Jackson Robinson, GW Username: onelunglewis
Dallas, Texas
www.onelunglewis.com

Image Challenge Contests Awards
3rd Place: 3D Concept, May 2008, Theme: "Weaponized"
2nd Place: Digital Sculpting, March 2009, Theme: "Watchmen"

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GW: How did you hear about the Gnomon contest?

JR: I first stumbled across Gnomon while I was cruising around on the CGTalk website and forum. I was flipping through some of the galleries trying to get some inspiration when I saw a Gnomon banner add on the page I was on.

The first time I saw the Gnomon add was at a very pivotal point in my professional career. I was just about to graduate traditional art school and was trying to figure out what the heck I was going to do and where I could find a job in the creative world. At the time I only had a vague understanding and the depth and possibilities of the 3D and 2D world, and I was desperately seeking educational material that I didn't have to read through like an encyclopedia. From the moment I went to Gnomon site almost seven years ago I knew that this was going to be my ticket into the CG world. I bought a few of my first dvds and I have never turned back sense.

GW: When you won the challenge, were you a student, professional or hobbyist?

JR: When I won the challenge I was a professional that was trying to be creative outside is normal professional career.

GW: Has your status changed since, and if so what influence did the DVDs have? Where do you study/work and what do you do?

JR: My status has completely changed sense I had purchased my first Gnomon DVD. Not necessarily from the ones that I won from the Gnomon Challenge but from previous DVDs. I owe all of my success to Gnomon and to the irreplaceable and unbeatable education they gave me. Before Gnomon I was in a boring corporate job. Because of Gnomon, over the past 7 years I have landed me a dream job with an awesome Illustration studio and have been able to support my family with the income I make professionally. That for me is when the rubber hit the road, I was able to transform the Gnomon DVDs into real world usable knowledge that helped me provide for my family. That to me is why I owe so much to Gnomon.

GW: Of the titles you won, which do you feel had the biggest impact?

JR: There are really no single DVDs that have impacted me more than the other. For me the success came through pooling together different aspects of many dvds (specific to my field) and using those to help me make my ideas and thoughts realities. Gnomon has enabled me to break through the barrier many creatives face of have so many ideas banging around in your head but not being able to make them a reality just because you don't have the technical and software knowledge to do so.

GW: How important do you feel communities, like the Gnomon Workshop Forum, are to your growth as an artist?

JR: I think communities and forums like Gnomon are one of the most important aspects of a new artist or an artist that’s is trying to make it in the real world. Communities like Gnomon transform individuals that have a passion for creative and nothing more to succeful professionals who use their passion to pay their light bill and provide for their family. A Creative career is a calling and if you are not “called” go find something else to do because your life will be much easier. But for those who are “called” things like Gnomon should be one of the most important things to you. If there were still Guilds around Gnomon would be my master that I was an apprenticed too.

GW: After viewing the DVDs has your career path changed in a direction you didn't expect? For example, new interest in design, rendering, matte painting, dynamics, etc?

JR: Gnomon dvds have introduced, and extensively trained me in Maya and Zbrush. When I originally stumbled across Gnomon I was only a 2D Illustrator that used only Photoshop. Because of Gnomon I was introduced to Maya and Zbrush that completely transformed my pipeline of going from idea to final product. Without the knowledge and skills sets that I have learned from Gnomon my creative career path would have gone nowhere. Gnomon IS the reason why I have a career path.

GW: Any other feedback regarding The Gnomon Workshop or individual DVDs? Are there any specific areas you would like us to cover more?

JR: I just recently partook in Scott Spencer’s Gnomon Online Class for ZBrush and found it just as pivotal if not more informative than the DVDs. The longer lectures and class time compared to just the information that could be squeezed onto one or two dvds really deepened the learning experience for me.