Today we’d like to introduce you to Neil Jensen.
Hi Neil, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
By continuing to try hard every day, I have been able to advance along the path of my career. It may seem to take longer and be a slower progress than I would like, but by putting in the work, I get a little further along every day.
As a child, my family was heavily involved with a local community theater in Salt Lake City, UT. I was very young, so I was not always a part of every production. As I would still tag along, since that is what young children do, I got a first-hand education on how to put together a full production. Since I would witness the shows over and over, I would also see how the performances could get stronger over time or also get weaker as the actor would get bored with their character.
By experiencing that repetition of rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal, show, show, show, I found that I was not scared off of that same kind of tedium that animation can bring. The idea of draw the same thing over and over, but slightly differently was actually a fun thing to me.
The same idea applied to today’s style of animating, which is more manipulation of an image. Creating a 3D-styled animation is much like moving an action figure around on the computer screen. I have been doing that my whole life, so it just made sense.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Very little in life that is worth the journey will be a smooth road. There will always be struggles, but the trick is to not let them get you down. Even when you do not expect any bumps in the road, they will appear.
At the beginning of my education for art and animation, I had a figure drawing teacher that I could tell did not think I was good enough to continue in this field. It is fair that it is his job to try to recognize talent and try to nurture that talent. I just had to not let that one opinion get me down and make me stop. It also didn’t help that I did not think he was a very good teacher, so he would never be able to inspire me to better things.
I always have the challenge of looking at other artists’ work and wondering how they can create something so beautiful and I cannot. I know that I do create pretty works of art from time to time, sometimes I don’t.
Even just recently, I had created a short film that I really thought was good, it tells an important lesson for children about the use of their emotions. I still really believe in this short, but no one was interested in it at all when it was completed. All I had to do was just be patient, as the film has begun to get some notice with film festivals.
So, there will always be bumps along the road, some will be small and easily manageable, others will be bigger and take work, dedication, and in some cases, some much-needed help.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an artist/animation filmmaker. My brother and I are in the beginning stages of creating our own small-scale art studio.
I like to create compelling stories or just fun rhyming things and then create short films for these stories. In the animation world, I am more comfortable in the 2D style of animation. I just like the look of it, and find that my style fits better in the 2D world. From this, I am very fond of my short “Breakfast Town, On the Coast of Table Bay,” as well as my most recent little ditty, “A Cookie on a Plate.”
With traditional art, I find that I like working with pastel chalk very much, as well as graphite pencils and colored pencils. This is also where I find my strengths and compatibility of materials and style.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Atlanta and the metro areas are an amazing thing. Without a doubt, the best thing is the diversity. I grew up in Salt Lake City, UT, and that is nothing like Atlanta, or Georgia itself, at all. Having so many different perspectives and ideas all converging together brings out even better ideas and perspectives. All of this can be a great inspiration if used correctly. Without a doubt, the worst thing about the city is the traffic. I am aware of bad traffic in other cities, but there is some special magic about Atlanta traffic.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.grongledonk.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grongledonk
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/neil.jensen.77
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/grongledonk
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnmUi6azPYgy2748J4fUK0Q
