Creator Showcase - Jim Morren

Creator showcases are our way of giving extra attention to outstanding creators here on the Blender Market. These creators go above and beyond our high standards in both product quality and support. Jim Morren's products run the gamut from shaders to models and even a lens flare compositing pack, he is a true 3D Generalist, find out more about him and his work.

Let's start by finding out a little more about you Jim. 

Ok great, to start off, I'm a 3d Generalist and Freelancer and I live in a small mining-village by the name of Gorebridge near Edinburgh (Scotland, UK). I've lived here in Gorebridge for 1 year and 4 months, before that I lived in england for 3 years but, I'm originally from the Netherlands (where I moved around alot), as you can tell I like to move house often. I was born in a small city near the Hague. I speak both Dutch and English fluently although I prefer to speak english, and I can understand German a bit as well (since it is not far off from Dutch). I've been an artist since my childhood, I loved drawing, finger-painting, oil painting, anything creative. I'm also Dyslexic which made reading and writing hard and a pain of me, I used art and drawing as my comfort zone. I have the great gift of picturary memory which helps me out alot with my 3d art work, I know exactly what I want, and how things should look. And of-course, I love Blender!

How did you get your start in Blender?

I started with blender about 7 years ago, but I didn't use it regularly, I was jumping from 3d software to 3d software. I tried other 3d applications like 3ds Max (Student Edition), Maya, Houdini, Daz 3d, Vue, and more. The only reason I didn't stick to blender at that time (blender 2.4 and under) is because I found blender was lacking in features and render quality. Then someone told me an interesting notion: "only a fool limit oneself by his tools, but a real artists makes his tools do the unexpected". So with that in mind I started to play with blender and I started to love it. I did not stop a project and say; "no, I can never do this in blender, it doesn't have this... and it doesn't have that... and this is impossible because blender doesn't do this...", I found ways to 'fake' or find other way to get the wanted features or effects. I've loved blender ever since.

Your products cover a pretty wide range of skill-sets from character work to shaders to crazy lens flares. How do you consistently create quality products over a large range of skills?

Well, I think it has to do with that I don't like doing the same thing over and over again. I don't limit myself to just one area in the cg industry, one day I'll be sculpting and the next day I'll be rigging or texturing or hard-surface modeling, etc. etc. I personally think it is better to be a 3d generalist than to be focus in just one small part of the cg industry. It's better to be flexible, if you get a job in the industry you will need to be, you will be more valuable if you can cover more terrain.

Why did selling on the Blender Market appeal to you?

Well there are little to almost none, blender oriented markets, I have looked for ages for a proper and professional market. But when I found out that CG Cookie was planning to host a Blender Market I was excited, I always found CG Cookie itself a respectable and professional site. Then when I heard about the 70% commission really got excited (who wouldn't). On the morning of June 16th I choose to send a submission to become a creator and on that afternoon I got accepted and I have been happy with my choice to join Blender Market as a creator ever since.

If you could get one thing changed or added to Blender, what would it be?

The one thing that always bothered me with blender was the hair sim, it's almost useless since it can't collide with any objects, but I know that they're working on improving the hair sim with the gooseberry project. I would've liked if there was a more advanced particle sim as a whole.

Do you have any tips or suggestions for other creators?

Yes I do, before submitting any of your products just think for a moment;
  1. Would you buy your product?
  2. Can anyone use it effectively?
  3. Would it save time for someone?
  4. Can it be used by many?
  5. Is it worth the money?
  6. Is there too much competition?
I have seen many online markets with cg stuff on it that would never sell, never. Before you submit anything just give yourself some time to think. Put products on the Market that YOU would need/use yourself regularly.

Thank you, Jim, for taking the time to answer our questions. Is there another creator you think should be showcased? Let us know in the comments!