Today we’d like to introduce you to Meats Meier.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my artistic journey as an airbrush in the 90’s. I was discovered by a gentleman that was starting a video game company in Salt Lake City and before I knew it, I was designing games. I immersed myself in the world of 3D video games right as they were making their debut with a game called Virtua Fighter. I took right to it and was soon brought to Hollywood to work on feature films. In my spare time, I created a lot of 3d art and animations. I hung out on forums online and posted a lot of my work, which led to a lot of magazine covers and introductions to the world of concert graphics for touring bands. I’ve been very lucky to work with the likes of Rogerwaters, Puscifer, A Perfect Circle and many others to create animations and art for live concert productions. There is nothing like seeing your work accompanying the amazing music (and towering 50 feet tall). I’m now focusing on ‘Virtual Production’ which is the new hot thing in Hollywood. It uses real-time video game engines (Unreal) so that directors can see and film their shots in a fully virtual world (recently employed to great effect in Disney’s Mandelorian.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve had a lot of big up in downs in my career. Computer graphics and digital art is constantly evolving and updating. It takes a lot to keep up with the technical aspects of a quickly changing industry. New tools are being introduced everyday to make my job easier, but learning them and becomes great at it takes a lot of energy. There was a few years where I just didn’t want to look at a computer screen anymore and felt like it was too much – I just wanted to make art. Right now is a great time in the CG industry, the tools are starting to mature to a point where you only have to focus on the ‘art’.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I like to think of MEATS (the business) as a discovery and idea lab. With today’s visualization tools, it’s easy to prototype and make many variation of an idea or product and that is where we excel. We use virtual and augmented reality to design and test our art so we really have no limits. We provide creation of real-time 3D scenes using the Unreal Game Engine. Virtual production and digital art creation for the music industry, music videos and concert graphics. Our focus is discovering and creating the ultimate way to display 3D art away from the computer screen.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I think my proudest moment is winning Best Album Cover of the year from the HEAVY music awards last year.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meats/
Image Credit:
Tas Limur
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