Sergio is a frequent contributor to the Toad, creating unique 3D-rendered illustrations that pop right off the page. We decided it was high time to ask him a little about his work!

Well first off, Sergio, who are you? Creatively and otherwise?

I am a California boy, but have lived in Missouri for the last 16 years of my life. I've always had a very imaginative and creative side to me. As a kid in elementary school, I used to create my own characters and draw comics with them. I even made stop-motion movies with my toys. I never grew out of this. My aspirations to do amazing things have only grown through the years as I've honed my skills and found new ways to express my creativity.

I recently graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design, and while this is a passion and profession of mine, it's not the only thing that I work on.

Creatively, I am technically a Graphic Designer, but as an artist, I want to be so much more.

Q2: Looking through your work online leads us to two conclusions: you really like Transformers, and you dabble in a lot of different types of digital art. We'll give you an easy one (or maybe not)! Why do you love Transformers so much?

I'm not really sure why this particular franchise stuck with me, but I've always been amazed at giant robots. I grew up with Bionicles, building Gundams, and got up early from bed to catch the new Power Rangers episodes. But my dive into the world of Transformers is what spiraled me into a very fun (and expensive) hobby.

It's not just the toys that got me though, I watched the shows in the early 2000s and always found the characters interesting. However, it wasn't until 2007 when the first live action movie came out that just sparked something in me and I've had a serious addiction to this franchise ever since.

Q3: Your YouTube channel- Watcher Prime- has over 15k followers. How'd you get to that point, and what is your channel mostly about?

I've had my YouTube channel since early 2009, which was around the time the second Transformers movie came out. As you can imagine, that was the main focus of my videos. Once I got my first personal camera, I started making movies. Stop-motions, funny skits with my friends and siblings.

But for the longest time, my channel wasn't getting any traction. I was busy with school and just life in general, so I didn't have time to dedicate to the channel.

I even had a hiatus that lasted almost 2 years!

But once I got to college, I used my new found free time to get back on track and start creating more content. I dedicated myself to learning 3D animation with the sole purpose of creating my own movies. It wasn't until 2019 that I hit my 10k subscriber milestone. My viewers really seemed to like the content I was putting out, and now I even have a video that has reached 1 million views. I know that's not a lot in the grand scheme of the internet, but for me it was one more achievement I could write off.

Now, I'm still making animations and other various media related to the Transformers franchise, but I've also grown into other interests and plan to release more original work.

Q4: Let's switch over to the 3D graphic illustrations- like the ones you've been blowing us away with here at the Toad! Assuming the reader knows nothing about this 3D illustration process (or the interviewer, because... we don't), can you give us a quick overview of how that process works?

Since 2019, I've been working with a program called Blender. It's very fun and it's what I use to create all my work now, with occasional post production in Photoshop, etc.

I brainstorm ideas- sometimes listening to music or watching movies helps get the brain juices flowing.

Once I have a concept I want to do, I move forward with planning out what I need. I'll go online and look for any basic models like buildings and trees- stuff that I can use for background purposes, though sometimes I do make them myself, they just don't turn out as good.

I think about the main focus of the artwork, whether it's a figure or if it's the landscape itself. I take the models and start placing them where I need them to be. This process can take hours as I am constantly changing ideas as I work on it. Lighting is very key in the setting of my pieces and this can also take a long time. Being in a digital landscape means I can manipulate it however I want and this leads to more and more messing around with the way it looks.

Once I make a few test renders I take it into Photoshop to make some slight adjustments to further push the piece to my liking. Once I am satisfied with the results, I just save the image.

These 3D illustrations are actually much easier to produce than the animations I make for obvious reasons. In a way, that can be a good thing as it allows me to create more of them. Even if some don't come out great or how I want, I'm always improving.

Q5: You have not only your channel, but also accounts on Instagram separated out for design, 3D graphic illustration, and personal sketch artwork. What format is your favorite to work in? And where do you see yourself focusing on in coming years?

I'm definitely leaning more towards my digital stuff, specifically with 3D art. But I'm always wanting to produce a little of everything else. I still do graphic design for commissions and work, and I like to continue to sketch and draw because it's a skill I never want to lose.

I do eventually want to get into some sort of film stuff. I really want to become a concept designer and/or an animator. Not only do I get to sit around all day, but I also get to make cool stuff!

Q6:The stuff you can do takes a ton of time to develop. What advice would you give kids or young adults out there who are interested in similar creative pursuits?

If I could give any advice, it's this: never give up! I know it's such a cheesy and cliche thing to say, but it's true! Most of all don't give up when things aren't going your way. If a piece of artwork didn't turn out the way you wanted it to, do it again! I can't tell you how many times I've gotten frustrated and thrown my pencil and sketch book across the room. But I always went back to it and tried again.

Practice might make perfect, but learning from your mistakes will push you to do better.

You can follow Sergio on YouTube by searching for his “Watcher Prime” channel.
On Instagram, you can follow him at @watcher_graphics.

Artist Q & A [issue 4]: Sergio Gonzalez

The Joplin Toad is a Creative Collective.