When last we wrote about Alvaro Buendia, we were celebrating his horrible monster fetus.

Since then the 3D Animation & Visual Effects graduate, who was born in Mexico City and raised in Guadalajara, has worked at The Orphanage and now for Blizzard Entertainment as a cinematic artist. We all know what Blizzard’s best known for, but Alvaro has to remain cagey about his current projects. Still, we wanted to check in and find out what makes him tick.

“I’ve been drawing and painting all my life,” he says, “So when I discovered [3D] I felt like it was a way to take my art to the next level.”

He eventually arrived at the decision to take the long road from Mexico to VFS. “I was learning 3D by myself at first, and then I took a 3D course in another school for a short time but felt pretty unsatisfied. I remembered that while looking for reference I was watching a bunch of reels that were really good and many were from VFS, so I applied and the rest is history.”

He entertained a few options after graduation and settled on The Orphanage, where he gained valuable experience. “When I graduated, I had a few interviews in some studios in Canada and a few phone interviews. One of them was Blizzard, but I decided to take a four-month gig at The Orphanage as a creature modeler for Pirates of the Caribbean 3, modeling dead people floating on the sea.”

That job ended and he got back on the phone to Blizzard, where he was hired as a cinematic artist for the pre-render modeling team.

“Our chores depend on what team you belong to – modeling, tech, rigging – but as a cinematic artist in the modeling team, my chores are high-res character, prop, and environment modeling, sculpting, texturing, and shading in Renderman.”

Though Alvaro can’t talk specifics, you know whatever he’s working on is going to make waves.

“All I can say is that all the upcoming Blizzard cinematics and games are mind-blowing. It’s a great time to be at Blizzard… I can say with confidence that all the stuff we are doing is definitely raising the bar.”