Student Spotlight - Jason Jaw

"Prioritizing performance taught me to work faster and more efficiently, while also yielding in much more effective results."

Student Spotlight features Jason Jaw, a passionate and motivated animator, a voracious learner, and an "animated" storyteller in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Jason is a 3D Animator proficient with Autodesk Maya, ZBrush, and Unity.

Jason didn't want to be just "good" at animation - he always reaches for the top, and strive to be the best he can be. He wanted to learn to animate with purpose and intention; to make better artistic choices, and to understand why those choices should be made.

After learning workshops with iAnimate, Jason continued with his passion and skills to become the best animator. Jason is currently working now at Framestore.

Student Animation Journey

Jason Jaw took the following Feature Animation Workshop and Creature Animation Workshops here at iAnimate:

• Feature Workshop 4 with Tal Shwarzman (Pixar Animation)
• Creature Animation 2 with Erik Morgansen (ILM)
• Creature Animation 3 with Brendan Body (Jumpship)

Jason’s ultimate goal with any of his work is to always be able to visually tell a story. He knows that the key to creating an engaging and believable animation is thorough preparation. By understanding the story and developing the characters' emotions, he is able to captivate viewers and transport them into a fully immersive world. Here are Jason’s creative processes in doing his iAnimate assignments:

1. Before work on the shot begins, not only do I figure out what emotions the characters are feeling in the shot, but I consider what I want the audience to feel when they watch the shot.
2. Do I want them to feel excited, scared, or joyful?
3. What's the story that this shot is trying to convey?
4. How do I tell that story through only visuals?

“These considerations dictate not only the kinds of references I gather, but also drive how I block my characters, and how I light and compose the shot.”

“iAnimate gave me the exact kind of knowledge I craved. On top of learning about body language and mechanics for both human and creature characters, perhaps the lesson that helped me the most was learning to prioritize crafting a believable performance in the blocking stage. It was that simple switch in a mindset that changed how I animated forever, and for the better. Prioritizing performance taught me to work faster and more efficiently, while also yielding in much more effective results.”

Jason's Student Reel

You can reach Jason via:

Student Spotlight Q&A with Animator Jason Jaw

iAnimate: What do you think of your Online Animation Instructor(s), and how do they help you?

Jason: All of my iAnimate instructors were absolutely stellar. I've had leads and supervisors compliment me on my speed before, and I attribute that to the workflow tips I learned from these instructors. Not only am I now more confident in my artistic choices and able to decide on them faster but having them share their workflows and planning processes gave me great insight into how to speed up my own workflow.

iAnimate: How did iAnimate help you to evolve your animation skills as a character animator?

Jason: iAnimate gave me the opportunity to try new things; all the instructors offered flexibility in their classes that allowed me to animate shots and characters I've never animated before. It gave me plenty of room to challenge myself. As a result, it gave me the confidence that no matter what the style, genre, or subject matter of the project is, I'll be able to tackle it and deliver it.

iAnimate: What kind of animator do you consider after taking your student workshops?

Jason: I consider myself to be a versatile animator that isn't afraid of a new challenge. As I took more iAnimate courses, I began feeling more comfortable in trying and learning new things and breaking out of my comfort zone.

“As a result, no matter the subject or style of the animation, I consider myself to be quite adaptable, and able to meet the needs of any project.“

iAnimate: What kind of project do you want to work on?

Jason: For me, it's not so much the type of animation (games, VFX, feature, etc). I'm most interested in projects that showcase character/creature animation at the highest level. It could be fooling an audience into making a VFX creature as life-like as possible, or wowing audiences with wild "feature-style" animation that they never would have imagined. I want to elicit an emotional reaction of awe from people who watch my work.