The Team

Tom Macie, Principal Modeler

The first steps leading Tom to a career in photorealistic architectural presentations started with his formal training in set and lighting design for the theatre. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Design and Production from the State University College at Fredonia, New York and a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Design and Production from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He achieved the rank of full professor of theatre at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where he served for nearly 20 years. During his academic career, he designed scenery and lighting for more than 100 academic, community, and regional-level theatre and opera productions. He is also an accomplished scenic artist.

Trained in traditional watercolor and drafting techniques, Tom started looking for an accurate medium to communicate his designs that could also be easily revised during the design process. He began the transition to digital media during his during his tenure in 1994 with grant funding to research and test a variety of CAD and 3D modeling products to be used as a design tool and teaching aid for theatre design and production classes. In the late 1990′s, he was one of the first to use this medium for designs on the regional theatre and opera level. He made several presentations at regional and national theatre conferences to demonstrate the uses of this technology in the classroom and the design studio.

As interest in his research grew with the administration at UNC Wilmington, he began to assist with visualizations for grant proposals and building projects for the University. In 2004, he left his academic appointment to begin work as a commercial 3D previsualization artist. In 2006 he was invited to participate in beta-testing of the 3D modeling software, Strata Design 3D, which he continues to do. He is a member of the American Society of Architectural Illustrators and the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. He is proficient at Strata Design 3D, VectorWorks, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, and most things Macintosh.

Tom has refurbished several homes and enjoys home improvement (except plumbing), biking, camping, and gardening.

Click here to read the Featured Artist interview with Tom at Strata’s website.

Frank O’Kobrick, CAD Interpretation and 3D Conversions

Frank O’Kobrick is a licensed general contractor in North Carolina and also manages an Inc. 500 commercial and residential construction company. Frank has designed and built many residential homes and remodeling projects. He has extensive training in manual drafting and CAD system program operations. He continues to do freelance residential design work and 3D drafting.

He has experience with AutoCAD, TurboCAD, and SketchUp but prefers VectorWorks as his primary design platform. In his off-time, Frank enjoys power boating, canoeing, biking, strength training, furniture design and building, drawing, and being a husband and father.

Andrew Macie, Post Production Editing, Photo Compositing, Virtual Tour Stitching

Based in Greenfield, Massachusetts, Andrew is a designer specializing in graphic arts, display design, and photography. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design and Production from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts.

For most of his professional career he has been a working artist, designing information graphics, point-of-purchase displays, custom art displays, and scenery for corporate events. He is a skilled decorative painter and muralist and was self-employed as a professional photographer for many years. Andrew has provided creative talent for CVS, Ziff-Davis Mac World Expo, ILEX Foundation, Massachusetts Audubon Society, North Carolina Aquariums, Emerson College Theatre, and the Boston Museum of Science.

He has been working with digital imaging since 1990, with extensive experience in modifying images in Adobe Photoshop and creating graphics in Adobe Illustrator. He enjoys painting, gardening, cooking, outdoor sports and nautical model making.

Visit Andrew’s Picasa site.

Stephen Schandel, 3D Modeler

Stephen has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Arts from East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina. He has over 17 years experience in graphic design and has created logos, package designs, promotional material, and 3D images for pharmaceutical products.

Steve has won numerous awards for his work, including the 1998 Gold Award in General Superiority According to End-Use Pharmaceuticals for developing Braille usage on pharmaceutical cartons.

He became a 3D model artist for The preVision Company in 2007. He uses Strata Design 3D CX, Maya, 3D Studio Max, and SolidWorks for creating 3D models. When he’s not working, Stephen enjoys painting, writing, hiking, kayaking, and spending time with his family.

See samples of Steve’s work by clicking on gallery images below.