As ILM goes through a major consolidation and infrastructure shift with its move into the new Presidio facility in San Francisco next summer, its artists have been affected by this “convergence of skill sets,” according to Colum Slevin, director of computer graphics. “ILM has long been rooted in specialization. But we’ve taken a hard look at our pipeline, and made a concerted effort to walk away from specialization and more toward a generalized approach. We had been breeding skills out of people by requiring them to specialize so deeply. We want them to generalize to a higher degree across the disciplines. And, from a business standpoint, it’s good to keep a flexible workforce. It’s not all high-end, creature-heavy work all the time.”

The major benefit of new and improved capabilities, such as faster rendering and improved shading, is that they enable artists to work more efficiently. “We can do less set-up with these tools and still get the results on the back end,” says Kidd.

Even with better tools, however, efficiency is largely a matter of focus and discipline. “Like any business that’s operated on the run, new technologies are not always applied in the most strategic manner,” says Slevin. “You have to learn to know when it’s good enough, and then move on.”

Lawrence Huang, lighting sequence supervisor at Omation Studios.

Learning Curve
Digital production artists must keep up with continual releases of new software packages and versions. “If you’re still working the old way, you’ll tick the directors off and they won’t want to work with you again,” offers Kidd.

“To a digital artist, the impact is sometimes quite brutal whenever off-the-shelf software turns into a brand-new version,” Huang explains. “Especially on the commercial side, because the turn-around deadline is very short for commercial jobs, and most commercial boutiques don’t have time to train artists to get used to the new tools.”

While staying on top of new developments can be a challenge, especially when deadlines are looming, it is not an insurmountable one. “The people at ILM have a huge hunger for learning,” insists Slevin. “They hunger for the bandwidth and capacity that new versions offer them. They jump on them and devour them.” Proprietary tools can take more training, but ILM tries to keep artists involved in the development of new software, to make it as user-friendly as possible. “[The learning curve] can be an issue, but it can’t get in the way of the work.

“Off-the-shelf software in general has become more user-friendly and more widely available due to its lower cost. “It’s created a new breed of artist. There’s a flood of talent out there. They really have a scary skill level coming out of school. And there’s a massive talent pool of what you could call hobbyists. They have a very deep skill set, developed on their own.”

Of course, knowing how to use software is not the same as having graphic and art training. “More and more young people joining this field don’t have their basic skills locked down,” Huang believes.

While learning to navigate and gaining a general knowledge of a new software package is increasingly simple, understanding sophisticated functions still takes time. “The software is easier to use. The basic computer/human interface is easy to digest,” says Kerlow. “And people are using the higher-end packages in school, which is great. Individual artists can buy systems and have them at home or on their laptop. Anyone can download an educational copy for not a lot of money and learn it at home, school or work.” But learning all the features of a sophisticated software package and understanding how to get the maximum benefit from it is difficult and time-consuming. “I think the learning curve is still very steep.”

“To know all the software that’s necessary is a mountainous task,” adds Ippolito. “I want to know how all the software works, but I don’t need to be a master at everything.”