Graham Toms, NewTek
February 15, 2007

Ask an industry veteran the most important thing to have to get into the business and you'll probably get, "a strong background in traditional art." Most will ignore this though and go straight for a technical understanding of a specific 3D. One person who can be considered to be on a crusade against this is Graham Toms. A traditional artist long before making the transition to 3D, Graham's a Disney veteran with gallery shows to his credit. Proficient in a variety of mediums, any restaurant foolish enough to not put out napkins will soon find its tablecloths the victim of Graham's obsessive compulsion to draw every minute. Graham recently joined the NewTek staff to specialize in the revitalization of the education program for 3D products. He took some time out of his busy schedule, which splits time between Ireland and Texas, to tell us about his history and his plans for his new position.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your history with 3D?
I have been using 3D applications since 1993. I had been using 2D digital paint programs since 1989 and I just thought the jump to 3D was the next logical step.

How were you first introduced to LightWave 3D?
While I was working at a place called the Disney Institute I was looking for 3D applications to do some research and development with, I wanted to find software that was the easiest to train and instruct with. I came across LightWave in a magazine ad and phoned up the number. I had been doing this with various software companies throughout the week. Basically phoning them up and asking if I could have a trial piece of software to play with. I phoned through to the San Antonio sales office and their response was enthusiastic.

Within two days, Pat Grogan, who was then head of education development and bear wrestling, and Ralph Messana, who was doing sales, came down to visit the Institute in Orlando, Florida. I was able to show what type of things I was developing regarding curriculum.

What got me hooked on LightWave was Ralph showing me how to model a gun with what was then a new "Bevel" tool. "That chap Ralph looks artistically challenged yet he can make that crap gun design in about 5 minutes. I'm pretty sure if I had that software I'd be able to do a lot better in 5 minutes," I thought.

What feature of LightWave do you like the most?
I still love Modeler, I only use about a dozen tools but still get to create relatively complex geometry. It's awesome that I have to remember so few things in order to achieve a professional looking end product. I am a traditional painter and I draw a lot for character concept design and environments, but I can always go back to Modeler and jump right in, even if I haven't used it for weeks.

Do you use any plug-ins on a regular basis?
Not really. I try to avoid them. They're like evil puppet masters.

What does being a 3D Educational Specialist at NewTek entail?
Currently I am working mostly from my studio that's part of the family home located in Donaghadee, County Down in Northern Ireland. However half of 2006 was spent in NewTek headquarters in San Antonio, employed by NewTek as 3D Educational Specialist. It entails designing and creating all the content for High school education curriculum. It should all be ready after mid-2007. It will also involve me doing a tour to explain and demonstrate particular aspects of the curriculum.

What are some projects you've worked on?
The most recent major project I work on was a retrospective of my artwork hosted by the Arts Council in Portadown at the Millenium Courts Art Centre in Northern Ireland. It was a great opportunity to get all my work out seeing the light of day rather than stuffed in folders. Plus, I got to talk to other artists. The curators working at that centre are so passionate about what they do plus their own interests that I found the experience really inspiring. I was exhibiting sketches through to LightWave work explaining the animation production process.

What did you do at the Disney Institute?
For just over 4 years (December 1995 - March 2000), I was a Disney animation instructor based in Orlando, Florida. I taught in 4 animation disciplines, all centering on a classical approach. The 4 disciplines were, Clay Animation, 2D Animation, Computer Animation (character based), and Character Design. My other responsibilities at the institute included research and development of C.G.I., which consisted mainly of evaluating new releases of 2D and 3D animation packages.

My time at the Institute also included work on 2 animation productions for UNICEF, focusing on storyboarding, "Keys" and inbetweening. The animation was traditional 2D animation. The second project was 3D computer animation where my tasks included character design and modeling.

Why do you feel so strongly about a background in traditional art?
I think it's a fundamental way of having a keen discernment for evaluating aesthetics.

Is a background in one medium more valuable than another for a 3D artist?
Not really, they all have something unique and valuable about them. However some mediums, such as charcoal and clay, are more malleable than other mediums, say such as sculpting with marble or painting with watercolor. It's easier to learn and change something with charcoal and clay.

Do you prefer working in 2D, 3D (clay) or 3D (CGI)?
I like trying all the mediums out. I don't really have a preference for any medium. It's just a vehicle for portraying a gag/story.

Like William "Proton" Vaughan, your work has a very distinctive style. Do you find yourself pigeon-holed as "only being able to do that style?"
Not when they are in close proximity to me and realize I have ninja training, then they favor the dialogue coming out as... "Wow, you're very versatile with your awesome amazing artwork". OK... I'll stop being a smart ass for 5 seconds. No, I don't get stereotyped as only being able to do one style. However, I have had people say it has more of a fine art approach though. That sounds alright to me... I guess it's a compliment.

What educational experience do you have?
The Northern Ireland Film Council employed me on an intensive twelve-month (October 1994 - October 1995) project called Animagic. This was a cross-border and cross-community initiative exploring the theme of cultural identity in modern day Ireland. Animagic involved four schools from Northern Ireland and four schools from the Republic of Ireland. My role, as Assistant Director, involved tutoring the four Northern Irish schools (16 pupils) to complete at least 15 seconds of cel animation per student. I was also responsible for assisting the Director in the inbetweening of cel paintings, backgrounds and lining.

I also did special needs teaching in Belfast, Loughshore (March 2002 - March 2005). This involved art therapy for emotionally disturbed teenagers and children ages 10-16 who suffered from Autism and violent behavioral problems. I coached students to pass standard educational certificates. I gave instruction in a range of materials and tools from clay animation to working with high end 2D and 3D applications.

In addition, I taught at Coleraine Unniversity from March 2005 - Dec 2005, instructing students in a Multimedia BA degree course. This involved teaching students the fundamentals of how to use 2D and 3D design and animation programs. Traditional aspects of storyboarding and animatics were also taught, giving the students as wide a range possible of options to explore for their final year's study.

Do you feel that LightWave offers any advantages in a training environment?
Yes, having trained with other apps, LightWave is a shorter learning curve. Plus, it's not like it's so expansive and complicated you have to specialize, or like it just does modeling and then it's, "oops... I have to take it into another app to animate." It does everything through to the post production. Bottom line is, from a training point of view, you don't have to give them a course in Egyptian hieroglyphics, oops I mean icons in place of semantics, to understand the tools.

How are you approaching developing the training curriculum for NewTek?
Well, the curriculum is very education-specific, as opposed to generic training material. Every company does standard training material claiming it has the instant coffee of training approach. "Instant coffee" meaning, "yep do our course and hey presto, you'll be a pro," it's kinda like a bad car salesman approach. My approach is not the standard approach used by most companies. NewTek's allowing me to use a holistic approach to curriculum for high school students. They have a chance to establish the fundamental principles of art as they use the easiest 3D high-end app that models, animates and renders all in the same app.

I will be taking them through various stages of production that will cover an academic year. For instance, an understanding that character design starts off with pen and paper. What does that mean for a student that doesn't feel they can draw? Well, that's cool, they can scribble. Scribbling is encouraged in this curriculum. I stress that we are learning how to problem solve. A game developer, an art director for an animated film, they are both problem solvers, regardless of their choice of medium. This curriculum addresses some of the questions that many students ask when curious as to what the production process is for games, film or TV when using a 3D app.

Do you have any plans for non-written training materials?
Yes. As a student, written materials were something that made me fall asleep. I wanted to watch how stuff was done. My approach will be training DVDs or downloadable videos from the NewTek website.

What is your opinion of forums as a learning tool?
They're good, because they involve an international community. People from different countries have a different world view of how things should be done in a particular way. Also, you get to interact with that community, or you can choose whether to respond to posts or ignore them.

Its key is that you can post your work for someone's opinion anytime of the day, and usually get quick feedback.

Are there any artists whose work you feel particularly valuable to a student?
Muybridge is great reference, and he's also such an important historical character in the history of photography as well as for anthropologists who wanted to study the motion of animals and people. Generally though, from a personal point of view, we have a few thousand years of art history to inspire our works of the future, there are pictures of those achievements in places called libraries, art galleries and on the internet. It's kinda strange to me now, when I hear someone say "er... I can't think of anything to make".

Are there any tricks that help a 2D artist adjust to the 3D mindset?
Not really tricks, but changing one's philosophy. Philosophy, that for instance, a computer is a very expensive "pencil". It's another tool. It's not a black art for the realm of the computer geek, but a tool. If Leonardo or Michelangelo were alive today, they wouldn't be turning their noses up at technology they'd be saying, "Wow... this is where science meets art." We are in exciting times where the technology is becoming more and more accessible for traditional artists. Computers ain't going away.

How can someone get in touch with you for more information?
When I return to the states, we'll begin setting up channels for both students and educators to contact me for more information.

Have the recent changes in LightWave impacted the way you work?
Yes, I can create much more geometry without it slowing down the computer, it seems much lighter.

Are there any new features of LightWave v9 you've found particularly useful?
Adaptive Pixel Subdivision is going to be of great use. Some of my scenes get loaded with geometry. APS solves that and cuts rendering time way down.

Do you have a "LightWave tip or trick" others might find helpful?
Yeah, design with a pencil and paper first, then go to the 3D app and carry out the plan, it'll save you many precious hours... honest.

Do you have any advice for someone new to the 3D industry?
Yeah... don't play computer games. They are so addictive and suck up precious time.

What's next for Graham Toms?
I hope it's moving my family over to San Antonio very soon. I prefer the climate than the wet cold damp climate of where I currently am.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us, Graham!