Can you briefly introduce yourself?

Hey, my name is Jonas. I'm a CG Generalist at RISE FX, specializing in texturing and shading.

Tell us about your childhood. What inspired you growing up, and how did those early experiences lead you to your current career? Were there any unique challenges you faced during those early stages?

I always loved fantasy and science fiction worlds like Harry Potter and Star Wars as a child. At the same time, I was also a really passionate gamer. One of the first proper games I played that sparked my passion was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I loved it so much that, as a child, I even crafted my own Master Sword and Hylian Shield to play with.

I still have them, though at some point, the sword’s hilt broke. That game has a special place in my heart, and it ultimately led me to study game art. Because of the impact Zelda had on my life, I even got a Zelda tattoo during my time at university.

However, as I progressed in my studies, I found myself drawn more to VFX than game development. I loved the creative freedom and the ability to push artistic and technical boundaries without real-time constraints, so I decided to transition into VFX. I think that's what excites me about this industry – the constant innovation and exploration of what's possible!

What lights the spark for you? Where do you find the most  inspiration when you're deep into a project?

What sparks the most enthusiasm in me are fantastic stories and worlds, where you just want to get lost in. Also, during production, it's usually seeing stuff I worked on in the final shot and comped. That usually boosts my motivation a lot.

What is your favourite projects.  What makes it stand out in your portfolio?

I think my favourite project so far was Fallout. There was so much passion and love for detail in the creation of Fallout: Season One. It's not often that you get to work on something with such a deep and complex world already set up by years of games and art books.

Everyone made sure to stay true to the games, references, and lore, while adding a ton of Easter eggs. That’s one reason why Fallout blew up (pun intended) and is so loved by fans. From a work perspective, one of the most challenging aspects was creating the Shady Sands Crater. I'll get more into that later.

It’s also an honour to have worked on Fallout, especially with the nomination for the Outstanding Special Effects in a Season or Movie - 2024 Emmy.

Congratulations on the Nomination!  As a CG Generalist working on such a scale of projects showcasing in your showreel, what specific challenges do you encounter in these projects?

One of the biggest challenges I face is working on massive assets, like the Shady Sands Crater from Fallout, or assets that are really close to the camera/hero assets. These usually have hundreds of UDIMs to provide enough resolution so no individual pixels of the texture are visible in the final render. Even with powerful workstations that have 150+ GB of RAM, handling these assets can still push system limits.

So, it’s all about using every trick in the book to optimize your work and stay below system limits.

What's the most challenging or unexpected task you've encountered during production, and how did you navigate through it?

The most unexpected task was when I worked on a shot where the VFX work was needed to fix continuity issues between shots. While it was quite unexpected, it was also nice to see the attention to detail that went into going the extra mile to fix these issues, rather than just leaving them and hoping viewers wouldn’t notice. It made me appreciate the importance of continuity and the effort put into achieving it.

How do you manage your time, especially with side personal projects?  And when stress creeps in, how do you handle it and keep your energy levels up?

I always try not to overload myself with work. If it's already stressful at work or in my spare time, I avoid working on personal projects. I think it's important to maintain a good work-life balance to stay healthy and motivated for the future.

When stress creeps in, I usually try to calm down and remain rational, rather than emotional. Rushing often leads to mistakes, and those mistakes end up costing even more time. I simply check how long I have for each task and do whatever is possible within that time frame. It's also calming to know I have a supportive family and friends behind me, as well as my lovely wife, who always supports me.

What is it like to be  a CG Generalist? What's your secret sauce?  Any tips for those aspiring to grow into similar roles?

1. Ask questions! There is no dumb question. Especially when you’re new, it’s obvious that you don’t know everything. As an intern, trainee, or junior, you might think asking questions makes you appear inexperienced. In reality, it shows you’re interested and willing to learn. A well-thought-out question can even demonstrate a deeper understanding.

2. Don’t hesitate to ask for help.No one expects you to know everything, even after years of experience. It’s completely fine to ask questions at any stage in your career.

3. Communicate early if you're running out of time or if a task seems overwhelming. Let the supervisors and coordinators know as soon as possible so they can rearrange resources. Waiting until the last minute and then failing to deliver will be much more problematic in the end.

What are the things you wish you knew or learned earlier that would have made a significant impact on your current situation?

Knowing earlier that I wanted to work in the VFX industry, rather than the game industry, could have saved me a year or two in my career. However, I don’t really regret much. I’m happy with how my career and life have progressed.

Who in the industry do you look up to as an inspiration or role model? Is there someone you’ve said, "I want to be like them someday"? or “I wish I collaborated to work on a project with”

I don’t think there’s just one person I could point to. Instead, I get inspired when I see stunning shots in movies or breakdowns of VFX work. I’m always in awe of the talented people who brought them to life.

I’d like to give a shout-out to my study buddy Steffen Hampel, an incredibly talented artist who helped me a lot during my transition from game art to VFX. I also want to mention my wonderful colleagues and supervisors at RISE FX. It's always a pleasure working with such talented people

What's your favourite part of your job? Is there a particular feature or tool that you love and couldn't imagine working without?

I just love everything that has nodes and proceduralism. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about nodes in Mari or Houdini, I just love working with nodes. It's like solving a puzzle – the nodes are the pieces, and when you put them together correctly, the puzzle is complete.

If I can build something procedural that I can reuse and that will save me time in the future, it feels even better. So to sum it up, I could never work without nodes!

Since you work with texturing and shading so much, what are your thoughts on Mari vs Substance Painter?

I think it's situation-dependent. Mari is excellent for handling extremely large assets with hundreds of UDIMs, where Substance Painter excels for quicker workflows on smaller assets with fewer UDIMs. The baking capabilities, smart masks, and materials in Substance are also fantastic.

That said, Mari has a significant advantage with its node-based workflow, offering much more flexibility than the layer stack in Substance. Adobe has worked to add anchor points for more flexibility, but I still prefer Mari for more complex, larger-scale tasks. However, for procedural material creation, Substance Designer is more advanced than Mari at this point. Each program has its benefits and weaknesses, so neither is fully superior in every aspect.

On the path of personal development, how do you continue to challenge yourself and grow as an artist?

I try to never shy away from new tools, workflows, or challenging tasks. The more challenging a task is, the more you can learn from it.

There are always challenges at work that keep me busy. But when I want to improve in areas I’m not as experienced in, I turn to personal projects. These allow me to set my own challenges without any pressure, and even if things don’t go as planned, I always learn something valuable.

As CG Generalist, do you have a set of tips and tricks you can share that you find helpful and would like to share.

Work with references. Having good references can make an incredible difference. The smallest details can elevate your work from mediocre to memorable, and high-quality references provide those essential details that really set your work apart.

For artists who want to check out your work and learn more about you, where should they go?  Feel free to share your website and social media links.

You can find me and my work on,

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonas-ganser-372ab3156/

Artstation - https://jonasganser.artstation.com/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@jonasganser

Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/user94681264

I'm most active on LinkedIn, where I share updates, but I occasionally post new projects on the other platforms as well.

What do you have for the community?

II've heard that getting started with Mari can be difficult, and while Foundry has improved a lot by providing more learning material, I'd also recommend checking out MeshmenStudio

https://www.youtube.com/@MeshmenStudio and Campi3d’s https://www.youtube.com/@MariExtensionPack YouTube channels. They're extremely valuable resources for learning or improving your Mari skills. Even if you've been using Mari for years, I guarantee you'll pick up new tips and tricks from Campi3d’s videos (he's also the creator of the Mari extension pack and the Mari Discord channel).

As we wrap up, what final words do you have for your fellow artists?

Even if the industry seems incredibly tough to get into, especially after all the strikes, don’t lose hope. Keep following your passion, and you will reach your goals. maybe slowly, but steadily. Reaching them is what truly matters in the end.