Jan Rybar: Yeah, we just finished a commercial for our Czech National museum. It is an invitation to an exhibition which is about what the human race has achieved – the spot is a full CG replication of the Apollo moon landing and it is has a funny story. If you are not a member of the human race, then you can't "step" on the moon.

This project was a small breakthrough in our work, since we tend not to be "character animators" . Over the years, I felt that this direction was not something to pursue since no one here at the studio is particularly interested in character animation. And yet, despite my admiration for the art behind all good animation, I didn't feel capable of doing it myself. But the project sounded interesting and we liked the idea so I said – "OK – we are in". This was our chance to polish our character animation skills and I think the work went very well and everybody liked it.

Jan Rybar: Technically, imagesFX started in 1998 when I left my previous job and was deciding what I should do. At that point it was just a "one man show" and actually it was like that till 2005. A more accurate description would be to say that I was just a freelancer while using the name imagesFX as the hub for my portfolio.

The name is a simple explanation of what I do – effects with images—it is not probably grammatically correct in English, but I liked it.

Jan Rybar: Prior of imagesFX I worked in the Czech studio called Factory Art – we worked on CG for commercials and the film industry and at that time, the industry in the entirety of Eastern Europe was in its early infancy. But I can probably now say that I am a veteran because I used SGI machines at work Now it may not mean anything in this time, but back then, it was almost an honor, combined with a big amount of luck that I was able to be a part of that. I remain grateful to this day for having that chance.

Jan Rybar: It was always about my passion for film and art and also when I was young, I liked math and personal computers had just been born. These ingredients created a field of interest which is now called Computer Graphics, but I only realized this much later.

At that time you had two choices – to play games or to create games, and while personal 8bit computers had just 2D graphics, I was already thinking about 3-dimension all the time. So one day I sat down and wrote my first 3D program where you used a joystick to set points – those points became lines and those lines became a profile that I rotated around the Z-axis and created a kind of axonometric projection of a 3D object, in this case a glass. It was a super exciting week for me and it determined my whole life I guess – it was true love and since then, it has gotten stronger with each passing year.

Jan Rybar: Good question – the original plan and school I picked back in 1988—was to become an engineer, and because I loved trains, it would be in the transportation field. But then in 1989, one of the most important thing happened which changed life for all of us – the Velvet Revolution. It literally broke all boundaries and after a few years, it completely changed my life too. I left the technical university where I was studying and started to work in a computer shop where I met Hynek Pakosta. He was my customer and he shared my passion for CG/ We started to talk and after a few months of him periodically stopping by at the shop, he offered me work at an animation studio he was working in. And this is how my professional career started.

Jan Rybar: Well, I've been professionally involved since '94, but as a hobby, it has been much longer. At such a time and in such a place – Prague, Czech Republic -- it was an adventure. It was all new for me and there was no Internet to find information. But I was lucky enough and attended my first Siggraph show in 1995 and that was a shock for me – I was in "heaven"! I learned so much and realized that I needed to work out of the Czech Republic for some time.
It was also a funny time as well – when somebody asked me what I did for a living, I couldn't quite explain it… and truth is that I was not really able to do that till today.

Jan Rybar: I actually started with 3D Studio 2.0 for DOS and loved it. But as a professional user it was Wavefront – TAV -> Alias PowerAnimator -> Alias|wavefront Maya …all on SGIs. And everyone knows the story about switching over to the PC. I also should probably mention Wavefront Dynamation, which was the first real product for particle animation and I was good at it.

Regarding 3ds Max, at the time, I didn't like 3D Studio Max – I think I was spoiled by the capabilities of all the products I mentioned and Max at that point was just "a baby". But as years flew by, I was actually forced to use Max as it was the most accessible product for me in terms of the price. Maya was, I think 2.5x more expensive and all the other options didn't appeal to me. Also, having already worked in the architectural visualization business, Max was the best option as it always worked with AutoCAD, which I used for modeling. I think I started to use version 3 and since then, I think I love Max since its workflow is really beneficial to my needs. It was not always like that and there are still areas I really dislike in Max and would like to see some evolution – maybe in the "next" version?

Right now, Max is a strong player and for me and the studio -- it is one of the key tools we use and I just hope there is some "evolution" around the corner.

Jan Rybar: I ask myself the same question sometime too – but when you think about it a bit more, it is not that hard to have such client base variations. I just play with images and that's what all these clients want – moving or still images. Also, it gives you a truly wider perspective about what you do and how you do it. At the end of each job, you can see that you've learned something again. I am always saying, "I'm not doing everything" as some studios will claim to do. Particularly in the Czech Republic, I tend to get any work that I am good at.. It is great to work on Blockbuster films, but at the same time, being part of a team that creates real buildings for real people is what I love most about my work. I will never tire of my projects.

Jan Rybar: Sure, the F1 racer is work we did with the cooperation of Oliver Zeller, my friend and ex-colleague from KDLAB. We worked on this for the NYC ad agency DRAFT-FCB, and our task was to create content for Motorola's micro-site featuring the racecar driver Danica Patric. We did all the 3D in Max, in a very short time and with the help of the VRay renderer that was used as the main render engine. The work was interesting as we had to really achieve realism with both the environment and the cars (F1 and Civic).

Jan Rybar: We had a meeting today with a new potential employee, so I had to look for this number – and it is 65 now…and it's not the end of the year yet.

Jan Rybar: It really depends – some of them just a few days, some are a couple of months.

Jan Rybar: If it is architecture-related, then yes – CAD plans are almost always used, but an interesting move is that last year, architects have started to create their own massing studies. Massing studies are an architect's own interpretation of their ideas, sometimes rather basic and not highly detailed, but nevertheless, we take those 3D models and continue to build on top of it. In fact, it actually speeds up the process a lot since we get the main idea much quicker and spend less time in understanding the basics of the project.

In the ad or film industry, all we get are sketches and references (artworks, photographs, etc). Sometimes if a film is heavily dependant on architectural elements, CAD plans are implemented because it's now becoming a trend for film productions to ask for CAD data from their subcontractor's art departments. The work process is very smooth for us when we grab those and continue.

Jan Rybar: I think it's time. Sounds simple, but time is always what you don't have enough of. So time management is the most important thing you need to learn and additionally, to truthfully give your client realistic schedules. If something bad is happening, then be open and try to find the solution with your client as soon as you can – it says a lot about your professionalism. For example, some freelancers always take more than they can handle and then all you hear is, "I was sick… my hard drive died…. Somebody else died … ". In contrast, "I am sorry I am late and need help – can we do something about it?"

Jan Rybar: Hard to say. Even small and easy projects became a nightmare when things go wrong; an employee leaves without notice, somebody is really sick, etc. and also, the hardest project is always the one you've just finished.

Anyway, the most challenging project to date was probably the hair commercial we finished a few months ago. It seems simple, but when you look at it, it has lots of things involved… and we had software issues with it. At the end, we made it and everyone was happy. There are always technical problems, but all these issues are solvable and if you have a good team, then you are safe.

Jan Rybar: One rule I follow is to be open and do the best. One person in the past told me, "Quality will find its clients". I worked around the world and working hard in this industry for good people makes you known.

Jan Rybar: KDLAB was based in NYC and I worked full time there – it was one of the greatest times in my professional career as I met great people there – Joseph Kosinski and Dean DiSimome (owners of KDLAB) are two of the most memorable and every project we did there was a "piece of art".

Liquid Light Studios is based in Los Angeles and I worked there full time as well – it was purely arch. viz in contrast to KDLAB where it was more "interdisciplinary".

For both studios, I worked as senior lighter/animator as my primary focus.

Jan Rybar: I use mainly VRay as my renderer, but truth is – you can use anything to create great things – it is just a tool and you are the craftsman. It depends on how good you are with your tools. I've switched my main software many times and don't understand how some people can make wars about different packages – all have their pros/cons and it is up to you to choose what the best is for you and your job. It is not always just one combination.

Jan Rybar: To speed up the workflow – to work from macro to micro. If you start modeling/rendering details and there is no left time to do good composition/camera/story, then you can have a thousand computers in your render farm and you'll never do good work.

Jan Rybar: Ha – I don't know as I really don't have power to follow all my work. I can mention Expose and Elemental books and there is so much media our clients use to promote their products/services via my or studio images.

Jan Rybar: There is good competition for sure – big and small studios and also individuals, but I feel that competition is good as it always keep you focused on the best that you can do – they never sleep.

Jan Rybar: Spare time? What is that? If I have some, I play football (in US, you would call that soccer) – we have a small team and play a league here in Prague. But now I am trying to spend as much time I can with my family, my wife Katerina and my first born son Jakub who is 2 months old -- and it is the best project I ever did.

Jan Rybar: There is not just ONE! Budvar, Pilsener Urquell, Staropramen, Radegast and I could continue...

Jan Rybar: Thanks! It was a pleasure to answer. As I told you before, I was preparing material for this interview while I was 'on-the-go' on a business trip in the UK and forgot my laptop in the taxicab. But now it's on its way back from England – they called today.

One last piece of advice for everyone – stay focused and even it looks bad, stay focused! Good work always finds its way.