Jim "Meats" Meier is an artist and animator with a passion for the power that technology provides. Focusing on high-resolution imaging, he has completed over 600 original 3D illustrations as well as dozens of 3D match-moved animations over the last nine years. His work has appeared on several book and magazine covers around the world and has featured prominently in the finest Internet galleries and industry news portals.

Meats' art has garnered several awards, including "Best Animation" for his nine-minute short-film The Future of Art screened at the SlamDunk film festival in Park City, Utah, 2001. He is currently the Technical Director at The Orphanage.

Q. How did you get involved in the 3D computer graphics industry?
A. It all began for me when I was offered a job as an artist at a brand new video game studio, "Beyond Games" in Salt Lake City. The owner had seen a lot of my airbrush work around town and decided to take a chance on me. Being the only artist in the studio forced me to learn every aspect of the industry. As luck would have it, video games were just making the major transition into 3D. I "cut my teeth" using Wavefront's Advanced Visualizer software on an SGI workstation. Then was happy when I had a chance to use the first Beta of Maya when it came out. I have used Maya ever since.

Q. How do you use Maya?
A. I use Maya for everything from a concept incubator to final art output. Within Maya, anything I can dream of can be brought to life. Technically, I couldn't do without dual monitors and a pressure sensitive drawing tablet.

Q. What projects have you worked on?
A. I have eight years of video game titles under my belt, with varying levels of success, my favorite being Captain Crunches Crunchling Adventure, for which I did the majority of modeling and animation. It was a cereal pack-in game that was the most widely produced game of 2001, with 7 million copies distributed. I have also worked one-on-one with movie directors doing conceptual art, and large companies designing product packaging. I am most proud of my personal art, turning down many projects in favor of getting more time to study my craft and turn my dreams into reality.

Q. What makes this industry so exciting to you?
A. I enjoy the fast pace and rapid technological advances that make sure my career is never boring. Every year computers become faster and the 3D software easier to use, giving me that much more power, along with the ability to do more in less time.

Q. Where do you see the industry going in the next 5 years?
A. I would like to see virtual reality come into its own as a modeling and visualization tool, but I won't hold my breath. Real time rendering will become a focus, with pixel shaders maturing and extreme rendering engines and processors readily available.

Q. What words of wisdom do you have for anyone interested in entering the world of 3D computer graphics?
A. I always try and convey to new artists the importance of knowing the rules of fundamentals of traditional art and animation, and then tell them to break as many of them as they can get away with. Being a 3D artist means always learning and evolving and they're things that should be embraced, not avoided.