The Creator Curriculum

Recording our thirty ninth episode, the guest of honor today is Aaron Covrett. He is a 3D Designer who has worked for clients such as Microsoft, Squarespace, xFinity and more across studios such as The Mill, Tendril and Man vs. Machine. Aaron's eye for rendering stunning realism has earned him slots as a guest speaker at events such as NAB 2018 and NAB 2019. Calling all the way from Michigan, a very special thanks to Aaron for making the time.

Timecodes:

00:01:44 | Living In Michigan, Working Wherever

00:07:23 | Backstory: From Web Developer To ManVsMachine

00:10:52 | Exploring A Subject To Endless Depths

00:16:06 | Do You Outrun or Outwork Everybody?

00:23:46 | Creating Abstract Films (ft. Purple Mattresses)

00:35:47 | A Materials Deep Dive

00:37:41 | Rather, A Lighting Deep Dive

00:45:04 | The Virtues Of Maintaining An Asset Library

00:49:10 | Eliminating Bottlenecks In Production

00:56:10 | Free Plug For Substance

01:04:34 | Independence & NFTs

01:10:16 | What Dreams are Left?

Recording our thirty eight episode, the guest of honor today is Carlos Pecino aka Colorsponge. He is an automotive CGI artist widely known for his photorealistic car renderings. His work has gotten him jobs with clients such as Recom Farmhouse, Realtime UK, and Netflix on shows like Love, Death and Robots. He's one of the most convincingly realistic CG artists in the automotive space and a trusted collaborator with big artists across the industry like Alberto Mieglo and Ash Thorp. Calling all the way from London, a very special thanks to Carlos for making the time.

Timecodes:

00:01:12 | The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

00:04:42 | Being Alberto Mielgo’s Lighting Supervisor

00:22:59 | Maybe I Don't Need To Be The Boss After All

00:29:54 | Persevering Despite Great Discouragement

00:43:44 | Cars: Sourcing Versus Scratch

01:05:20 | What’s A Colorsponge?

01:08:48 | Freelancing (Sucks In Spain)

01:29:36 | Being Multidisciplinary/ Mud-Wrestling Pixels

The industry knows Cornelius for creating some of the most detailed CG images in the world. His custom scenes are dense with secrets, designed to be admired for a long time. During our chat I learned what a painstaking, arduous process this entailed. It was inspiring, but he also made me laugh. For a CG artist who defines the "labor of love," Cornelius sure is a pretty funny guy.

Timecodes:

00:01:11  Ditching V-Ray For Octane

00:06:43   Backstory: Behind The Berlin Wall

00:15:14   GFX Sucked Back Then

00:18:38   Taking As Long as You Need

00:26:57  Amount of Detail in His Work

00:33:35   How Do You Afford To Take So Long?

00:42:18   Nobody Talked About Digital Art Till NFTs

00:46:55   Using Pre-Made Assets

00:50:35 Client Work (NASA!)

00:59:20 The Connected Universe of Delphor

01:11:20 Outro

Stephy Fung is a 3D designer who’s found herself a pioneer in the world of digital fashion. Learning Marvelous Designer has allowed her to participate in a space that’s poised to grow exponentially bigger as the metaverse intertwines with reality.

Timecodes:

00:01:35 | Backstory: Graphic Design Was Not My Thing

00:07:36 | Prior Interest in Fashion

00:10:36 | Use Cases for Digital Fashion

00:16:24 | Creating New Types of Clothes

00:17:44 | Motion Graphics Communities (DIGI-GLX, NFTs & More)

00:23:56 | Breaking Into The NFT Community

00:29:34 | How To Sell Digital Clothing

00:31:27 | Outro

Debra Isaac absolutely loves Houdini. She's was the co-organizer of the Houdini User Group in LA. She ran the series Houdini Battles on Youtube. She taught Houdini at the university level. She still felt like she had more to give, so she founded the online learning platform Houdini School. There she invites instructors across the world to spread their love for Houdini through online education. A truly avid advocate for their software, SideFX should really start paying her at this point...

Timecodes:

00:02:36 | Backstory: Falling In Love With Houdini

00:17:00 | Houdini & Code

00:21:32 | Best Way To Learn Houdini

00:25:40 | Career Opportunities With Houdini

00:33:54 | Founding Houdini School

00:38:50 | Economics Of Starting Online School

00:43:35 | Marketing Your School

00:45:48 | Why Do Students Want To Learn Houdini?

00:49:12 | Science Visualization With Houdini

00:50:32 | Human Connection

00:55:55 | Future of Houdini School/ Personal Work

01:01:48 | Typical Day Running Houdini School

01:03:48 | Launch Course Catalogue/ Debra’s Teaching Style

01:06:32 | Learn With A Buddy

Visual artist Noemi Schipfer and musician Takami Nakamoto aren’t your typical artists. NONOTAK combines electronic music, installation art and optical illusion to create magical performances all over the globe.

Timecodes:

00:01:37  Backstory: Noemi & Takami’s Origin Story

00:16:56   Creating The Music

00:21:28   Creating The Installations

00:31:00   Their Most Successful Project

00:37:42  Nonotak’s Rules of Audiovisual Installation Design

00:43:53   The Nonotak Live Experience

00:48:22   The Economics of Installation Art

00:55:30 Surprises of International Touring

01:11:54 What's Next for Nonotak?

01:14:56 Outro

Leo Esteves is a Venezuelan Art Director & 3D Designer who is known for his amazing automobile renders. He’s collaborated with industry heroes such as Ash Thorp & Hydro 74 on various car projects and is just as inspiring with his own aura of hard work, positivity and growth.

Timecodes:

00:02:02 | Backstory: Studying Graphic Design In Venezuela

00:05:59 | Automotive Renderings

00:09:30 | The Good Days Of Learn Squared Mentorships

00:13:08 | Learnings From Ash Thorp

00:18:13 | Who Is Hydro 74?

00:24:08 | Was There A Turning Point In Your Career?

00:29:22 | Daily Grinding (For 15 Years)

00:42:04 | (Not) Having A Style As A Designer

00:46:32 | Being A Manager Versus Designer

00:58:49 | Finding Joy In Every Project

01:04:16 | Working Up From The Bottom

01:12:22 | 3D: Past and Present

01:21:31 | Leo Versus Machines (I Hate Computers)

01:26:15 | Venezuelan War Stories

01:37:40 | Outro

Meet Marcelo and Paulina, the husband and wife founders of one of the fastest growing studios in Latin America. Based in Quito, Ecuador and Barcelona, Spain, their work is focused around branding, packaging and web design. Pánico ditches the meaningless corporate marketing bullshit and shows clients what’s real. Their distinctive style of simple, unadorned truth has earned them work with clients such as Astro, Prana and Holke 79. Recognition and awards have followed from all across Latin American media outlets.

Timecodes:

00:04:30 | Backstory: Fighting For Truth In Marketing

00:13:52 | Our Client Are Our Friends

00:16:23 | Ideal Pánico Client

00:21:17 | Designing Brands Like Bands

00:25:42 | Pánico Work Culture

00:29:26 | Ecuador Design Culture

00:35:30 | Changing & Charging For Brands

00:40:47 | Starting Your Own Studio Isn’t For Everybody

00:46:15 | Lessons Learned on Money & Art

00:50:08 | Reframing Social Media & Pánico Itself

00:56:46 | Outro

Derek Elliott is here to convert you to the gospel of 3D. He’s already taught over 100K of his Youtube subscribers how to communicate in 3D using Blender, an open source program that’s rapidly becoming one of the best. A talented artist and a business-savy designer, check this episode out if you want to turn your design hobby into a business.

Timecodes:

00:01:32 | Backstory & Blender Stuff

00:06:26 | Open Source Internet Triumphs

00:12:18 | Derek’s Entrepreneurial Approach to Business

00:23:56 | Becoming a Convincing Businessman

00:27:20 | Building Direct to Client Relationships

00:37:16 | Next Steps for Derek

00:41:23 | 3D General Advice

00:45:28 | Spec Project Advice

00:50:11 | Outro

One of the beloved Creative Directors of The Mill, Donnie's enthusiasm for art & design has earned him industry accolades with the likes of AICP and Promax BDA. As dangerous in a pitch room as he is on the box, Donnie is a force multiplier on any project and a master collaborator. Also, he's a nasty DJ.

Timecodes:

00:03:14 | Backstory: Korn and Mark Ecko

00:18:52 | Gaining Confidence In the Days of the Internet

00:22:43 | Hanging Loose

00:27:01 | An Abundance of Time to Come Back to Things

00:34:27 | The Virtue of Keeping Art To Yourself

00:38:19 | Give Yourself Permission to Make Something Bad

00:45:45 | Doing A Little Bit of Everything

00:48:06 | The Work, Life, Passion Trifecta

00:49:39 | Communication Your Vision to Others

00:51:55 | Creative Director Defined

00:58:04 | Behind the Scenes of Creative Direction

01:01:44 | The Personality for the Job

01:04:30 | Sourcing & Selling Clients

01:14:15 | Building Your Own Brand Versus Studio Life

01:26:55 | Making Friends With Your Clients

01:38:35 | Outro