CAREERS: Breaking into the design industry with MODO How do you switch up your career after 20 years? Freelance artist Michael Amundsen tells us what hes learned, as well as the challenges in making a product stand out in today's fast-paced competitive design market.
Michael Amundsen, a freelance creative artworker and retoucher specialising in packaging, has spent around 20 years in design agencies across the United Kingdom and New Zealand. His next goal? Become a packaging visualizer/CGI specialist.
Michaels inspiration for this career change came from the work of Tim Cooper, a leading 3D visualizer and illustrator, who has worked with brands like Harrods, Disney, Boots, Clinique, Olay, Ford, Pedigree, Tesco, LU Biscuits and Thorntons Chocolates.
Tim's work is amazing, and the majority of it is packaging which I love! said Michael. The level of detail in his renders are incredible. I love how he zooms in for the close-up shots to reveal the subtle textures, the shimmer of light and surface imperfections. I read somewhere that he has come from a Finished Artworking background similar to myself, which makes me believe that I could get to his level one day.
Getting his foot in the door in the fast-paced packaging design industry is easier said than done though. Working along-side designers, I can see that design trends come and go pretty quickly these days. So for them, its coming up with a design thats going to be relevant, but also stands the test of time.
Even after securing the dream job, Michael says the industry continues to be competitive, battling for the eyes, hearts, and ultimately, purchases of consumers. A product has a matter of seconds to capture the consumers eye in a supermarket aisle. The challenge for a designer is how are they going to achieve this. Being up to date with all the latest packaging manufacturing trends is key. Designers need to have up to date knowledge of new substrates, pack formats and print technologies.
I had a realisation after 20 years working as a artworker/retoucher that I needed a new challenge and to point my skills and career in a new direction.
To help him achieve his goal and take his design skills in a new direction, Michael turned to MODO. I had a realisation that after 20 years working as a artworker/retoucher, I needed a new challenge and to point my skills and career in a new direction. I have tried a couple of 3D software packages over the years and found MODO to be the easiest to get good results in a short amount of time. In Michaels case, its been just six months.
Picking up a new piece of software can be tricky. Im still just scratching the surface in MODO, but it seems a lot more intuitive [than other software packages]. The way you layer up textures and mask in the shader tree has a similar feel to Photoshop, which I like. And Ive only spent a limited time working with some of the sculpting tools, but they are so much fun to create shapes with, and so quick!
As much as Michael loves working with MODO, he says the wealth of knowledge within The Community and the readiness of members within it to help make it incredibly unique.
The MODO forums are an invaluable resource, theres loads of great advice and tips on there, and theres always users willing to help you out if you post a question. Post your work on the gallery to get feedback. Its a great way to get a fresh set of eyes on your project and its always encouraging to get feedback. Above all, its just so much fun! Its just amazing what can be created. It blows me away some of the work displayed on the forums and sites like Behance.
Alongside free help and advice, Michael recommends that artists invest in education tools, especially if you've spent the money on a license.
I have purchased quite a few of the MODO training videos from The Foundry website, which have been invaluable. Richard Yots series on rendering are great and have helped me hugely in achieving good results. Immerse yourself in tutorials.
In addition to absorbing as much information as he can about MODO, Michael dedicates that same energy to understanding what he wants to create. He stresses the importance of gathering reference materials, like he did on a recent project for Mosin Fresh Coffee Concentrate.
For the Mosin project I looked at bottle photography and CGI renders online. I specifically looked for images on black backgrounds and close up angled shots. Study where the light hits the bottle, the depth of field, the angle of the shot. I took on the Mosin project and did it in my own time knowing that it would be a great learning exercise and would be great for my folio. Be patient, drink lots of coffee.
There's no denying, Michaels work stands out online, so we're confident it will catch everyone's eyes on the shelf.
To see more of Michael's work, visit his site here. Looking to achieve similar results with MODO? Take a look at the latest release, MODO 901.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
15/06/2026
Detach from Direct-Attached: How Remote Editing with EVO Keeps Creative Teams Mo...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
CAREERS: Breaking into the design industry with MODO How do you switch up your career after 20 years? Freelance artist Michael Amundsen tells us what hes learned, as well as the challenges in making a product stand out in today's fast-paced competitive design market.
