Jon Vener

Meet Jon Vener

Chief Creative Officer, Vener Studios
Jon Vener

About Jon

About Jon

Mentor of 3D Animation

Jon Vener has been in Animation, VFX, Games and VR for 13 years, and has been a digital creative professional for over twenty years.

He draws on a broad background, including Bachelor's degrees in animation and music performance, martial arts, nuclear engineering, technical writing, and scripting filmmaking tools. This diversity of interests and aptitudes has brought him success as an artist, developer, and educator.

  

Jon's work

Credits include Halo 4, Bioshock 2, Dark Souls II, Dante's Inferno, The Amazing Spiderman, The Walking Dead, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, to name a few.

Halo 4
Bioshock 2
Dark Souls II
Dante's Inferno

Q&A with Jon

Which city are you currently based in?

Denver, Colorado, USA

What did your pathway into the industry look like?
I fell into a job doing graphic design at an architecture firm. While I was there, I started doing interactive and motion design, which led me to look for programs where I could learn more about that. Unable to find any explicitly motion design oriented training programs, I ended up in a character animation program run by old school Disney people because I figured the principles would be the same. One of my instructors there hooked me up with a junior animator position doing cinematics on the first Uncharted.
What has been the best experience of your career so far?
Seeing the reactions people had to our Star Wars: The Old Republic trailers.
What’s your advice for your students?

Focus on the art because the technology is constantly changing.

Learn 3D Animation from industry pros 

3D Animation Essentials

3D Animation Essentials

3 months - Beginner

Learn 3D animation basics for beginners! Start with the essentials, including the 12 Principles of Animation, character rigs and posing, then animate your first walk cycle using industry tools.
2D Animator Specialization

2D Animator Specialization

9 months - Advanced

Study advanced aspects of 2D animation and create compelling characters, expressive acting and FX animation. Increase your technical skills and build a polished portfolio with mentor support.
3D Animator Specialization

3D Animator Specialization

9 months - Advanced

Master complex character animation techniques to create impressive 3D scenes. You’ll also focus on portfolio preparation and career development with your industry mentor to help you get job-ready.
2D Animation Essentials

2D Animation Essentials

3 months - Beginner

Learn 2D animation basics. This short course covers hand-drawn-style animation, the 12 Principles of Animation, and classic exercises like the bouncing ball and walk cycle led by industry artists.
<b><br>2D Animation</br></b>Bachelor of Digital Art


2D Animation
Bachelor of Digital Art

24 months - Beginner to Advanced

Master the industry tools and techniques to pursue a career in 2D animation. Breathe life and personality into your creations and delve deep into production pipelines and creative workflows.
<b> <br>3D Animation</br></b>Bachelor of Animation & VFX


3D Animation
Bachelor of Animation & VFX

24 months - Beginner to Advanced

Discover how to bring your digital characters and creatures to life for film and games. Build your 3D animation skills from beginner to advanced and discover key production pipelines and processes.
2D Animation Foundations

2D Animation Foundations

9 months - Beginner to Intermediate

Build your 2D animation foundations using both modern and traditional animation workflows to create animations from scratch. Receive guidance from industry pros who’ve worked on iconic cartoons.
3D Animation Foundations

3D Animation Foundations

9 months - Beginner to Intermediate

Forge foundational 3D animation skills taught by industry experts. Learn to make your 3D characters walk, talk, and interact with their environment as you build your understanding of body mechanics.
2D FX Animation Course

2D FX Animation Course

1.5 months - Intermediate

Master the art of hand-drawn 2D animated effects—including flames, gasses, liquids, magic, and more—from initial design to final rendering, guided by an industry expert.
2D Storyboarding Course

2D Storyboarding Course

3 months - Intermediate

Master the essential tools of storyboarding for character-driven dialogue & drama scenes and create fully realized storyboards with guidance from industry pros.
What do you enjoy most about being a CG Spectrum mentor?
Getting to nerd-out about animation.
How do you stay creative outside of work?
Currently, I’m writing a novel.
What excites you most about the future of 3D Animation?
When I started out, the tools were getting good enough where you could focus on being an artist instead of a technician. Now, the tools are getting so good than anyone with a computer (and the right know-how) can do extremely high quality content.

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.
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