The Allan Mckay Podcast

Amanda Gillespie is Manager of Extraordinary Ability Cases for Samuel Christensen Law Firm PLLC in New York. Amanda works daily with many of the artists and creatives alike migrating to the United States each year, helping build their cases and assisting them in the process of obtaining visas, greencards and work permits to work in the U.S. This subject, especially for a lot of visual effects artists, game designers, directors, musicians, and other creatives in our industry is quite a ellusive subject, as many of us aspire to at some point in our career work in the UK, EU, AU, CAN, USA and other countries and typically it's not so straight forward in terms of obtaining exactly 'how' to go about this. Whether you have always wanted to work in the U.S. or you simply might want to take some of the insights here to apply to your plans to work in other countries - this episode is a goldmine of information straight from one of the top authorities on this subject. One that I personally have worked with personally th

This episode is about how learning a little code, can go a long way for artists and creatives. Most of us are intimidated by programming and think it's only for math guys and people wired a certain way, where it's really about learning just how to approach it a different way - you don't need to know math to code, you don't need to be 'super smart' to code. You just need to know how to apply it to what you're doing and approach it a little differently to the norm.This is all about learning to automate your tasks and work more efficiently, and in this episode we dive right into this! Check out this free video below on how to get up to speed fast with a little bit of scripting!Show notes @ http://www.allanmckay.com/51/Video tutorial intro to scripting @ http://www.allanmckay.com/51download/

This is a 1 hour master class from March 2015 in Paris, condensing a lot of information into a rapid fire session!On top of that, December is about closing 2015 out strong and gearing up for making 2016 your year! Check out the show notes at www.allanmckay.com/50/If you want to attend the It's Art Masterclass 2016 in Paris in March, check out the links below!Some of the speakers include:Craig MullinsAaron McBride (ILM)Raphael Lacoste(Ubisoft )Marc Brunet (Blizzard)Carlos Baena(Animation Mentor)Nicolas Prothais (Disney)Ian McQueFausto De MartiniIn-Ah Roediger (MPC)Mark TheriaultMarc SimonettiAllan McKayAnselm von Seherr-ThossClick here for more information!http://www.iamag.co/features/event/its-art-master-classes-16/Also don't forget to follow me on periscope and twitter! @allanftmckayhttps://twitter.com/allanftmckayand Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/allanmckay1982/Finally get on the insiders list at http://www.allanmckay.com/inside/And again check out the show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/50/

Next Limit are the creators of industry standard water simulation software 'Realflow' - based out in Madrid, Spain. This episode is with the development team at Next Limit, including NL's CEO Victor Gonzalez, Luis Miguel More, Ivan Alduan, Alex Ribao, Angel Tena and Gus Sanchez. Discussing the history of Realflow as well as much of it's key features and giving insight into the development team! You can check out more information as well as the promo they are running below! Victor Gonzalez - Next Limit's CEOAngel Tena - RealFlow Head of DevelopmentIvan Alduan, Alex Ribao, Enrique Turegano ( RealFlow Developers)Luis Miguel Mora - RF Specialist and Tech SupportGus Sanchez - former RF Product Manager Luis Miguel Mora's Blog : https://luismma.wordpress.com/Gus Sanchez's Blog - http://cgmatters.blogspot.com.es/Next Limit Tech on Vimeo : https://vimeo.com/nextlimitRealFlow's Youtube channel : https://www.youtube.com/user/RealFlowLabs Realflow Promo - http://www.realflow.com/buy/upgradeCheck out the insiders list @ h

Beau is the VP of Business Development at TurboSquid - which a lot of people associate with their enormous 3D model library, as well as plug-ins and other items that they sell for 3D artists. Their industry standard CheckMate process has also made waves over the years as well. And more recently, they've released a service called PixelSquid for generating realtime 3D assets for use by Photoshop artists.For show notes check out http://www.allanmckay.com/48/Turbosquid: http://www.turbosquid.com PixelSquid: http://www.pixelsquid.com Checkmate: http://www.turbosquid.com/CheckMate   Also make sure you sign up to the insiders list! http://www.allanmckay.com/inside/ follow me on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allanmckay1982/ And finally Periscope and twitter! https://twitter.com/allanftmckay  

This episode is focused on something that affects us all, but also more recently for me has actually been a very critical subject, as we all face those times that completely derail us from our path, habits and routine. Sometimes it's just for a few days, other times it can for months or even years! So how do you deal with this? Whether it's a creative block or whether it's a long relationship that might send you into a downward spiral, or dozens of other reasons that are common and frequent? Show notes here: http://www.allanmckay.com/47/ Just as a heads up - I will be doing some really fun Periscope career sessions _LIVE_ very soon so keep an eye out! Sign up now so you receive alerts (it's all free) https://twitter.com/allanftmckayFollow me on instagram - because I seem obsessed with it right now. https://instagram.com/allanmckay1982/ And more information about the mentorship coming up soon!  

Mitch is the founder of Pencil Kings an online training site that teaches illustration and drawing techniques - his background comes from working in film and games for various big name clients in Canada and the United States and China. At a turning point in Mitches life, he decided to risk everything and take action, creating his own business and designing his own lifestyle that would allow him total freedom to travel the world and live the life that he wanted to live, while also running his own business completely virtual - online, giving artists the tools and knowledge to build their career and follow their passions in traditional art and drawing. Mitch's story is both inspirational, as well as instructional, as an amazing case study on how you can take the initiative and get out of your comfort zone, take some calculated risks and build the lifestyle that YOU want to live, doing both the things you love but also having total freedom in how you do it! Check out the show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/46

Marc Simonetti is an amazing French illustrator and concept artist who's worked on dozens of high profile projects from the work of H.P. Lovecraft to Game of Thrones fans out there - many of the covers of 'A song of Ice and Fire' on to working with Luc Besson and beyond! Marc constantly gives talks and performs demos for Wacom and Adobe, as well as online on his methods and technique, as well his speed paintings which are always amazing to witness. Marc will also be presenting alongside Allan at the It's Art Masterclass 2016 in Paris, France - more information on where to register in the show notes. To check out the show notes, visit http://www.allanmckay.com/45/

In this episode we explore the many different ways we can make money online as well as even automate our income to give us more freedom and a bit of a 'buffer' to go after out dreams without hurting our savings. In our journey to go after our goals and find our dream job - one of the biggest roadblocks is risk. What if we fail, what if we spend our savings going after something unattainable? To eliviate this and to learn to be independent and take back control, this episode is focused on understanding many of the ways to make a side income. How to make money on the side to create more comfort financially for us, to take those risks without the mindset that our 9-5 day job is the only thing keeping us afloat. This is more a birds eye view of the many ways we can make money, but it should open your eyes to how easy it can be and get your inner-entrepreneur engine running!  Check out the show notes for more links at http://www.allanmckay.com/44/ and to download the PDF cheat-sheet with an in-depth overview of th

Back in December we set out the challenge of setting BIG goals for 2015 and as time passes - it's time to check in.. How are you doing with your goals?This episode is to focus not on setting goals, but how to stay accountable and how to minimize your failure rate by building solid routines and identifying why you mightn't be having the successes you should be having ... so that you can crush these obstacles and get back on track. It's July, we are mid way through 2015 and there is still plenty of time to find your path and get back on the horse to career success. Whether you are changing careers or you simply want to step out and do big things, this is your year and it's time to take action in originally taking action! Post your comments in the show notes and let all of us know where you are at, what are your successes and what are your 'sticking points' that are causing you not to get the success you want. Let us all know and we'll do the same - we're in this together and we all want to see each of us succee

After the first 'Review my Reel' session was a total success with over 100 people attending, this episode follows the momentum of this and discusses a lot of advice on what we are all doing with our reels that we probably shouldn't, as well as key things to keep in mind - who your target audience is and how to maximize playability and have people watch your reel all the way through, and in the right mindset. This episode is jam-packed with key information to make the most out of all of your hard work and maximize the chances of landing your dream job! For more show notes, as well as links to download the PDF cheat sheet on building your reel - visit http://www.allanmckay.com/42/ or to directly download the cheat sheet go to http://www.allanmckay.com/42download/  

With the announcement of Gears of War 4 last week from Microsoft, this episode focuses on the talented character team behind the development of GOW4. Probably the most spectular features of Gears of War is the amazing creature and character designs and attention to detail in all of the characters within the game. In this episode we interview Dan Roarty, Daniel Bohrer Do Nascimento, Heber Alvarado on their process, techniques and methodology that goes into making some of the mind blowing-ly real characters for Gears of War. Discussing the tools, the process and the time involved to turn out a realistic hero character. As well as their backgrounds and insights into both the video game industry, technology as well as creative processes. This episode is a must see!   For more information and show notes, as well as to enter the competition this month go to http://www.allanmckay.com/41/    

Zsolt Poczos is a CG supervisor from Hungary that has worked around the world on my high profile projects - originating from architecture and moving to creating photorealistic car commercials through to now being part of the core team on the upcoming VFX heavy film 'Independence Day 2'.   This episode dives into Zsolt's inspiring story as well as seeing first hand how similar to many of the subjects we discuss on this podcast, how you can be bold and take chances that are high risk but high reward. for more show notes visit http://www.allanmckay.com/40/  

Alf is a 3D artist and film maker in Norway, partner of the vfx studio Gimpville. Recently Alf has completed an epic 6 month journey to complete his own parody short film (trailer) called Dawn of the planet of the zombies and giant killer plants on some serious acid (phew!), entirely by himself. Utilizing Maya, Redshift, and various other tools to render the entire 3 minute piece solo on a single machine.  Inside of this episode we go straight into a very hands on and in-depth discussion about the production of "Dawn"and what it takes to pull of a project of this magnitude by one artist. From balancing your day job, staying motivated and what tools and techniques used shot by shot throughout the short. What the reception of the video has been like from Vimeo Staff Pick to just under ~200,000 views in just over a single week and onto what is next. This is an episode that everyone can take a lot away from - whether you're an artist, a designer or even just want to make your own short film one day. If you haven'

Delcio originally from Brazil has worked on projects like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Terminator Genisys, Thor: The Dark World, Oblivion and many others as both a modeler and cg generalist.  This is a really great episode giving a lot of insight into Delcio's background as well as a lot of really great solid advice to advance your career, as well as insights into many of the production's he's worked on. Really great stuff, check it out! For show notes and links go to http://www.allanmckay.com/38/

This is by far the most random episode on the podcast so far! As Chad, Hnedel, Sol and Allan gather together over a few beers and do a free for all discussing a lot to do with the industry, film, virtual reality as well as process, pipeline and people. Lots of great insight, as we progressively get drunker and drunker! show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/37

Fred Ruff has been well known in the industry for his vast contributions for over 20 years working originally for Autodesk as a Max product manager and having influenced many areas of Max including the design of Particle Flow - Fred is a VFX Supervisor at Refuge VFX supervising the hit tv show Grimm. In this episode we discuss a lot of the history of CG, software slamming and the timeline of max and other software tools, studio pipelines and vfx as a business - but we also focus a lot on Medieval Monster's - the new tv show for Animal Planet that Fred is executive producing and also the creator of. We all have those long tail goals of wanting to make something of our own, and to all of us seeing 3D artists who grow into taking charge and creating their own property's and going after their big goals, this can be inspiring for all of us to see and understand the journey and see how this applies to our own careers. This episode focuses on an artist going into the industry to launching his own studio and then cre

This episode we dive right into what it takes to launch your own studio. Such a big subject and so much to cover - if you want to know more go to http://www.allanmckay.com/35/ leave a comment #Iwanttoknowmore! and I will gladly put together a step by step episode series on the business strategy and steps necessary involved in launching a visual effects studio!  

This episode is all about how impactful having mentors or experts in your life can be, and modeling those you idolize or see as successful. The key is to push yourself out of your comfort zone and find those that are able to push you and inspire you as well. This isn't about finding 'the one' mentor but finding mentors for every part of your life and for those areas that you are going through in your life 'right now'. Learning to ask for help and how to actually go about it, and identifying experts that are in a position to help you, and how you can truly benefit from them. One of the most important things you are probably neglecting is not idenifying people and seeking them out to mentor you and push you to greatness.  

This episode is truly epic - Rising Sun Pictures has been around for 20 years working on many of the leading visual effecs films. Speaking with Marcus Wells and Kirsty Parkin in the Training Department at RSP about their new graduate program, and future education and internships at RSP. As well as the production of many of their films - AND working overseas, diving in-depth into the visa processes and how to increase your opportunities of working for many visual effects studios. I give some of my own insight too into being proactive with this process. Lastly we take a look at the life of a job application, from first being received and where it goes from there - who reviews it all the way through to final interview and the applicant being hired. REALLY INSIGHTFUL. This is a really great episode I thoroughly recommend checking out, especially if you want to work overseas! http://www.rsp.com.au http://rsp.com.au/jobs/apply-faq/visas/ http://flinders.rsp.com.au/ http://rsp.com.au/jobs/training/getting-started-in