Interviews that focus on the CG creative in visual effects, architecture and beyond. Christopher Nichols of Chaos sits down with directors, artists, photographers and developers for candid discussions on technology and art, all with a focus on computer graphics. Visit chaosgroup.com/cg-garage for more information and an archive of past shows.

Maciej Kuciara has established himself as a go-to talent for awe-inspiring concept art. Originally hailing from Poland, Maciej quit university to create artwork for tabletop games, then landed jobs at video game developers People Can Fly (Painkiller), Crytek (Crysis) and Naughty Dog (The Last of Us), and then worked on movies including the Ghost in the Shell remake, Blade Runner 2049 and Terminator: Dark Fate.

Most recently, Maciej unleashed his short film “Showtime,” a painstakingly accurate homage to classic animes Akira and Ghost in the Shell. He tells Chris about his life behind the Iron Curtain, his love of role-playing games and anime, how working hard on major games and movies helped him bring his incredible vision to life — and his plans for its future.

Direct download: CGGarage_Podcast294_MaciejKuciara.mp3
Category:CGI -- posted at: 8:52am PDT

Asuka Tohda-Kinney was inspired by Titanic to pursue a career in visual effects — and she now works for Digital Domain, the studio that helped bring James Cameron's blockbuster to life. Her first role at the company was on I, Robot, as an intern to Chris himself, and she went on to work on pipelines and lighting for movies, including Stealth, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Ender's Game.

Today, Asuka works in Digital Domain's dedicated digital humans department, where she's swapped heads for The Twilight Zone and TIME Magazine's Martin Luther King Jr. VR project, which even graced the magazine's cover. Asuka talks in detail about Japan's working culture, how DD helped her adjust to new languages, motherhood and lockdown — and how her coding prowess and creative skills help her solve problems.

Direct download: CGGarage_Podcast293_AsukaTohdaKinney.mp3
Category:VFX -- posted at: 8:49am PDT

CGarchitect has established itself as a go-to website for the arch-viz community, giving talent a platform to share their work with recruiters and studios, as well as serving as a blog, forum and gallery. But, as CEO and Founder Jeff Mottle explains, now 19-year-old the site needed to move with the times and reinvent itself.

In this podcast, Jeff tells Chris about the super-powered new CGarchitect, which launched in May this year. Jeff reveals how he trained its smart AI to pick the best images among the thousands submitted without ignoring more abstract works. He also sheds light on how its new subscription, recruitment and content creation features work, his plans for the site's future and the data it’s collated, and managing the increasingly momentous CGarchitect awards.

Direct download: CGGarage_Podcast292_JeffMottle.mp3
Category:Archviz -- posted at: 9:04am PDT

Throughout his career, Jose Gomez has blended entrepreneurship with creativity. After founding and selling a skateboard clothing firm, he discovered a passion for motion graphics and animation. He then started his own creative production company, Shilo, then joined Reel FX to form ATK PLN, a company specialized in design, animation and live-action.

Jose presents some interesting points on the modern motion graphics and commercials industry. He reveals how the prevalence of software has made it easier to create great visuals but harder to stand out and how he sees commercials evolving alongside livestreamed media. There’s also a neat final-act twist as Jose and Chris work out where they’ve met before.

Direct download: CGGarage_Podcast291_JoseGomez.mp3
Category:VFX -- posted at: 8:21am PDT

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