The CG Spectrum Podcast

In this episode, CG Spectrum’s Chief Creative Officer Jeremy Chinn interviews Emmy-nominated VFX Supervisor and CG Spectrum alum Charlie Lehmer. Charlie shares his inspiring journey from aspiring filmmaker to a VFX career  working on major projects like All the Light We Cannot See, Avengers: Endgame, and Deadpool & Wolverine . Discover how Charlie’s unrelenting commitment set him apart—wh...

Find Hubert: https://www.bonjam.ca/ Learn 2D Animation: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/2d-animator Maxine speaks with Hubert Lapointe, Online Educator/Creative Director and Founder at Bon Jam Animation, about how to work as a freelance animator, including how to determine your rate, whether to charge hourly or daily, and marketing yourself on social media. Plus, Hubert gives some great...

Find Azra: https://www.azralkan.com/ Learn Real-time 3D: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/virtual-production Maxine speaks with Azra Alkan, Compositing Supervisor and Real-Time Look Development Artist, about how to determine your worth as an artist in film and games. Hear about Azra’s career journey, from moving to the United States from Turkey to study computer programming, getting into...

Find Ian: www.ianspriggs.com Learn 3D Modeling: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/3d-modeling Digital Portrait Artist Ian Spriggs catches up with Maxine to unpack the creative process behind his mind-blowing realistic 3D character portraitures. Learn how Ian approaches creating his digital portraits, including how he chooses subjects, tricks for lighting and workflow, and the importance o...

Find Alex: https://beddowsdesign.carrd.co/ Learn Environment Art: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/environment-artist Justin interviews Alex Beddows, a Senior Environment Artist at Respawn Entertainment, about how to get ahead in the industry and his pragmatic perspective on career advancement. Alex shares how personal projects like his podcast 'Game Dev Discussion' helped him to network...

Find Mark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pullyblank/ Learn 3D Animation: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/3d-animator Maxine interviews Mark Pullyblank, Department Head of 3D Animation at CG Spectrum, to talk about his midlife career switch into animation from an entirely different industry -- live music. Mark tells us how he went from starting a new career in animation in his mid-30s with...

Find J Hill: https://artofjhill.com/ Learn Character Art: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/character-artist In this week’s interview with J Hill, Lead Character Artist at Turtle Rock Studios, joins Maxine to chat about the success of his eponymous YouTube channel  @J Hill  , how he got started as a character artist, using YouTube as a creative outlet and a form of accountabilit...

Find Kate: https://www.katexagoraris.com/ Learn Houdini FX: https://www.cgspectrum.com/courses/fx-simulation In this week’s interview, Kate Xagoraris, Midlevel Effects Artist at SPIN VFX & CG Spectrum Mentor of Houdini FX, joins Maxine to discuss her popular Houdini tutorials blog, her work on medical and science visualization tools, dealing with impostor syndrome, being pigeon-holed at work a...

Find Chun Chun: https://www.artstation.com/chunchunyang Learn 3D Modeling: https://www.cgspectrum.com/courses/3d-modeling This week, Senior Texture Artist Chun Chun Yang sits down with Maxine to discuss how she got into 3D art, the rewards and challenges of switching careers from film to games, and the lessons she learned along the way. Maxine and Chun Chun also talk about pushing through discomfo...

Find Pedro: https://www.https://www.complairvfx.com/ Learn Compositing: https://www.cgspectrum.com/courses/vfx-compositing This week, Maxine interviews Pedro Andrade, Head of Compositing as well as Founder of the Comp Lair podcast and The Next Level training program, a Compositing Supervisor training program he created. They talk about how Pedro started his podcast and The Next Level training prog...

Find Aaron: https://www.aaronsimscreative.com/ Learn Virtual Production: https://www.cgspectrum.com/courses/virtual-production This week, Justin sits down with industry legend Aaron Sims, VFX Concept Artist and founder/CEO of Aaron Sims Creative, to talk about the industry’s evolution from practical effects to visual effects, Aaron’s latest venture into virtual production, and practical tips for s...

Find Sean: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amlaner/ Learn VFX Compositing: https://www.cgspectrum.com/courses/vfx-compositing Justin catches up with Compositing Supervisor and CG Spectrum Head of Compositing, Sean Amlaner, about what a compositing artist really does, the burgeoning demand for compositors in the industry, and they go behind the scenes of CG Spectrum's newly-released Dune-inspired comme...

Find Marcella Brown at https://thevfxclub.com/ Learn VFX: https://www.cgspectrum.com/courses/visual-effects Marcella Brown, Senior FX Artist at Wētā FX and founder of  @THE VFX Club Podcast  , joins Maxine in studio to talk about her VFX career, including working on Encanto at Disney, the power of networking and mentorship, dealing with failure and burnout, and how her own family backgro...

Find Sarah Spiers at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahspiers/ Learn Game Development: https://www.cgspectrum.com/game-development Maxine chats with Forbes 30 Under 30 in Games, Sarah Spiers, the Interim Executive Director of the IGDA Foundation, and Development Director at EA Games. Sarah details her strategy for breaking into the games industry, including how to create a great portfolio, networki...

Find Eric Wilkerson at https://ericwilkersonart.com/ Find Ovidio Cartagena at https://www.ovidiocartagena.com/ Learn Digital Illustration: https://www.cgspectrum.com/digital-painting Award-winning Illustrator Eric Wilkerson and Wizards of the Coast Art Director Ovidio Cartagena chat with Justin about their work together on card illustrations for Magic: The Gathering, how an art director chooses ar...

Find Daniel Pinch at https://www.danielpinch.com/ Learn Game Design: https://www.cgspectrum.com/courses/game-design-course Justin checks in with his former student, Daniel Pinch, a Senior Game Designer at Airship Syndicate and Game Design Mentor at CG Spectrum. They talk about what qualities made Daniel stand out and succeed as a student, how to create an impressive game design portfolio, the skil...

DNEG Lead Hard Surface Modeler David Cunningham joins Maxine to chat about how he got into 3D modeling, taking bold steps to advance his career, how a coaching session altered his path dramatically and shares career tips from his own work as a leadership coach. Plus, why he’s known as “the train guy.” Learn about our 3D Modeling courses at https://www.cgspectrum.com/3d-modeling Connect on: 📍 www....

This week, AAA game programmer Firas Hosn (Farcry 3, 4, 5 and Assassin’s Creed 3) chats with Maxine about finding his niche in AI in games, moving into leadership roles and developing confidence, and dealing with burnout and focus in your career.  Learn more about our Game Programming courses: https://www.cgspectrum.com/game-development Connect on: 📍 http://www.instagram.com/cgspectrum 📍 ht...

Real-time artist and CG Spectrum Mentor of Real-time William Faucher meets with Justin to discuss. Beyond his successful career in the entertainment industry over the past decade, which includes work as a 3D Modeler in the games industry and VFX/CGI shot credits in Marvel's Black Panther and HBO's Watchmen, William also has his own successful YouTube channel where he shares Real-time tutorials. In...

This week, Maxine meets with freelance 2D animation filmmaker, Sykosan. He reflects on his unique career switch from architecture to 2D animation, the portfolio strategies he used to assist in that transition, and recognizes how many skills from his previous career were transferable to the creative industries. We follow Sykosan’s career — working his way up from assisting animators to creating and...

Carl Shedd is the Co-Founder & World Director at Ruckus Games and is also a mentor of virtual production at CG Spectrum. Justin and Carl chat about how important your reputation is when working at a studio and the strong bond you gain with your colleagues, the shift from working at AAA game studios to co-founding his own game studio and developing his own games, how to build community while wo...

Maxine chats with VFX Artist Brittany Piacente about what it’s like to work remotely as a Compositor during a pandemic, the value of good mentorship, visual effects on the Marvel series  Loki , and why treating everything as a learning experience will help you to stand out in your job in the film and games industry. Brittany has worked in leadership positions across major studi...

Introducing The CG Spectrum podcast, featuring career-focused conversations with senior-level creatives and emerging talent in the film and game industry. The CG Spectrum Podcast is hosted by Justin Mohlman (Game Development Learning Producer at Epic Games, Learning and Community Manager at Artstation, and CG Spectrum Mentor of Foundations) and Maxine Schnepf, CG Spectrum’s Career Development Mana...