Meet Ian Robinson | Master ZBrush Trainer & Digital Sculptor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ian Robinson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ian, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I wanted to pursue a artistic/creative career because there is this need to want to create. When I was younger, I would draw a lot. There was this need to escape into my creations. With TV shows like Dragon Ball Z, Spider-Man, Batman, X-Men and TMNT, I would see how so many friends of mine would just fall in love with this characters and collect the toys. I wanted to be apart of that journey. I wanted my creations to bring people joy and happiness.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The journey of becoming a professional artist has been a massive rollercoaster of a ride. It definitely wasn’t easy, but I learned to lean more into my strengths. Artistry, for me, is a life long journey and everyone has their own style and story to tell. For me, I came from a long list of odd jobs. But one of the skills I managed to gather was how to learn and how to teach.

I first started my career as a machinist in Aero Space. Back when I graduated high school back in 2001, college was very much a must have if you wanted to succeed. However, I wasn’t fortunate enough to even contemplate a college degree. So, I gave up drawing and starting working a respectable 9 to 5. However, I was never satisfied with my career and I wanted more. I wanted to express myself in some way – anyway I could. As a kid, I also had a massive love for martial arts – Street Fighter, Bruce Lee, Mortal Kombat, Dragon Ball, and much more – and I would literally draw these characters, then run outside and “practice” these moves. So, as an adult with a full time job, I decided to join a martial arts studio. This is where I learned to teach.

I would admire the way my Grand Master would command the room and break down each lesson to a very basic, but digestible level for anyone to understand. After I received my first black belt in Taekwondo, he would have me join his instructor team and teach all of us how you can take any topic and break it down. How to explain to another person, no matter what age they are. He really helped mold his team into some of the best instructors I have ever met. It was a real honor to be apart of his team.

Fast forward, I still was drawn to have a creative outlet, so I would pick up hobbies that a lot of my friends were apart of. From Photography and photo retouching to CAD design and Graphic Design. Little did I know that these hobbies would one day help me achieve my goals as a digital sculptor and creative. Thanks to a close friend of mine who is a prop maker for the film industry, who also knew of my many hobbies and interests, introduced ZBrush to me. This is a program that has been an AAA Industry standard of digital sculpting for over 20 years and has molded almost every industry it’s touch. Once I got my hands on this, I was hooked. It just allowed me to create whatever I wanted or needed too. No limitations. Just pure creativity. And now, 10 years later, I get to great art and teach it for a living. It’s truly a dream come true.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am a pretty simple person, but I can say this. If you like Go-Karts, going to the movies, hanging out on discord and playing video games, then you are going to have a good time.

Of course, we would have to get some great food.
Tamashii Ramen in North Hollywood, Guild Hall in Burbank, and K1 Racing in Burbank are some of my favorite spots to have a good time. We might even take a fun drive down to Neptune’s Net and check out some amazing cars and enjoy seafood while we’re at it.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to Shoutout my friend and mentor Shane Olson. When I was first trying to break into the toy and game industry, I was a self-taught struggling artist. I mean, I had taken a few online courses here and there which really helped get me started and well on my way. But I needed that final push to help push my abilities to the next level. At this time, I had spent about 6 years practicing my sculptor and design and I just felt stuck. That’s when I found the 3D Character Workshop. I was super intrigued my the school that I signed up right away. That’s when I met Shane. His school allows students to turn in there work and speak to Shane during our weekly student critique sessions. I was turning in work every week. Really putting in all I can give to improve my skills. And there were days that I felt inadequate. That I couldn’t make it as a successful professional artist.
That’s when Shane pulled me aside and started speaking with me. After many conversations and getting to know each other, I just asked him if he could really tear my portfolio apart and be as brutally honest as he can. I explained to him that I loved to create and wanted to make toys and games and be a successful artist. I want to give my all and he really seemed to appreciate that cuz, even though it’s not 100% his style, he happily came in and just laid down some solid truths. Without Shane’s advice, I don’t know if I would have excelled as fast as I did.

Special shout out to my friends and family and kids for always supporting me through the tough times and the good.

Website: https://www.artstation.com/ianrobinson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ir_sculpts/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-robinson-23b6a196/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/IR_Sculpts

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/IRSculpts

Image Credits
These are my images.