Jon finch ( Interview )

CG Brains : Firstly, tell us a little about yourself.?
Jon Finch : I was born in Vineland New Jersey and grew up in Cape May New Jersey. My parents moved us to California when I was 11.
My hobby interests are in fishing, high voltage apparatus' (Tesla Coils, Oudin Coils, Van Der Graaf Generators, Jacob's Ladders and Wimshurst machines - love big sparks!) working on old volkswagons and aviation. My wife and I live in Long Beach California with our 2 boys Joe and Frank.

CG Brains : In terms of CG, How did it all begin for you?
Jon Finch : I'm traditionally trained in drawing/painting. ....I went to the California State University of Long Beach through the illustration department.
I was able to learn computer color seperation for the offset printing industry through my first graphic art job. I then went on to persue storyboarding for film/commercials when my storyboard rep showed one of her clients some of my CG art I created. Her client, a start-up 3D software company, bought out my contract and from that day on I've been working as a CG artist.

CG Brains : What was your very first CG project? was it a success?
Jon Finch : My first CG project was working for a company called ModaCAD, the start-up software company that first hired me. I was working on a 3D software for planning out and designing your home. It was the number 1 software of it's kind at that time and very successful.

CG Brains : What's your favorite part of the process? Modelling, texturing, Rigging,lighting, Animation.............?
Jon Finch : My favorite part of the process is modeling. You start bringing the 2D designs to life. Sometime they work and sometimes they go through some growing pains. This is what first drew me to CG...the design of the 3D shapes. Not alot of people are able to realize 3D space, but I think all my life drawing helpped me understand volumes and shapes.

CG Brains : Could you briefly explain your working methods?
Jon Finch : For a character's face, I like to workout a plan for the geometry on paper first. This helps me work out any inital problems in edge flow before I get into the computer. I will draw out a low resolution wireframe of a character and see if the gemetry flow works. I mention the face, because this is usually the most critical aspect, especially if the character is doing a lot talking/acting. The details in the face needs to be light enough to easily rig or make blendshapes and heavy enough to avoid running into issues of not enough geometry to hit all the facial poses.

CG Brains : How long have you been in CG and what is your current job?
Jon Finch : I started working in CG in 1996 and my last job was working at Disneytoon Studios on Tinkerbell - Winter modeling digital maquettes of main fairie characters (corrective and facial blendshapes ), animals, environments and props for director approval.

CG Brains : There are many 3d artists out there wanting to create their own short - what advice would you give them?
Jon Finch : For all those wanting to create their own short, keep it short. The best shorts are simple and economical. Stick with what you know. I taught a class at The Art Institute creating a CG short. Not all the students were capable of all the tasks, so they worked around this to finish the project. Study the masters - PIXAR.

CG Brains : What has been your greatest accomplishment in your career?
Jon Finch : The biggest accomplishment in my career so far has been working on the look development team for "Astro Boy".
I really enjoyed working with the art and production directors to define all the technical and artistic aspects needed to create the appearance of a character, prop or environment.

CG Brains : Of all of your artwork, which piece is your personal favorite and why?
Jon Finch : My personal favorite piece is the PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) shorts I worked on at Warner Bros. PEPFAR is a U.S. program to promote AIDS prevention, care, and treatment in Africa, and Warner Bros has partnered with the U.S. State Department in some interesting ways on that front. Our task was to do a Warner Bros. style short for each character, to introduce them to the Kenyan public.  The shorts themselves had only two tasks — be entertaining, and introduce the characters in an appealing way.  But to keep them from looking like Public Service Announcements, the shorts weren’t burdened with anything to do with HIV/AIDS. They can be viewed at http://hivfreegeneration.warnerbros.com and "Clicking" on "LEARN" to view CG shorts. I feel they were something special and is for a great cause that I hope has made a difference in the world.

CG Brains : What is one piece of advice you would give to the aspiring artist?
Jon Finch : My advice to the aspiring artist is learn how to draw. This is a tool that will always be there for you and is a valuable investment that is appreciated.

CG Brains : What are your future aspirations?
Jon Finch : Well, I can't do this work forever, so I'm planning to go into teaching. I have worked on some great projects and with some amazing artists. I hope to learn something from the students and to give back to this industy while drawing and painting in my free time.

CG Brains : Are you working on any projects currently? If so, what are they?
Jon Finch : I'm currently inbetween projects and using the time to learn/try new techniques and drawing - drawing - drawing.

CG Brains : Can you give away one of your CG secrets to success?
Jon Finch : I don't think there are any more secrets do to the internet...sorry



Website : www.birdbrainstudio.com
email : This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Linked In : http://www.linkedin.com/in/joncfinch