About Me – 2014
Four years later. I now have two feature animations under my belt (don’t ask me why I stick things in there) with half a dozen other fun projects mixed in. Reel FX creative studios in Dallas, Texas is a great place to be. It’s gone through a lot of changes since I started there in 2010, and I have thoroughly enjoyed growing with it. My primary focus is still as a CG rigging artist. Though I love dabbling in the other areas of production (at work and on my own personal projects), I’ve found rigging to be the best balance between the two halves of my brain.
About Me – 2010
It’s been three years since I wrote that last “about me” post, I figure it’s time for an update. Working in the video game industry for the past three years, I progressed from the title of a Technical Artist to that of a Character Technical Director. I have recently left my position at Idol Minds and am currently seeking out a new employment opportunity. While at Idol, my time was spent developing the character rigging pipeline and in turn using the tools I developed to rig over 30 unique characters. I feel very fortunate to have worked at Idol Minds. I grew a lot, and got to work with a lot of great people. Now I feel it is time to move on, and would like to find a position working in a more story driven animation environment – whether that will turn out to be in films or in games is yet to be determined :)
About Me – 2007
I graduated from the Art Institue of Colorado in September of 2006 with a BA in Media Arts & Animation. Currently I’m employed at a game company called Idol Minds as a Technical Artist. That job title pretty well explains me — I’m technically an artist… You see, I grew up around computers and became very familiar with them at a young age. I started programming in my early to mid teens, and all signs were leading me toward a degree in computer science. However, while tinkering with the 1s and 0s I also began playing with CG (computer graphics), which naturally seemed to flow as I had loved drawing all my life. At first my thoughts of it were, “You can get paid for THIS?” but that gradually changed to, “you can get paid for this!”
hi direen i like ur blog and good concept ur work really i like ur work good work thank u
Hi,
Could I put your Nerftastic picture on a facebook event?
We’re thinking of having a nerf war in the office, and I thought it was a great picture, and I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. I left your signature on the picture, but put our logo on the robot, sice we have a robot in the office…
Let me know!
Thanks
Aaron Morford
Yes, go right ahead. Nerf wars in the office are a blast, they’re almost part of the daily routine at my job :) Glad you like the image, and I appreciate you asking.
-James
Kewl site…I enjoy your work!
Whats the field like? Hard to get into? How is stability and payscale?
Is portfolio content valued more than a degree?
Thanks man…seeing your work inspired me to do some too!
Thanks Dent, glad you like it. The industry is very competitive, yet there’s still a high demand for the people with the right stuff (which varies depending on your specific area of interest). There seem to be two types of people that try to get in. There are those who love the end result… playing games and watching movies (don’t we all). Then there are those who love the process. If your in the latter, just keep doing what you love doing and you’ll be likely to find a position that will pay you for it.
I’m still probably too new to the industry to make much of a solid comment on the stability of it. From what I’ve seen, it is about the same as any other development field, if not a bit better (there certainly hasn’t been a lack of demand on movies and games lately, though I have seen a tightening of budgets across the board).
Pay scale… see comment above. At the end of the day though, I get to sit back and say that I got paid to do what I love :)
It is possible to get a decent job with a solid portfolio alone, but a degree is what is likely to give you an edge against the highly competitive entry level market.
James how do I tag your blog. I want to become a fan!
Your ex work neighbor.
Just thought I would check in and see how you were doing… I like the new demo reel, like how you showed building the rig too. Hope you find what your looking for and really thanks for your help. I will never forget your kindness. Keep your fans posted :):):)
Your site has come a long way since I’ve seen it a while back in ’03. Looks like things are going well for you, at least I hope so. The newest reel looks real good also. Keep it up! ;)
-Sarah
Amazing art, James!!! I knew you could draw but I didn’t know you could do anything this cool! Come visit soon!:)
Thanks Crystal! Glad you like me stuff :)
James- any chance you now sell the file for the casita? I am a senior and would so love to make this for my husband with my 3 D printer I got for christmas.