It reads like a run-of-the-mill Bollywood flick. Only this story is real and an unbelievable one at that! 27-year old Selva, a school dropout, was the typical dogsbody while he worked in an architectural firm, a decade back. With his everyday life sunk in drudgery, he used to do the most menial chores like doing errands for the firm’s employees, scrubbing the office floor, dusting the furniture, and the like.

But today, being an ace 3D animator, Selva is a well-known figure in the City’s architectural circuit! Practically everyday, one can behold his magnificent creations, featured in the popular dailies or adorning billboards that dot the cityscape. Collaborating with another man, Selva has even done intro-animations in the opening credits for many Kannada flicks like Kanti, Dum, Yuvaraja, Aunty Preetse and for some of the soaps on the telly. He had once presented a project plan to former CM, Dharam Singh. Selva has also churned out myriad mega project designs for high-profile builders, the recent one being for Ajmera groups.

He has conceptualised and created 3D visuals of umpteen residential and commercial buildings, pubs, schools, hospitals, airports, malls, temples and what not. Some of the projects fetch him a lakh plus as remuneration. Today, he has his own office, Visual Tantra, and has mastered over 80 software in his field. But the most remarkable thing is that, he has learnt all these by himself. What’s more, he was recently invited as the chief guest at a function at Kruthi Computers – CAD solution providers.

S V Amarnath, Assistant Manager, Kruthi Computers, who has witnessed Selva’s creative growth, says, “When he was here, he delivered a speech in English that was truly edifying.” Commenting on Selva’s creative works, Amarnath says, “As a 3D artist, Selva’s creations are stupendous. He’s very quick in assimilating project designs. He has this high creative calibre to infuse life into even simple pencil sketches, translating them to stunning ‘virtually realistic’ images on the computer. Also with finesse, he can bring about a fusion of fabulous ‘colour and lighting’ effects. It’s this unique talent in him that has made him an artist par excellence today.”

The success story

Well, what’s the secret behind Selva’s scintillating success? “Basically it all started with me hooking on to computer games during free hours. Suddenly, I started getting gravitated towards architectural designs. Initially, I was dabbling in building animations just for fun. But I started getting more and more passionate about the art. Perhaps my insatiable interest in the subject, coupled with undeterred determination to learn more, have paid rich dividends today,” confesses Selva. Well, his work speaks volumes about his creative energy and is a clear manifestation of how Selva gives importance to even the minute details of his designs.

Among Selva’s creations, there are some designs that are slightly whimsical but totally spellbinding. He is a dab hand at creating night-shots and walkthroughs of buildings. With great dexterity, Selva has even fashioned out some exotic building models in clay and thermocol. At times, he’s even seen fiddling with hardware items, dismantling and rearranging them.

Vijay Nagvekar, an artist, who knows Selva for many years, says, “Selva is able to complete even the most complicated work fast, and that’s his USP. That apart, Selva incorporates a dozen original ideas in his works such that, at the click of mouse, the architects or builders themselves can revamp designs by altering the colours and lighting effects. Coming to think of it, everything that Selva knows today is self-tutored. But he remains inordinately simple and unpretentious. He has contributed generously towards the empowerment of less-privileged.”

When asked how Selva feels about his exhilarating journey from an errand guy to a popular 3D animator, he modestly says, “Today, if people see me as an enchanting kite, happily fluttering in the skies, then, the Venkatraman Associates, the architectural firm where I worked before, is that stretch of thread that has helped me soar. I’m very thankful to them for their support.”