay sculpting and painting, and I always took part-time jobs in the local industry while I was still a student. All this helped me mould my artistic skills while getting experience working with a team and dealing with strict deadlines.

DFI: Your demo is impressive and definitely of an international standard. It includes real modelling, lighting, texturing and animating, all done by one person. Do you work in different fields of the animation process? Which do you prefer?

Nareg: Yes I work on all the different fields from concept to pre-visualisation and then finally the outcome. They are all very much interlinked and should work in harmony. If one piece is missing or has little effort put into it, then the rest would easily collapse. I enjoy this general approach since you can be part of the entire chain process rather than just focusing on one thing, but I tend to find great pleasure in working on the lighting, mood and colour aspects of the image and camera work.

DFI: You studied cinematography and moved to animation. What did film studies add to your skills in the 3D arena?

Nareg: Almost everything, you may have the best model with the best animation on top, but it’s all nothing if you don’t light and shoot it properly. As to someone once wisely said “You can have actors on the most expensive stage in the world but if there’s no light, the frame on film would only be black.”

The same applies to any animated project or image. Good composition and lighting would save time and produce much better results. When asked for tips I say: “know your camera”.

DFI: Are video games what intrigue you the most?

Nareg: They all have their charm and specific audience…. I find video games to be just the right balance of art, storytelling and entertainment with a relatively smaller crew for development compared to animated movies and visual effects. However, coming from a film background makes telling stories in video games much more interesting.

DFI: How do you rate the animation work coming from the Middle East? And what should be done to improve it?

Nareg: There’s a lot of potential and hidden talent, but I sense there’s too much emphasis on commercial advertisement rather than on things, which I believe, would make a difference. If investors take more risks in supporting more creative aspects of media and encouraging artists, the results will be astonishing. With the capital many investors have in this region, supporting animation should be second nature. I also have a small note to many directors, managers and artists in the region. I ask them to put their ego aside and to sit down and listen to the opinion of others they work with. This would benefit the work itself and is the only way to go forward to preserve a good image

DFI: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Nareg: That’s always a hard question to answer. For now, the coming months would have a better answer. I know I’d like to be in an ever more creative and growing environment.

DFI: What inspires you the most?

Nareg: Almost everything in life from people to places to other artwork, but music remains a key inspirational point to me. It has the power to create incredible imagery in my thoughts and imagination, that would later on help me transform them to concrete images on screen.

DFI: You’ve made it on your own within the world of industry giants, what is your message to people who want to pursue a similar career?

Nareg: Work hard and love what you do. This is the type of work you’ll be spending very long hours of your life doing, so you’d better be fond of it.