SKILLS

1.      3D Animator and Maya Expert:

a.      Fast with modeling both low-poly white model placeholders and detailed fully-designed fully textured elements ending up with a clean model without ngons, superfluous geometry, or other modeling anomalies

b.      Comfortable modeling both simple and complicated organic and man-made forms

c.      Understands the concept of edge flow, and why quads generally work better that triangles or ngons in Maya.

d.      Has advanced understanding of architecture, structural, engineering assemblies, and navigating the 3D environment

e.      Has better than average knowledge of “simulation” elements of Maya including “ncloth” and “dynamics” (can create realistic  water, cloth, and break-away effects quickly and efficiently)

f.       Has 5 years of experience animating smooth camera moves at comfortable speeds

g.      Has 5 Years of experience rigging and animating engineering assemblies, machines, and show-action equipment or similar assemblies, and using curves for animation paths

h.      Has 3 years experience modeling, rigging, and animating characters and animals using techniques such as “motion capture” and “animation baking” and can translate animations from Maya into Lumion and other 3D programs.

i.       Knows what the “roller-coaster problem” is in Maya when animating along a path, and knows how to resolve it

j.       Has advanced knowledge of multiple rendering techniques including; Viewport 2.0 hardware renders (stills and animation), Mental Ray renders (stills and animation), Vray renders (stills and animation), and Playblast

k.      Has better than average knowledge of procedurally generated materials within Maya including 3D fractals, and Maya Substances, and understands how to bake these procedurally generated materials to Image-map based ones to save memory

l.       Has advanced knowledge of all of the different material types for each of the different rendering techniques and how each render engine reacts when certain types of materials are used, (How a “phong” material rendersin Viewport 2.0 versus Vray or Mental Ray)

m.    Has advanced understanding of cross-platform 3D model importing and exporting including; SketchUp to Maya, Maya to SketchUp, 3D studio to Maya, Modo to Maya, using multiple industry standard filetypes

n.      Has advanced knowledge of the Maya modeling toolkit, and when to use which tool for the best and fastest outcome

o.     Stays in touch with the 3D modeling community, is aware when Maya updates are available and stays on top of keeping the program and any plugins relevant and up-to-date

p.      Has ability to learn new modeling/rendering techniques quickly from online tutorials and can implement them the same day

q.      Has excellent problem solving skills to efficiently deliver the best output within a short amount of time

r.       Has 4 years of experience lighting scenes with multiple types of lights to promote mood and setting for scenes within Maya without affecting render times

s.      Understands which types of lights and light settings work best with which render engines

t.       Has better than basic organization skills to keep polygon count low and render times within reasonable limits

u.      Has 4 years of experience using UV maps for texturing raster images onto 3D models

v.      Keeps models clean and optimized

w.    Understands scene hierarchy and keeps geometry, groups and other nodes organized within the scene with efficient use of the Outliner and Layers

x.      Has advanced understanding of all of the 3D modeling nomenclature and vocabulary

y.      Has better than average understanding of how the Squidnet UI, Cloud Rendering UI, and VRAY render farm works, and can trouble shoot issues with the render farm when they arise.

z.      Knows the difference between bumpmaps, normalmaps, displacement maps, and geometric details, and when to use which for the best output and quickest render times

2.       Proficient in Adobe Premiere and After Effects

a.       Has 5 years of experience editing polished presentation videos with sound, animated text, still images, animations, and video footage (i.e. Tomorrowland Wipeout Speedway https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQl7PyCMZ28)  

b.      Has better than basic knowledge of industry standard After Effects plugins like “Trapcode Particular” and Premiere plugins like “Real Smart Motion Blur”

c.      Has better than basic knowledge of multiple compositing techniques including color-key, difference mattes, and the use of animated masks

d.      Has better than basic understanding of filters and color to promote specific moods, is familiar with filter plugins like “Magic Bullet Quick Looks”

e.      Has 3 year of experience assembling and using previously created motion graphics, is familiar with applications like “Digital Juice”

f.       Understands that a video communicates an emotional feeling as well as information

g.      Understands filesize limitations of editing, (using large files, such as 5gb photos will slow down the editing and rendering process)

h.      Has a strong understanding of using Targa files with alpha channels for compositing

i.       Understands how important timing is and is able to line up visuals to audio successfully for the most powerful experience impact

3.       Graphic Designer and Proficient in Adobe Illustrator

a.       Has 1 year of experience creating graphics using vectors

b.      Has basic knowledge of the Illustrator toolkit and can create clean vector graphics quickly and efficiently

c.      Has advanced knowledge on how flat vector files can be imported into 3D modeling programs and used for modeling, (i.e. fonts can be imported as AI files into Maya and extruded to create 3D dimensional text for signage)

d.      Can take AI files created by others and edit them for use in a 2D to 3D modeling workflow

e.      Can take plotted pdf files and convert them into DWG files for model building in Maya and SketchUp

f.       Has 1 year experience designing logos and signage for clients

4.       Adobe Photoshop Expert

a.      Has over 12 years of professional experience working with raster images in Photoshop

b.      Has advanced understanding of working with layers and layer styles

c.      Has over 12 years of professional experience illustrating master plans, elevations, sections, and building plans to scale, and perspective shots using AutoCAD dwgs, hand drawn and SketchUp model reference

d.      Has defined the “AutoCAD dwg to Photoshop illustration” workflow using layers and layer styles and knowledge of AutoCAD Layers and plotting techniques to drastically improve illustration speed.  Huge master plans that would take days to color by hand by several people could now be colored by one person in a couple of hours.

e.      Has advanced understanding of the Photoshop toolkit and can create clean raster graphics quickly and efficiently

f.       Has 6 years professional experience editing photos, mostly taking existing building facades and updating them to a designer’s specifications (adding/removing architecture, adding/removing landscaping, adding/removing signage) to create “before and after” style contrasts for clients.

g.      Has advanced understanding of 3D space when working in 2D, and can place shadows and dimensional effects correctly without needing extra input from the designer

h.      Has a strong understanding of using the alpha channel and working with Targa files and Targa sequences

i.       Understands and keeps in mind the file size and resolution texturing limitations of multiple 3D modeling programs when creating textures in Photoshop (i.e. 1024x1024 limitation for SketchUp, 8000x8000 limitation in Maya)

j.       Understands the difference between RGB and CYMK workspaces and when to use which

k.      Understands the difference between printed graphics and graphics that are to be displayed digitally and how to optimize both types of graphics

l.       Understands that most color printers commercially available print at 200dpi, so working in raster files at resolutions higher than 300dpi for anything that is to be printed is a waste of filespace and time, unless the image is intended to be blown up to a larger scale, in which case the graphic should probably be done as a vector image anyway.

m.    Has over 12 years of professional experience using Wacom tablets and similar tablet interfaces, understands how to program tablets for maximum efficiency on a per program basis

n.      Has better than basic understanding of the animation aspect of Photoshop, and can create optimized animated gifs for the internet

o.     Has 10 years of experience creating planar mapped texture maps for SketchUp modeled terrain, which was an integral element in creating OBMI’s first texture-mapped 3D terrain Zcorp model

p.      Has some experience creating UV mapped textures for character models in Maya and 3D Studio Max

5.       Lumion EXPERT

a.      Has ADVANCED knowledge of the Lumion UI and model building process

b.      Understands which 3D modeling programs need to be used to create assets to bring into Lumion (i.e. baked animations from Maya, architectural models from SketchUp)

c.      Has ADVANCED knowledge of the in-program effects available within Lumion, such as; global illumination, the various water effects, weather, camera filters, Sun and Sky lighting, as well as interior lighting

d.      Has 4 years of experience using Lumion as a rendering platform creating flythrough animations with animated scenery, people, and vehicles, ect.

e.      Has advanced knowledge of what scenery models are already available within Lumion (i.e. Plants, Trees, street lamps, furniture) and is able to plan ahead to use these assets when modeling in other programs.

F.      Keeps up with Lumion Updates, and is aware of the added features when they are added   

6.      SketchUp Expert

a.      Has 10 years professional experience using the SketchUp toolkit and can create clean SketchUp models lighting fast and efficiently

b.      Has 10 years professional experience modeling spas, hotels, villas, city blocks, roadways, structural building envelopes, sets and scenic elements, props, engineering assemblies, lighting assemblies, MEP assemblies, multiple types of terrain, entire islands, trees, advance organic shapes, animals, people, and more…  

c.      Through trial and error has defined the “SketchUp to Maya” workflow when modeling within SketchUp, avoiding ngons, flipped normals, and other modeling anomalies that may work fine in SketchUp but will break when imported into Maya. 

d.      Is able to bring in AutoCAD DWGs into SketchUp and build from them using the correct scale and placement of all of the available DWGs in 3D space.

e.      Understands the difference between groups and components in SketchUp and when to use which.

f.       Can recognize when a model has gone awry and when to start over, but keeps the group/component hierarchy intact to minimize remodeling when required.

g.      Has 5 years professional experience modeling in SketchUp for 3D printing using the Zcorp 3D printer AND 3D ROUTERS

h.      Has 10 years professional experience driving SketchUp models and making notations and edits in real time for meetings with clients, and partners.

i.       Keeps large and complex SketchUp models organized using scene hierarchy, grouping hierarchy, and layers

j.       Can find relevant 3D models in the internet and knows the difference between a good usable model, and an overly-complicated mess of a model.

k.      Understands the balance between scale, file size, and model complexity.  (Small objects do not need to be modeled to the same level of detail that large objects are, depending on the placement of the camera)

l.       Has advanced knowledge of 3rd party SketchUp plugins that vastly improve the speed of SketchUp modeling and add extra helpful features (i.e. animating a camera on a spline)

m.    Has advanced knowledge of multiple 3rd party rendering plugins for SketchUp such as Maxwell, Vray, Podium, Shaderlight and others, can get photo-real still renderings out of SketchUp

7.       Proficient in AutoCAD

a.       Has a good understanding of the AutoCAD UI and how to edit geometry and layers specifically for use as reference for 3D modeling

b.      Has a good understanding of scale and measurement when working with architectural or engineering DWGs

c.      Can visualize a finished 3D model in imagination from looking at a plan and a handful of sections and elevations

d.      Understands what parts of the DWG file are needed for modeling, and what parts can be discarded before attempting to import in SketchUp or Maya

e.      Knows how to plot to scale.

f.       Has 8 years of experience working directly with Designers, Draftsmen, and Architects, keeping an open line of communication when faced with issues with the CAD files or design

g.      Knows what this number is:  (.0032808398950131) and why it is so important when working in SketchUp from AutoCAD reference.

8.      Proficient in 3DStudio Max

a.      Has 1 year experience creating fly-throughs and industrial design animations using the mental ray renderer in 3DS Max (i.e. Goat Ramp Animation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncukxTlrV5U, Mack Residence 3D Studio Max Mental Ray Flythrough https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tXutxM1L_k, Unfinished BBQ Animation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUoqXqgs8ag )

b.      Has 1 year experience working with the SketchUp to 3DS Max workflow.

c.      Can import AutoCAD terrain data and generate a terrain “skin” quickly and easily using 3DS Max’s terrain features.

d.      Has 1 year experience working with the Architectural Materials available in 3DS max and is familiar with some of the added features (i.e. rounded edges)

e.      Has some experience modeling, rigging, and animating characters in 3DS Max (i.e. Animated Character Skating the Goat Ramp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBA-hc1QRcI)

f.       Has some experience working with the ONYX Tree plugin for 3DStudio Max to create randomly generated realistic polygonal trees that can be individually animated with simple sliders.

g.      Has also had some success exporting polygonal trees created with the ONYX plugin for use in Maya and SketchUp.  

9.      2D Animator and Proficient in Toon Boom Studio

a.      Has 1 year of experience creating 2D “cell style” animations with Toon Boom Studio.

b.      Understands the basics of animation, parallax background scrolling, motion blur, timing, squash and stretch, anticipation, weight, and balance

c.      Understands the concept of a dope sheet, and why it is so important to getting the timing correct when working with audio in animation.

d.      Has experience animating mouth movements for speech

e.      Has experience animating effects such as water and explosions

10.    Artistic Background

a.      Has a strong background in Studio Art with a mature and developed sense of composition, negative space, color theory, shape, ect.

b.      Has 3 years professional experience painting scenic murals using industrial grade “one shot” paint

c.      Has 2 years professional experience sculpting in epoxy, high density foam carving, wood carving, rubber mold creating, working with fiberglass molds, and vinyl appliques  

d.      Has a strong understanding of how things are built structurally, loads, counter balances, also has professional carpenter experience

e.      Has experience creating hand-drawn story boards for client buy-off on animation.

f.       Has several years of experience with human and non-human (anthropomorphic animals and aliens) character, vehicle, and architectural design for personal projects

g.      Knows how to tell a story with a single image

h.      Takes a tremendous amount of pride in work

i.       Obsesses about design or modeling problems until they are solved

J.      Draws for at least one hour every day.

K.       Mother works as AutoCAD and Revit draftsperson for Hunton Brady Architects

L.    Father works as Graphic Designer specializing in menus and signage at Walt Disney World workshop

M.      Grandfather worked as Graphic Designer and painter at Walt Disney World workshop before retirement

N.     Is the sole writer and illustrator for self-published ongoing hand-drawn graphic novel series “Cosmic Garden Samsara”