GanzChroma 0348
When I started out in VFX, it took me over a decade to break into the industry. Ten years of late nights, making mistakes, learning from them, and then repeating that cycle again and again. The tools were difficult to master, the programs were expensive, tutorials were terrible and every small win felt like climbing a mountain.
Thatโs why I hope these new AI tools can offer something I didnโt have, a chance for ordinary folks to create good art.
In the last week of school, after months of teaching the fundamentals to my students, I decided to show them something different. Not to distract them from the basics, but to remind them why they matter. Because while techniques and technology evolve, the fundamentals remain the bedrock of everything we do.
I introduced them to generative AI. Not as a shortcut, not as a replacement, but as a way to open their eyes to whatโs possible. With a single prompt, the AI generated something whimsical, even surreal, an anthropomorphic cat riding a horse. It wasnโt perfect, but it was proof of what these tools could do.
I told my students this wasnโt just about learning a new tool. It was about stepping into a new frontier. One where the barriers to entry are lower, where the long and often grueling path I took might not be the only way forward.
For me, these tools represent something deeply hopeful. Theyโre not just about making VFX easier, theyโre about unlocking creativity for those whoโve always had stories to tell but lacked the means to bring them to life.
Itโs no longer about how hard it is to create; itโs about what you can create. What compelling stories can you tell when the tools are no longer the obstacle?
Watching my students, I couldnโt help but smile. They were ready to embrace the possibilities these tools offered.
It made me reflect on my own journey and how tools like these could have shaped it. But what matters now is helping the next generation realize their potential is limitless.
P.S. These tools are here to stay, and the possibilities are infinite. What will you create? I made a Kitty!