With singular visuals, Rita Louro has really caught my eye in the 3D scene lately. Born in Lisbon she has, after a bit back and forth ended up back in Portugal where she is currently active as a 3D artist, doing work for clients all over the world. Many creatives might be able to relate when she talks about her personal journey into a creative industry – having found a voice, then figuring out your place in the world. In Rita’s case, geographical location has not always been an easy pick.
You used to live in London and later moved back to Lisbon. What are the main differences between the two, being an independent creative?
E V E R Y T H I N G ! Let’s start by saying that this was not a career motivated move. I moved for love. Love for my family, for my boyfriend and ultimately for my mental health. After 5 years in the UK, the “ Saudade” ** was becoming a bit unbearable and I found myself at a crossroads: I can stay here in London, the European epicenter of opportunities and do the standard up the ladder progression OR I can move back and be happy as a person first to then make my career work independently of where I am. I chose the latter. I chose to tailor
my job/career to my personal needs/personality and not the other way around. It took me 10 years to have this mental breakthrough and it was certainly not an easy one. There’s not much of an industry here in Portugal and the one that exists it’s a bit
As crazy as this might sound, I found that all of these differences are a good thing. Firstly because nowadays I find my inspiration inside myself or around myself in things that have nothing to do with motion graphics and not from other designers thoughts or ideas. Yup… that happens when you are just surrounded by people that only do the same you do. It’s our biological instinct to adapt to our peers, to fit in. This results in a blur of great work, but that work doesn’t stand out. Don’t get me wrong, I love chatting with my motion designer friends and discussing ideas about the industry. I follow the work of people I admire too.


I love all the possibilities that places like London offer and I often miss all the meetups and events related to the industry. However, I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that if I want to make goodwork, meaningful or special, I need my moments of mental detox which I didn’t find possible in London. This move has been working for me, more than I was expecting. It’s important to note that this setup might not work for everyone and one should not settle in a place just because it’s
**
something or someone that one loves”

You work with a variety of visuals in the 3D space but many of your projects include textile objects. What makes you drawn to the textile space?
I could say that my interest for textiles started when I was 6 or 7 years old and decided to cut up my mom’s scarfs to make things for my dolls ( sorry mom but you were only investing in my art education! ). Or because my grandmother was a seamstress and my mother inherited the skills influencing my interest in it. Those things might have, or not, shaped my interest in textiles. I honestly don’t know. However, I do know that I love the form and movement of fabric and all the creative possibilities it has to offer.
Technology advances at a very high pace – what do you think it will be like working as a 3D artist in the future? Will the profession in itself still exist?
Like many other
For example, 6 or 7 years ago it was quite hard to make something look real. Render engines required a bit of learning and machine specs were quite constraining. As a 3D
something else to offer aside from the render skills, hence the need
If you got to do an
Who would your dream collaborator for a future project be if you could pick anyone in the world?
There are so many people I would love to collaborate with! Just to name a few: the artists behind Toiletpaper Magazine ( Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari with the art direction of Micol Talso ), Kristen Liu-Wong and, because I am allowed to dream even bigger, Matthew
Barney, Bjork ( all of her music videos are pieces of art ), Stanley Kubrick and Fritz Kahn if they were still alive!
Ritalouro.com
Chris Hoffmann Uglystupidhonest.com
Also read “A Quasi world in 3D”