GW: Hi Ian, please tell us how you broke into the industry.

IJ: I went to school for graphic Design, worked doing websites, business cards and some flash animation stuff, but mostly did a lot HTML and Action Script coding... I hated it. Making websites for scrap booking and flower shops, though a fine business to be in was not for me. In school I was mostly interested in sculpture, comic books and film...anything character driven (all of my notebooks and text books were lined with sketches of batman and monsters from beyond!).

A friend of mine had a studio in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, called iTHink studios. We met at a party and he mentioned that he wanted to get someone down there to work on some band sites and music videos while he was documenting a band traveling in Europe. This sounded like a step in the right direction, so I quit my safe and secure job for a 3 month contract with him. I ended up staying a little over a year and got my first taste in 3d. I started off making a blue ogre-like character, foregoing the traditional chrome sphere on a checkerboard with lens flares blooming, and found that I was in love with this 3D thing. I moved back in with my mother and spent the next few months modeling in every spare hour, posting on every forum I could and watching countless hours of Gnomon Workshop DVDs.

After I entered the CG Challenge for Lord of the Rings characters and won 1st place (which still baffles me, as there were so many better entries), I decided to try and make a career of it. I had no idea where to start, but I started getting a few offers. Nothing ever came through however. I did freelance for a few companies (Icepond and some local vendors) and eventually I talked to Tim Miller from Blur Studios. We talked about comic books and movies and found that we had similar taste. He flew me out to see the studio. I still remember his words on the phone, "You have the job, so as long as you don't come out here and seem like you are a serial killer, when can you start?" Basically 2-3 weeks after that conversation I was calling California, and Blur, home.

GW: What was the move like, what were your biggest fears?

IJ: My biggest fear was, of course, why would anyone PAY me for this stuff? I knew I would go to Blur, be called a hack and be sent home... but somehow they liked me and I liked them.

GW: Was your first year what you imagined? What did you learn?

IJ: I was surrounded by so many amazing artists from all walks of life and from around the world, all of whom gave me training. I had never used 3D Studio Max before, being a Maya guy, so that was kick in the head. Not to single anyone out, but Sze Jones, a supervisor at Blur, really took me under her wing and made the process painless. The best part of Blur, beyond all the free snacks and beer and the passion the artists had for the craft, was the community. It was very family-like. The owners and supervisors really cared about the artists which made working there feel like we were really achieving something together. I think the thing I took away from Blur was the idea that giving back and sharing techniques is the only way to make a studio and a team strong.

GW: Modeling has been revolutionized in the past few years. Where do you see the challenges in modeling now?

IJ: When I started modeling, Zbrush 2 was not out yet. I did everything poly by poly, or box modeling. I got on the Zbrush 2 beta shortly before I started at Blur and it was amazing, being able to sculpt so many polys. I begin doing most of my modeling still in traditional (edge loops) methods and then refine in Zbrush. The biggest change for me has been has been with Zbrush 3. I find that about 80-90% of my work is ALL in a digital sculpting package. I barely poly model at this point, changing the idea of poly by poly to re-topology. But the more things change the more they stay the same. You still need to study form, understand sculpting techniques more than ever and practice your craft… it is just more on the artistic side of things now.

For real production work the value of a solid base mesh, good topology and efficient poly counts still matter. At this point, a great Digital Sculptor who can also model with proper topology for animation is king. In the coming years you will see (as we have now) more and more tools to speed up the creation of things like UVs and Topology, but the understanding of what makes them work will still be key.

GW: You gained a fair amount of prestige while working at Blur and had a secure position, why make the move back to freelance?

IJ: Good question. Basically after almost 5 years at Blur, I found myself getting too comfortable in my position. The challenge was still there, but my passion was starting to dwindle. The worst thing in any relationship is when you start to resent what you have. That would have been bad for me AND the studio so, I started to look at my options before it hit that point. I had done a bit of freelance on top of my studio time and found it to be very lucrative thanks to the exposure I received while at Blur and in doing my Gnomon Workshop videos.

I am also actively working with Gentle Giant as an offsite artist, and those guys are such a blast to work with. Scott Spencer, the Digital Lead there, is full of knowledge and talent. Getting to work with that team up there on anything is always an honor. If I lived closer I would definitely want to at least have an office there. Just walking inside is instant inspiration.

My real love is in making my own characters and worlds, but as a production artist that can be difficult. My friend Kolby Jukes www.kolbyjukes.com had gone freelance a year before, and we both shared a passion for moving past the production aspect and starting to tell our own stories. After talking to him and my girlfriend for MANY months, I decided to try it. I had money in the bank, so even if I had no clients coming in, I could survive for a bit and worse case scenario, I was living in LA and everyone was hiring. My first freelance project was something with Kolby, and it went well, so we have begun working on our new company/partnership Monsters From Beyond (we have a temporary site now www.monstersfrombeyond.com. The real site should be up in January). We both have ideas we want to see developed into graphic novels, video games and possibly films so teaming up just seemed to make sense. None of this would have been impossible working a full time job, but freelance offered the position of both production work (which I LOVE, realizing a concept in 3d is something that I will never tire of) and of having off-time to create my own stuff and travel.

I also have always LOVED working with people, which may seem odd now that I am working on my own with only cats for company (thank god for IM), but actually interacting with the client and seeing their reaction to my work first-hand is really rewarding.

GW: What do you miss most about working with the crew at Blur? How important are the relationships you made there to your career?

IJ: The people, for sure, are what I miss the most. That place has more heart than any studio I know of (no offense to the studios I do not know of, or do know of and have not worked at). I had so many good times there, and met some of my best friends while working there. Blur has been the best thing that has happened to me both career wise and in my personal life. It has led to friendships and bonds that I am really lucky to have. That sounds a bit cheesy...but I stand by it.

As for my career...I wouldn't have a career without Blur. Tim took a chance on me, as I had no studio experience at that point, only offsite work. The speed of turnaround and the quality of work that is done there is pretty untouchable, not to mention the high profile work my name got attached to. The knowledge and speed that I gained there has made it possible for me to even do something like this interview. Much love for Blur.

GW: What is your opinion on outsourcing: Personal advantages and disadvantages, Same vs. Studio?

IJ: Outsourcing is fantastic. It lets artists all over the world work together on projects that they otherwise would never get to touch. Sadly, some studios do not or can not outsource for fear of information leaks. The personal advantages to me are a paycheck...which I do enjoy, and the chance to work with a variety of companies and pipelines. I learn something new on every job and meet fantastic people all the time, it is very fulfilling. It is also nice to not have to move every time I start a job. As I get older and have other people in my life, I can’t uproot for every job so it is a perfect balance.

As for the studio, I think the biggest reason to outsource is that they get to work with artists that they may not be able to afford full time, or NEED full time. They also get the benefit of all of the experience these people bring from each previous job without taking the risk of bringing them on and finding out they won't work out.

GW: What are you working on now?

IJ: I am working on my latest Gnomon Workshop DVDs this month. If all goes well, I should have them done by the end of the month. Digital sculpting has become such a major part of my personal pipeline that I want to go into that, and talk about doing design sculpts and making them production ready in Maya and Max. Since the techniques carry over to any software, I wanted to show how you can achieve the results and not being locked into one software. It should be a lot of fun. I am also writing a script for a short graphic novel and hopefully video game or feature film if people like the ideas (a man can dream right?). Really, I am writing a few things, but only one idea is close to fruition.

On top of that I am doing production work for a few companies, and am looking for the next batch of work.

GW: What does the future hold for you? Will you continue to work as a modeler or at some point move back into a studio position?

IJ: Eventually I would like to get a studio space for myself and hire on some other artists, even if they are offsite. I have been really lucky thus far in my career, hard work and timing have really defined my life the past 10 years or so. My goal would be to open a studio in Colorado (where I grew up). Snowboarding and making unimaginable monsters, super heroes and continuing to learn and grow in my craft is the dream.

For sure I can see going back to a studio for small scale contract gigs, but there is something I really love about owning my own business and being responsible for my own life. It is challenging when clients back out, or work is hard to find, but for the most part I have been very lucky in having a continuous stream of clients and work. As for going back as a modeler, I don’t know... I would like to move a little further up the ladder if I do go back into full time studio work, but it depends on the place. If it were somewhere like ILM or Weta, I would be pretty happy just to get a foot in the door. Gentle Giant would also be a great place to settle for a bit. However, I am very interested in moving to northern California in a few years.

GW: Is there any advice you can give students looking to get into this field?

IJ: Be friendly, eager to learn and model as much as you can. Also, visit museums, get together with friends and brainstorm and read. I find a lot of inspiration just reading, fiction and non-fiction. Also, be prepared to work your butt off when you get a job. This is a career for those who love what they do, not for someone looking to make a quick buck. That being said, I think more aspiring FX artists could be well served taking some finance courses, especially if freelancing or owning a studio is something they are interested in.

Remember, just because something has a lot of detail, does not mean it is a good model. My biggest advice for anyone who wants to get into character work is study sculpture, anatomy and art theory before learning or trying to master software. The technical aspect is being automated more and more each day and in the end it is the true artists who will survive.

Ian - Freelance Character Artist www.IanJoyner.com

*All images courtesy of Blur Studios, Ian Joyner.