Two months I somehow found two jobs. The first was coloring comic books
digitally for a small sweatshop called In Color. The second (and more
upwardly-mobile) job involved computer visualization of architectural
and engineering projects at a small business called Digital
Design Simulations. This marked my introduction, albeit meager, to
3D computer graphics. After working both jobs part-time for a while I
decided to go full-time with the latter where I learned some AutoCAD,
some 3D Studio, and various video-editing and paint box packages on the
PC. I worked there for a year, and in June of 1994 I applied for a part-time
designer internship at a small game developer, Presto
Studios, in San Diego. I received the internship despite a nebulous
portfolio and no practical design experience. I was initially hired to
assist Phil Saunders in the design of the adventure game Journeyman
Project 2: Buried in Time. As the game's scope snowballed I found
my responsibilities and opportunities increasing exponentially. I went
from sketching furniture and props to designing entire time zones, including
Da Vinci's studio and the "final" alien time zone.
After
three months I decided to leave DDS and work full-time at Presto (even
though they could not yet offer me full-time pay) because I loved the
company and the job so much. My role as a designer expanded: I learned
Photoshop and created a lot of interface graphics for the game, as well
as retouched some graphics and added special effects; I acted in some
of the game's video sequences; and I even did a little writing for some
of the in-game text.
Next
I was given the position of Creative Director on Gundam 0079, Presto's
anime-based title for Bandai. My responsibilities included: game and
environment
design, storyboarding, assisting in story writing, and general artistic
direction. The job was a kick for me, as I am a big anime fan, and we
were given lots of reference material (mostly toys and videos) from Japan.
Before Gundam was even finished I started working on the next title,
Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time. I once again assumed the
role of Conceptual Designer, this time under the direction of Tommy Yune.
Once the design phase was finished, I helped with textures and then moved
onto video-compositing, retouching and special effects.
I went
on to Art-Direct the graphics for John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles
and Creative-Directed Star Trek: Hidden Evil. On these projects
I also took on the role of 3D artist using the production skills I had
acquired along the way. Meanwhile I began teaching myself character animation
on my spare time, which led to Alien
Song .
I
left Presto Studios in November of 1999 after five wonderful years to search for new challenges and hopefully work in films. I
moved to the Bay Area and took on some freelance visual effects work for the movie Titan
AE as well as some other projects. In December of 1999 I was contacted
by Pixar Animation Studios (the president had received a copy of Alien Song by email) and
now I work there as a full-time animator. Cool, huh? So far I have worked on Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille (only one shot) and WALL-E, as well as various short projects.
I always
enjoy learning new applications and finding new ways to expand my
creative
contribution. I have been lucky enough to work in places that allow me
to grow and take on new challenges.
You can find some lengthy interviews and Q&A sessions with me at:
Q&A - StrutYourReel - 2006
Interview - Planit3D - 2006
"Meet the Artist" thread - CGTalk - 2005
Interview - 3DTotal - 2004
Interview (with Carlos Baena) - CGSociety - 2003
