Mark Simon has had an incredible, storied career lasting more than 30 years of working in the entertainment industry as a Storyboard Artist, Producer/Director for live-action and animation, and author of a dozen books and countless industry articles. He has been a part of more than 5000 productions. Pat interviewed Mark in his magnificent basement studio back in late January to talk about his career and his terrific new book "Start at the Top: Stories To Help You Succeed". Mark's Storyboards Website Mark's Animation Website MarkSimonToons Youtube Channel Mark's book pages: MarkSimon.com and Amazon.com Start at the Top: Stories To Help You Succeed LinkedIn IMDB Page Audio editing by Pat Bollin

Creator Forge Podcast

Mark Simon:  Godfather of Storyboarding

Game developer, game artist, entrepreneur, comic artist, and more, Ron Jones is a man of many interests and a fixture in the Atlanta game scene as the founder of the Indie Cluster. Jeremiah met up with him at SIEGE 2019 to talk about his journey to his current work of promoting and supporting Atlanta’s burgeoning indie game scene. Ron’s Website Indie Cluster Site Tripwire SIEGE Art Institute of Atlanta Brad Merritt (we interviewed Brad in Ep11)   Audio Editing by Jeremiah Clark & Adam Greenlee

Ron Jones: Indie Cluster Founder

Chris McLaughlin is Lead 3D Environment artist at Floyd County Productions where he works on FX's Archer. Jeremiah caught up with him at SIEGE 2019 for a short conversation about his work history and thoughts about how to navigate a creative career. Chris’ Portfolio FX's Archer Floyd County SIEGE Trick3D Went2Play Vizitech "NdotL" (Shaders for Artists)   Audio Editing by Jeremiah Clark & Adam Greenlee

Chris McLaughlin: Lead 3D Artist at Floyd County Productions

As owner and sole full-time employee of Mighty Pants Media, Tony Grillo is a producer of dynamic video and animated content for advertising, messaging, training and entertainment. He has Directed ads as well as celebrated series for high-profile creative and corporate clients like Mark Cuban, Adam Sandler, and Tim Burton. He regularly works as a Story editor, writer, and development partner for short format content. Pat sat down with him to talk about his lengthy career that has spanned 3 decades and multiple states, and ask him what advice he has for industry hopefuls. Tim Burton: Stain Boy Animated Series Gracie Films Bottom Line Productions (where he worked in Atlanta while still at ACA) Atlanta College of Art X-Sheet format Atlanta College of Art (only history I can find) First Movie made in Flash Jib Jab This Land Toon Boom SCRUM   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee  

Tony Grillo: Animator / Creator / Problem Solver at Mighty Pants Media

 A self-described "Professional Nerd", Lee Hammock is a senior game designer at Tripwire Interactive where he has worked on titles like Killing Floor 2, Killing Floor: Incursion, the upcoming Man-Eater, and others. He has had a long and varied career that has included stints working on games, and RPGs and comics, for properties as diverse as Halo, Farscape, A Song of Ice and Fire, Pathfinder Online, Fallen Earth, Elder Scrolls, and Fading Suns. Tripwire Interactive Lee's Wikipedia page Lee's books on Amazon.com Tales From The Glass-Guarded World (podcast) Holistic Design Inc. Star Frontiers RPG Fading Suns RPG Hero Kids RPG- Fallen Earth MMO Perception (video game) Thomas Was Alone (video game)   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee And Jeremiah Clark

Lee Hammock: Senior Game Designer at Tripwire Interactive

Leah Knighton is co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Ker-Chunk Games. Along with co-founder and CEO Molly Proffitt, she has managed to start and grow a company in a highly competitive market. They balance client work with developing their own original IP, and they're making it work. Jeremiah sat down with Leah at the Ker-Chunk office for a short conversation about how they got their business off the ground, their commitment to creating inclusive and empowering games, and what they've been working on lately. PS: There are still a few sound issues, but I'm learning! We appreciate your patience. Leah's Profile Ker-Chunk Games Call Me Phrasy (iOS game) Princenapped (iOS game) Rainbow Tree Stickers (for Apple Messages) 2 Dads + 4 Kids Puppet Minis (Unity Asset Store) Hyper Casual Games Colorblind stats (I was WAY off)   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee And Jeremiah Clark

Leah Knighton: Co-Founder and CCO at Ker-Chunk Games

Julee Fuller is an Athens-based freelance illustrator and concept artist. Originally from Indiana, she received a BFA in game art from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Since that time she has had a lot of ups and downs, but she's powered through it all. Jeremiah sat down with her to talk about some of her recent struggles and how she's gone about rebooting her creative career. The audio quality is not the best (sorry about that, I'm, still learning! -JC), but the conversation is chock full of honest talk about the trials and tribulations of what it means to pursue your passion despite setbacks (while still taking care of yourself). Julee's Portfolio Rook and Pawn (restaurant) Titanic 3D (movie) Art Institute of Atlanta SIEGE No, You Shut Up! Games (sadly, now out of business) Legends of Ooo (games) Desert Sky Graphics Freelance Fridge Adventure Time: Battle Party (game) "Time to make the donuts" Strange Waters anthology comic (Kickstarter)   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee And Jeremiah Clark

Julee Fuller: Freelance Illustrator

 Laura Martin is an award-winning comic book colorist who has worked at Marvel, DC, WildStorm, CrossGen, and more. In this, part 2 of her interview with Pat, she talks about her coloring process and how it has changed over the years. LauraMartinArt.com   People Lee Loughridge Matt Hollingsworth Trish Mulvihill Joe Chiodo Brian Hitch Bryan haberlin Bryan Miller John Rauch Companies Image Comics WildStorm CrossGen Other Ruby Lith (wikipedia) RGB vs CMYK Wacom Cintiq Comics Experience The DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics (book)   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee 

Laura Martin: Comic Book Colorist, part 2

Laura Martin is an award-winning comic book colorist who has worked at Marvel, DC, WildStorm, CrossGen, and more. After months of scheduling problems, she sat down with Pat to talk all things comics. There was so much to talk about, in fact, that this is going to be part 1 of a 3 part series. Be sure to subscribe or check back often so you don't miss parts 2 and 3! ComicBookDB - Laura Martin ComicBookDB - Laura DePuy   Companies WildStorm Image Comics CrossGen Gaijin Studios Comics The Authority (comic) Wild Cats (comic) Desperados (comic) Sandman (comic) People Ian Hannin Jim Lee Frank Miller Niel Gaiman Alex Ross   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee

Laura Martin: Comic Book Colorist, part 1

 Brent Day is an Atlanta-based writer, director, and all-around creative problem solver. He currently resides at Spoke Creative where he has directed video and multimedia projects for leading companies in hospitality, financial services, and information technology. He has been lead copywriter on marketing campaigns, internal communications programs, print advertisements and video scripts for B2B and B2C marketing. Adapted from Brent's bio on the Spoke Creative website. Spoke Creative's Website: www.spokecreative.com Spoke's Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/spokecreative Long form director's reel: https://vimeo.com/305092317 Brand Story reel: https://vimeo.com/313312972 Music video example: https://vimeo.com/253525477 Corporate Comedy examples: https://vimeo.com/156495231 https://vimeo.com/180952429 Short film example: https://vimeo.com/180324605 Influences We asked Brent about his influences, and he sent back a document that was far too long to use without editing. Here is a severely cut down version of his response. I'm more influenced by music than movies. I like music because it operates more at the dream level. It's like reading books as a child. You can imagine the story being told, and each piece of instrumentation can be used to add something to a story that you can't say with a picture or a word. I particularly like lush, intricate pop music like The Beatles, XTC, or Elvis Costello. I also like punk rock and dream pop, and really dreamy old Velvet Underground and R.E.M., and a lot of classic rock. Also great lyricists like Bob Dylan, Springsteen, and Joni Mitchell. And also Bowie & Prince, of course. I also get a lot of inspiration from travel, history and current events.   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee 

Brent Dey: Writer, Director, Creative Thinker

Welcome to our second annual roundup episode! We sat down at an undisclosed coffee shop to talk about the year that was, and our hopes for the year to come. This format (more conversational and out in the world) is a bit of an experiment for us, something we're going to be testing out and refining going forward. Thank you to everyone who is taking this journey with us, whether you're a long time listener or just found us. This wouldn't be possible without you. Most of what we talk about is linked in the individual episode show notes. We are including links to a few SIEGE videos that have been released since those episodes were originally posted.   SIEGE Videos: Innovative Designs for Board Games - Features Michelle Menard & Dean Velez Game Character Art Pipeline from Concept to Start Screen - By William Moritz Breaking into the Video Game Industry - Features Michelle Menard   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee

State of the Podcast / 2018 Recap

Sarah Massagee is a UX designer based in Atlanta, GA. She is passionate about creating digital experiences through UX/UI design and Virtual Reality (VR). Our conversation with her is the last of our recordings from SIEGE 2018. Sarah's Website Tripwire UX (Definition) Kennesaw State University Trick 3D General Assembly The Design of Everyday Things The Gamer's Brain Aaron's Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee

Sarah Massagee: UX Designer

Dean Velez has had a lengthy career in media and motion graphics. Over that career, he has worked in commercials and marketing and more recently has ventured into VR and gaming. We talked to him at SIEGE about his time at Sprocket Creative, specifically about his recent intensive apprenticeship experiment "The Anvil" and their recent forays into VR and AR. Dean Velez Sprocket Creative After Effects Cinema 4D SIEGE 2018 - Innovative Designs for Board Games Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee

Dean Velez: Creative Director

 Michelle Menard is a systems designer with an extensive resume within the game industry. She has worked on board games, video games, social games, and any sort of game design consulting you care to mention. She is a regular presenter at SIEGE, where she was gracious enough to take a break from her crazy schedule to talk to us. Michelle's LinkedIn Oxide Games Fish Wizard Games Artemic Games Videos SIEGE 2017 - Algorithm Design Basics for Game Designers SIEGE 2017 - Indie Rants (Michelle's rant starts at about 42 minutes) SIEGE 2018 - Innovative Designs for Board Games SIEGE 2018 - Breaking into the Video Game Industry Other Links SIEGE 2018 SCAD Savannah Gateway: Uprising Applied Math (Wikipedia) Challenges For Game Designers Ian Schreiber Danger: Not to Scale (D&D Campaign)   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee  

Michelle Menard: Systems Designer

The first of four interviews we recorded at SIEGE 2018, William Moritz describes himself as a creative problem solver. He's worked in a huge number of positions in different creative industries in multiple countries. In our interview, he told the story of his time working at an animation house in China.   William's LinkedIn   SIEGE 2018 - Game Character Art Pipeline from Concept to Start Screen Quiz Pro Go (Google Ploy) Quiz Pro Go (iOS App Store) Bring on the Good Friends with You Georgia Media Workshops Freud Tools   Audio Editing by Adam Greenlee

William Moritz: Creative Problem Solver

What forges great professional artists? That's the simple question we try to answer as we interview professional creators with careers in the Entertainment Industries.

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Creator Forge Podcast

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