JR-mobileheader

Meet Jon Robins

Lead Character Technical Artist at Striking Distance Studios
Jon Robins

About Jon

About Jon

Realtime Mentor

Jon currently works as a Lead Character Technical Artist at Striking Distance Studios where he loves solving problems and helping teams in as many ways as he can.

Jon has moved around from rigging, to tools, to building design systems for games. He enjoys working with students and sharing his passion for the games industry.

  

Jon's games

Credits include Marvel's Avengers, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Iron Man 2, and Resident Evil 5 to name a few.

Marvel's Avengers
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
IronMan2
Resident Evil 5

Q&A with Jon

Which city are you currently based in?

I currently Live in Half Moon Bay California, just south of San Francisco. It's a small secluded foggy beach town, I love it.

What did your pathway into the industry look like?
I was lucky enough to meet someone touring our final project lab from House of Moves as I was one of the only people interested in mocap when he was touring. Once graduating, I moved from Florida to San Diego to try and get a job with a friend. I ended up getting a call back from the guy I met in school with House of Moves and started a 6-month contract as an animator. Then I moved to a full-time Lead Tech Artist position. Wanting to be in games for rigging, I hit up another friend and got my first game studio job in the San Francisco area at Nihilistic Software Inc.
What has been the best experience of your career so far?
Working with the teams at ILM on the early development of systems used for stereo facial capture and tracking to be used on our project Star Wars: 1313 and current films at ILM.
What’s your advice for students?

Reach out to your peers and do projects with them or get to know them. Growth happens by surrounding yourself with friends or peers who share your passion as an artist or developer. Your friend will 9/10 times be the person who helps you get your foot in the door.

Learn from industry pros 

Foundations of VFX Course

Foundations of VFX Course

9 months - 40hrs weekly

Build a solid foundation in 3D modeling, animation and VFX in this beginner's course and learn to use industry software like Maya, Substance Painter, Unreal Engine, Nuke and Houdini with an industry mentor as your guide.
Foundations of Houdini FX

Foundations of Houdini FX

3 months - 20hrs weekly

Once you've learned the basics of Houdini in this exciting short course, you'll be creating explosions and natural disasters in no time! Your mentor will show you how to set up professional workflows and give you a taste for what it's like to be an FX artist.
Houdini FX Course

Houdini FX Course

9 months - 20hrs weekly

Harness the power of procedural node-based workflow techniques to create destruction, explosions, water simulations and more. Use rigid body dynamics and geometry fracturing to create complex scenes, and practice modeling, texturing, simulating and rendering VFX shots.
Foundations of Nuke Compositing

Foundations of Nuke Compositing

3 months - 20hrs weekly

Learn how to seamlessly integrate digital assets with live action footage in Nuke. You'll get the hang of Nuke's powerful interface, practice complex rotoscoping techniques and green screen keying, then build a VFX shot from scratch for your portfolio.
Nuke Compositing Course

Nuke Compositing Course

9 months - 20hrs weekly

This Nuke training prepares you creatively and technically for a career in the industry. Learn rotoscoping, digital painting, color theory, keying, scripting and lighting techniques used by top VFX artists, and graduate with an advanced understanding of compositing for film and TV.
What do you enjoy most about being a CG Spectrum mentor?
Helping share my passion and methods of solving problems in the games industry, and having fun doing it.
How do you stay creative outside of work?
In my free time I love to mountain bike in the hills of Santa Cruz, or snowboard in North Lake Tahoe. When I need a break I skateboard and play with my 2 kids here on the coast in Half Moon Bay.
What excites you most about the future of realtime?
That there are still so many unsolved problems with the convergence of film and real-time engines.

Learn more about Jon's experience or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Your mentor is ready, are you?

New intakes at the beginning of the month, every month. Enquire today to secure your seat.
Enquire now
CTA_Final aw texture
CTA_Final aw texture
Meet our other mentors
Simon Warwick's Work
Simon Warwick

Simon Warwick

Simon has been working in the game industry since 2005, and was credited as the only technical cinematic animator for Batman: Arkham City at Rocksteady Studios.

Read full bio

Dept. Head of Real-Time 3D

Known for Batman: Arkham Knight

Justin Mohlman's Work
Justin Mohlman

Justin Mohlman

Justin has brought dozens of games to life in his 2-decade career. Credits include Tony Hawk, Mortal Kombat, and other AAA titles like Singularity and Stranglehold.

Read full bio

Mentor of Foundations

Known for Mortal Kombat Franchise

Alex Lori's Work
Alex Lori

Alex Lori

Alex is a highly experienced senior animator and supervisor whose credits include: The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Monsters Vs. Aliens and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Read full bio

Dept. Head of Foundations

Known for The Adventures of Puss in Boots

Dave Pasciuto's Work
Dave Pasciuto

Dave Pasciuto

In his 25 year career, Dave's worked as a 3D artist, and concept artist, art and creative director at studios like Framestore, LVTHN, EA and clients like Disney, Marvel, Nickelodeon to name a few.

Read full bio

Mentor of Foundations

Known for Tony Hawk Ride

Jorge Razon's Work
Jorge Razon

Jorge Razon

With almost 2 decades in the industry, VFX Supervisor Jorge has more than 50 credits to his name including Game of Thrones, Wonder Woman and Tomb Raider.

Read full bio

Mentor of Foundations

Known for Umbrella Academy

Billy Dao's Work
Billy Dao

Billy Dao

For the past 7 years, Billy's been a resident artist at Luma Pictures, working on films like Godzilla vs Kong, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Deadpool.

Read full bio

Mentor of Foundations

Known for Godzilla vs Kong

William Faucher's Work
William Faucher

William Faucher

William is a Real-time TD and Unreal Artist. He shares his passion for Unreal Engine with artists and creators through his highly popular tutorials.

Read full bio

Mentor of Real-Time 3D

Known for Unreal Engine Education

Deepak Chetty's Work
Deepak Chetty

Deepak Chetty

Deepak is the Producer for film, TV, and virtual production at Epic Games' Unreal Online Learning platform and is sharing his real time production expertise with students at CG Spectrum.

Read full bio

Mentor of Virtual Production

Known for Gen: Lock

See All Mentors
For tips and resources, subscribe to our newsletter