JASON MARTINSSEN
ILLUSTRATOR / ANIMATOR / 3D
NYC / LA

The other day Woosta.com sat down with charismatic Sheridan Grad Jason Martinsen to catch up with his burgeoning career and animated success of Jak 3 in Los Angles?some animators have all the fun?

So when your not out partying or cruising the beach what is it exactly that you do at Naughty Dog Studios?

I’m the lead animator animating Jak and Daxter in Sony?s Jak and Daxter II and III and now Jak X. I do the in game, running jumping attacking, cinematics cut scene and what not. I also do print-ad posing and recently I animated the Jak III commercial that was also played in theatres.

Why did you choose a career in animation?

My dad saw that I was really good at connect the dots and scribbling in Care Bears coloring books so he encouraged my talent and put me in Bob Ross boot camp. No wait, I skipped boot camp and went directly to see Jurassic Park in high school. That big fuckin? dino-eatin? people kicks ass. That pretty much made my decision.

Where did you go to school?

Sheridan College’s Classical Animation program in Toronto. I graduated in 2002 with an amazing class of insanely talented people.

I’ve heard that the animation studios at Sheridan College are pretty crazy, is that true?
The studio isn’t crazy. It’s the people in the studio that are crazy. But without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today?in sweatshop animation hell, just kiddin?! Anyways everyone’s talent pushed each other to get better. It was an amazing environment to work in, everybody improved dramatically each year, it was hard to see while there, but when you look back, it’s impressive. There are far too many crazy stories, and crazy people with far too many stories. But it was definitely some of the best crazy story times of my life. Crazy stories rock, but for this interview I have none.

Ya you should save those stories for someone who gives a shit, ha-ha, sucka!
Ok where were we?What happened when you first graduated from school?

After I graduated, I began an exciting career putting up signage at the local mall; ahhh those were the days. Eating at the A&W, playing pinball at the arcade, going to Chapters and reading all the free books I wanted. I was actually hoping to animate classically but the state of the industry was different. 3D was the hot thing and still is and classical jobs were sparse. So I spent the summer training myself in Maya and applied to a bunch of studios in the fall. I got offers at a few studios, went to go check them out and my decision basically came down to Blue Sky and Naughty Dog.

So, describe a day in the life of Jason Martinsen?

Get up at 8:30, hit the snooze. Get up at 8:45 hit the snooze, get up at 9:00, groan and hit the snooze. Get up at 9:15, swear a few times, and hit the snooze. Get up at 9:30 swear and cuss, then crawl to the kitchen, eat, and throw some cloths on. I bike into work for 10:30 and surf the net until 12:30, go to the gym, then come back and pretend to work until 7 or 2 am depending on the “crunch” level we are in. Then head home and watch movies or play games. It?s actually the opposite of that, late mornings and late nights but it?s all worth it. If I get the urge, I’ll occasionally play basketball or ultimate Frisbee or go for a nap.

What do you like most about living in California?

The traffic. The sweet sweet smog. The friendly, dog eat dog atmosphere. No really, you can go scuba diving, body boarding skiing and snowboarding all in the same day, but I?ve never done that. LA, San Diego and San Fran are all amazing cities with endless activities and traffic. When in doubt I turn the TV on and watch a car chase or two.

After being chauffeured around various top notch studios, why did you choose Naughty Dog?

The people and the project. The Dogs are so talented and everyone works hard to make the game the best it can be. The concept of Jak II and III excited me. They have been really fun to work on. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was actually funny cause my old roommate and I used to play the first Jak game and joke about working at such a studio, I guess its not funny anymore, or is it…hmmm?

Has the high paced production environment left you dizzy?

Dizzy? Ha I laugh in the face of,-oops! Ya man, too many distractions.

So at work, ever get mad at anybody and wanna break there Halo 2 dolls?
Sure everyday. Those damn programmers think they own the place. (Insert sarcastic evil laugh here!)

Jak ll received the 2003 GamePro Readers Choice Award for Platform Game Of The Year, do you see the same success for Jak lll?

One can only hope. But seriously, I think we have improved on Jak II. The new game is more balanced and is just more fun. And we pushed the limit of what the PS3 can do
Technically. The last boss is insane. It’s a 100 ton, 30 story spider like robot that you have to hunt down in a huge wasteland. Really cool stuff. The art direction, effects and gameplay are better then ever as well?it simply kicks ass.

Ya maybe they?ll use that for there new slogan?Jak 3, It Simply Kicks Ass!

How much of your own personality do you put into Jak and Daxter or do their traits come from somewhere else like a focus group or your girlfriend?

No focus groups here. I’m still myself, but most people who know me can say Jak looks like me in many of his animations, as they say, we put a bit of ourselves in everything.
Daxter can be kind of a sarcastic prick, do you ever wanna kick him in the teeth?
Nah, he’s a harmless egotistical virtual little shit.

Time for the question we?ve all been waiting for; any animation tips for animating characters in Maya?

My t-shirt says the graph editor is your friend, and I stick by that. But don’t be afraid to scale the model to squash and stretch. A good rigger is your best friend. Thumbnail, thumbnail. Always have a mirror at hand if you?re into that.

Any tips for up and coming animators?

Don’t forget the classics. The Three Stooges, the Sword and The Stone and classic Looney Tunes. That was good animation.

Any tips for those blossoming animators wanting to get into the gaming industry?

There is tons of work in the game industry right now, as it’s just getting started. It?s much easier to find an animation job in gaming then in feature film. Put a reel together and send it to a bunch of places. If you don’t get a response, whatever keep trying or go do mall- signage rules!

Where do you think the gaming industry is heading?

It’s merging with the film industry, in the next five years you will see the game animation matching films in terms of quality.

Not that we care but where do see yourself in 5 years?

In a hut in Chile drawing and stretching out sore muscles from a long day of snowboarding. Or working on a feature animation doing character animation and stretching out sore muscles from a long weekend of snowboarding.

Ok man thanks for the interview see ya in Chile!

Posted: December 31st, 2007 under Jason Martinssen.
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