How to become a VFX Artist with Barnstorm VFX Co-founders

"The best strength to have is the ability to learn new things". Interview with the co-founders of Barnstorm VFX - Cory Jamieson & Lawson Deming. Their studio creates the VFX for tv shows like 'The Man in High Castle', 'Silicon Valley' and much more. Most impressive of all, they do it with Blender!

Chapter Marks:
2:05 How Barnstorm got started
5:28 Why it's good to be multi-talented
8:53 Good strengths to have as an artist
17:01 How to become a VFX artist in a year
21:31 Why practice alone doesn't make perfect
24:54 Being hungry to improve
29:10 Barnstorm's most challenging project
32:22 Why they chose Blender
41:33 A rigorous course for learning VFX
50:14 How they find artists
52:28 How to get the job you want
56:40 Why being humble is an advantage
1:01:08 The mark of an experienced artist: simplicity
1:07:21 Office Tour

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Follow me:

[RileyBrownMusic]

I recently got hired at a company as a 3D generalist. Later I came to find I got the job over a former ILM artist. The guy who hired me straight up told me I got the job because I was so eager to learn and was scrappy and efficient with my use of Blender. Never stop learning! It's the joy of life.

[JackLe]

This is like the most no-bs, real-life talk I have heard in a long time.

[weeliano]

This has to be one of the best interviews of what VFX employers look for. It is a goldmine of information and inspiring for all students wanting to go into the VFX artist industry. Great job Andrew and congratulations to Cory and Lawson for making Blender 3D stand out in the VFX world!

[Haekels]

"Experience is just the input, it's not an output." is probably one of the best quotes I've heard in a while. Thanks, nice interview!

[xox]

i am happy that they are allowing people to use blender in their production, this opens door for many blender artists, so come on US blender users go get those jobs and pave the way for the rest of us.

[zoltanvz]

This was really great to watch. And it's really good to know that there are companies out there who use Blender in this way.
And what's more important is how they look at artists. How they can tell who is a professional one and who's not quite there yet. I've met only a few people who shared similar thoughts. I think this is a very good path they are on right now.

[Marcus_-bbho]

Could you do some VFX tutorials, focusing more on what's different to doing a render by itself, and also maybe some things you can do in blender, to make it easy to composite later, like matching light and other things like that. Thanks

[northernmun]

Awesome interview. Particularly because of the detail in the discussion. Blender is mentioned and why, the process of getting involved and the truth that its now easy to use. Detail about shot composition and frame rates etc. So rare in industry discussions but vital to bridge the gap between amateur and pro work.So great Barnstorm is happy about using Blender and proud to say it.

[PRODOS]

Great interview & discussion. Both inspiring AND full of hard-headed, practical realities.

I especially enjoyed the respectful rapport between Cory Jamieson & Lawson Deming who seem to have very different -- but complementary -- personalities.


Learned a lot! Thank you.

[Ddcgb]

Bruh I love this interview. It shows the practical side of the art industry. Really opened my eyes!

[johnd]

Thank you. I'm just starting down this path and learning Blender. It's appreciated.

[CreativeManiak]

This interview inspires Me to date
Thanks a million for this Andrew.

[mariocasallas]

Fantastic interview, really enlightening, specially for Blender users. There is great prospect for blender in the industry now, more than ever before.

[thomaslestum]

Lawson Deming is drinking out of a Poliigon mug.. Well played Andrew, well played...

[redbarnz]

PERFECT practice makes PERFECT. A friend told me his high school wrestling teacher told him.

[tiagotiagot]

It is important to note that you mostly only get to hear from the people that became successful, there could be plenty of people that have not been successful that have gone thru just about everything the successful people talk about and still failed.

[poseeley]

I love these videos. It is nice to hear the voice of the actual industry.

[peternavidad]

This was so inspiring!Thank you so much Andrew for bringing us this valuable content!Now I gonna work on some of my shots!!Merry Christmas Eve to everyone!

[IssuesVFX]

Loved this one, hope we see a tangent animation interview in the future.

[offshootuk]

Best interview yet. The stuff about learning about photography and filmmaking is so bang on I think. I feel like I picked up blender quite quickly because I had spent so much time learning about photography first that I avoided the pitfalls of bad 3d art like poor lighting and composition. I still can’t model for shit and my animation skills are sub par but no one notices because I can deliver a decent end result.