A job that you love and enjoy can give you the extra motivation to meet all the goals. It keeps you feeling more fulfilled, productive, and accomplished. For this episode, Luke welcomes Clinton Jones. They talk about pursuing new opportunities and what keeps Clinton inspired to move forward. He also mentions the different roadblocks he faced when he just started and how he stepped out of his comfort zone to where he is now: Building and helping his community, sharing tutorials, and creating...

In this episode of Ask An Artist, host Luke Thompson introduces guest Dustin "DJ" Johnson. DJ is the award-winning founder, CEO, and Creative Director of Undertone FX, a studio specializing in real-time visual effects for video games and VR/AR. DJ describes how it all started: From working on big titles like Call of Duty, to leading a team and building his own company. He also discusses the latest projects their team is building, as well as the Ultimate Fire Pack—their collaboration project...

Passion and creativity are vital fuels for living. However, people have different approaches to retaining motivation and moving forward with work. In this episode of Ask An Artist, host Luke Thompson welcomes guest Sam Gorski to talk about maintaining passion and creativity. Sam is one of the founding members of Corridor Digital Youtube Channel. Constantly having a hectic schedule can slowly fade that spark over time. Sam shares how he perseveres in his work to keep the fire of creativity...

Indeed, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving purposeful work in freelancing. However, systems created by individuals who came before us can be an effective tool for guiding us on our journey. In this episode, Luke welcomes Hayley Akins to talk about finding meaningful work. Hayley is the founder of Motion Hatch and a motion designer and animator. She has nine years of motion design expertise and has worked with high-profile clients like Google, the BBC, the United Nations, and...

Cinematic explosions are way more than what meets the eye. They only last for minutes or even seconds on screen, yet the process of making them is mind-blowing! Luke welcomes guest Urban Bradesko to launch the first episode, all about CG explosions of the new series Anatomy of Segments. Urban is an ultra-talented 3D & VFX artist. With many years of experience in the creative medium of VFX, Urban has carved out a particular set of skills that elevates him as an expert in the industry....

Creativity is never ending: just because you quit working on a certain project or company, doesn’t mean that you’ll stop being creative. For today’s episode, Luke welcomes Mary Poplin to talk about her work, the makers, and Boris FX. Mary is not only a Senior Product Specialist at Boris FX, she’s also a VFX artist, a trainer, and a content creator. Together, Luke and Mary discuss the importance of being a maker and the other makings that Mary creates outside of Boris FX. Mary also shares...

Ian Failes joins Luke to talk about building meaningful relationships in the VFX industry. Ian has written for magazines such as FXGuide, Cartoon Brew, VFX Voice, 3D Artist, 3D World, Thrillist, Syfy, Inverse, Digital Arts, Rolling Stone, Polygon, and more. Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he traveled to different studios, events, and conferences across the globe and built relationships with various people. Now, due to restrictions, he shares how virtual space broadens his horizon...

What does it take to be a filmmaker? Do you need to have the right connections, the budget, and the skills? For today’s Ask The Artist episode, Luke welcomes filmmaker Andrew Donoho. Andrew talks about how he started out young, watching directors make and directing music videos of his own. He also shared different stories about his experiences with high-profile videos and artists to his dreams as a director and his next trajectory with what he wants to eventually work on.   Highlights ...

Luke talks with Niko Pueringer of Corridor Digital. Niko has done a really great job over the years providing some educational VFX content, filmmaking tips, and more about visual effects! In their discussion, they covered things like the art of telling a story as well as getting into the history of Corridor Digital and how it got started. Highlights Balancing content creation and growing as an artist - 1:26 Having the wrong mentality - 5:31 The different projects that they have - 10:18...

Luke talks with Chris LeDoux in episode nine of Ask An Artist! Chris is the founder of Crafty Apes VFX, a widely successful FX studio producing high-quality FX. We talked not only about how you can scale in the FX business but also about the healthy culture while scaling. Chris shared his experiences working with different people from different fields, as well as the importance of taking care of your people, and a sneak peek of what’s next for him and the Crafty Apes. Highlights How...

Luke interviews Chris Clements. Chris is well-known for his works with the Reimagine series and Scene 38 of Star Wars. He has been working as a Visual Effects Artist for eleven years, bringing creative visions from storyboard to the screen. Luke and Chris talk not only about Chris’ experiences as an FX Artist, but also the struggles of working as one. He also shared the importance of revisiting and keeping an asset library, and how essential it is to stick to the previous looks, to satisfy...

Luke talks with Jordy Vandeput. In 2012, Jordy Vandeput graduated from the film school of Brussels, right after he started as an independent freelancer for various video productions. One of his clients at the time was Envato, for whom he took online courses about various aspects of filmmaking and video editing. On the 20th of March 2014, Jordy founded Cinecom Belgium with the goal of creating educational content for filmmakers and video editors around the world. Highlights Cinecom’s goal...

On this episode of Ask An Artist, Luke and Rodolphe are joined by long-time friend of ActionVFX, Joshua Davies. Josh is the founder and CEO of FXhome. Over the years, Josh and his team have brought a multitude of accessible tools to the creative market, and have greatly impacted the creative industry. Highlights Making a good product - 6:15 The amount of care they have for their community - 7:12 People want to be creative - 12:00 Being creative on your own terms - 12:57 Being really...

Hasraf 'HaZ' Dulull started his career in Visual Effects for Film and TV, before transitioning to directing and producing with his breakout sci-fi indie feature film - The Beyond, which was released by Gravitas Ventures, and premiered at #2 on the iTunes charts before trending on Netflix. His second feature film 2036: Origin Unknown, which starred Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Another Life) earned a limited theatrical release in the US before landing on Netflix. He was later hired to...

Hugo is a Director & VFX Supervisor working in both the VFX and the Videogames industry for the past 20 years. After working as a freelancer in Portugal, Sweden, and the UK, he became the Head of Nuke and VFX Supervisor at The Mill London. Most recently, Hugo worked as a Director for Fire Without Smoke, as a VFX Supervisor for Sony Playstation, and is currently working as a Film Director for Rebellion Games. He is also a VES Jury member, teaches VFX in several universities, and runs the...

On this episode of Ask An Artist, we have the man of the myth and the legend himself, Mr. Ryan Connolly. Many of us know Ryan because of his interest in film making and his work over the years with more than 1 million subscribers on Youtube. Highlights Thinking longterm - 2:56 Being a filmmaker - 4:44 What was the long term idea? - 5:44 People coming and supporting - 8:54 Starting freelance at 15 years old - 10:40 What can be stressful - 17:15 Listening to a song over and over again -...

Today we have the godfather of visual effects: Allan McKay. If you’re interested in high-level visual effects, you have probably heard this name once or twice. Allan has worked on a lot of films such as Star Trek, Transformers, and more. Highlights Why visual effects? - 1:20 Communication is the number one skill that every person should have - 8:42 Learning to be more patient - 11:12 Stop being intimidated by freelancers - 14:05 The Avengers poster - 17:30 Everyone struggles with fear...

Luke will be interviewing CEO and Founder of ActionVFX, Rodolphe Pierre-Louis, about Rodolphe’s story, kick starter, and what’s next for ActionVFX. Highlights Why ActionVFX? - 2:21 Getting into ActionVFX - 3:48 Loving the idea of doing something yourself - 8:05 What ActionVFX is now - 9:17 The importance of making a good first impression - 16:09 It’s possible to make a kick starter campaign - 22:47 Emphasizing quality over quantity - 34:52 Establishing the foundation - 40:42 Providing...

Welcome to “Ask an Artist”, a show that talks about everything VFX related. Join VFX artists and industry innovators as they talk about projects, discuss the process behind creating effects, and debate what's next in emerging technologies. Check out new episodes each week with host Luke Thompson and the ActionVFX team.