The Skyline We Shared: FasTK_Art’s Cyber City Challenge Win

Meet FasTK_Art, the 19-year-old Mexican 3D artist whose passion for creation knows no bounds. Recently crowned the winner of Kaizen’s Cyber City Challenge, he has proven that age is no barrier to talent and innovation. In this exclusive interview, FasTK_Art opens up about his creative process, the tools he uses, and how he balances colour to bring this stunning vision to life. Join Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry, as we dive into the mind of a young artist who sees 3D art as a pure expression of self—a space free from pressure, where experimentation and joy take center stage.

Fox Renderfarm: Hi FasTK_Art! We are honored to have you here! Please introduce yourself first to our readers. 

FasTK_Art: Well, I don't have much to say hehe. My name is Fast.K. I'm a 19-year-old Mexican 3D artist using Blender for almost 3 years. I love making anything I can think of, from a forest with castles, to a chaotic cyberpunk city.

Fox Renderfarm: Congratulations on winning 1st place in Kaizen’s Cyber City Challenge! How do you feel about it?

FasTK_Art: Honestly, I'm pretty happy with it. I rarely participate in challenges. But I think I might try to do it more often if I have the time. I think it's pretty good to practice and feel a bit of that excitement of competition.

The Skyline We Shared © FasTK_Art

Fox Renderfarm: Did you use any reference images or real-world locations to inform your design choices?

FasTK_Art: Oh yes, I definitely use images of real places. Not just for inspiration, I have even included them in my renders in one way or another. I really love them and get amazed when I see them. For example, Hong Kong and many other places in China.  I would like to visit those places at some point in my life.

Fox Renderfarm: Can you share with us the creation process of your work? And how long did it take you?

FasTK_Art: Oh this is a bit of a "complicated" question since I can't really explain my workflow in a way that makes sense haha. I could say I've used different techniques for each of my renders, always experimenting with new things. But I can explain a bit of the process. A big part of my workflow is a technique I love called "matte painting" in Photoshop to make some backgrounds for my renders and add stuff to the final image. I've also experimented a lot with Midjourney. Personally, I see AI as another tool that we can use in our work. In my case, I use Midjourney to generate light patterns that I later modify in Photoshop so that they are usable in Blender. I recommend watching Max Hay's videos about how to implement Midjourney in your workflow, and the rest is experimenting with all kinds of things that occur to you. I advise never limiting yourself. Even the silliest and weirdest idea you can think of can work, always experiment, and you might discover something new and surprising. I started experimenting with all this about a year ago and I've tried to improve. Usually my renders take me between 6 to 15 days, maybe a bit more when I'm not sure about a render. I've never liked to rush this process, and if it's necessary to take 2 days to decide where to put a building, I will do it. When I imagine all this, the only thing I think is that I still have a long way to go and improve in many aspects. I always try to improve with each render I post. I'm not looking to be the most famous person, I don't even have the main goal of selling or making a lot of money with this. I see all this as one of the purest things in my life, a space where I'm just me and I'm not in a hurry or under any pressure. Just me with my thoughts and emotions, living the fun of doing this, without worrying about the numbers and thanking the people who support me.

Process Photos © FasTK_Art

Fox Renderfarm: Can you describe the various tools and software you used to create this artwork?

FasTK_Art: Of course. For this artwork I used Blender, a bit of Cinema 4D for certain assets I've used, Photoshop, Topaz Studio 2, Topaz Photo AI, Midjourney, Paint.net, Davinci Resolve, JSPlacement and I think those are the software I use most often. I like to experiment with all of them for both still renders and animations.

Fox Renderfarm: What was your approach to color selection in this piece? How did you balance the vibrant neon colors with the darker tones?

FasTK_Art: When I start a render I almost never have a clear idea of ​​what the color will be. I like to experiment with all kinds of things, painting colors, and using all kinds of brushes in Photoshop to get different shades. And in the end I choose the one I like the most. For example, this piece (The Skyline We Shared) easily has like 3 color variants. And the same thing happens with almost all my renders. I feel like I have to improve in that aspect because it gets a bit complicated for me. But with time everything gets better.

Fox Renderfarm: What methods did you use to create the atmospheric depth and the sense of scale in the background buildings?

FasTK_Art: I always take my time with that part. It's not always easy to get depth in a render. But I like to experiment a lot with volumes in Blender and with the perspective of things, I like to take care of the scale that I manage in my files and keep it correct whenever I can, and also painting details like smoke, lights or particles in Photoshop. The key is to take the time and practice, never give up. Sooner or later you will get to where you want to be.

Fox Renderfarm: Can you describe a specific problem you encountered and the steps you took to resolve it?

FasTK_Art: A pretty typical problem that I've faced and I think a lot of people in this community do too. It's the infamous "art block" that moment when you want to make an artwork but you don't even know where to start, you have no idea, and you don't know what to do. When I'm going through that moment, I usually take a little break and face it by sitting down and forcing myself to work. Maybe it's not the most optimal thing but I can say that it has worked for me 80% of the time. I sit down and start playing around in Photoshop or with my asset library. And in a moment, I already have a base and I feel happy because at that moment I just enjoy the process that will come during the next few days. Until I feel that the render is ready to be posted. I definitely recommend that if someone is going through that just stop thinking about what to do and go to your computer and try to do something. Sometimes it doesn't work but maybe the next day it will. It's just a matter of time.

Fox Renderfarm: Have you tried or heard about Fox Renderfarm’s services before? What is your impression of our cloud rendering services?

FasTK_Art: I've heard a lot about render farms, and of course I've heard about Fox Renderfarm. I think it's a really good service. I don't usually use render farms for my animations, but I’m pretty excited to try Fox Renderfarm after winning the prize for this challenge. I think a good use for it would be in a large animation.

Fox Renderfarm: How has your artistic style evolved, and what key experiences have influenced your growth as an artist?

FasTK_Art: My evolution in this has been curious. I started without knowing anything and I didn't even try to start the famous donut tutorial. I started creating backroom renders and making videos with VHS effects. I'm still quite connected to that community and I even have a small channel where I upload silly and funny videos. The big change for me was when I started creating environments. A friend whom I appreciate a lot, showed me this new world. And I said something like "I have to try this" I started with some terrible renders and then I started Max Hay's course. Thanks to that course I learned the basics of Photoshop and a lot of things that were definitely very useful to me. When I finished the course I started experimenting on my own, I stopped the habit of watching and recreating renders from tutorials. And I started trying things on my own and I'm here today. I think this is just the beginning of a great adventure. In the future I might even be uploading breakdowns of my renders on YouTube, or showing a bit of the workflow I use. Who knows, we'll have to wait and see what the future holds for us I guess.

FasTK_Art’s Social Media:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fastk_art/
• X: https://x.com/fastk_Art