Mastering Blender and Navigating a Creative Career with Elijah Sheffield

Mastering Blender and Navigating a Creative Career with Elijah Sheffield

Author: School of Motion: Design & Animation Training for MoGraph Artists January 29, 2025 Duration: 1:25:22
School of Motion Podcast
ArtsDesignEducationHow To

Blender artist and motion designer Elijah Sheffield shares how he transitioned into 3D, built a standout demo reel, and turned personal projects into career-defining moments. Check out the corresponding blog post (with episode highlights) here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/elijah-sheffield-blender

👉 CHAPTERS 👈
00:00 Coming Up
00:22 Elijah Sheffield's Background and Early Career
01:29 Discovering Motion Design
03:32 College and Grad School Experience
13:30 First Job and Career Challenges
18:11 Finding the Motivation to Make Demo Reel Pieces
23:31 Transition to Freelance
26:41 Social Media's Impact on Career
34:52 Having a Freelance Plan
42:00 Pain and Rainbows of Freelance Work
44:18 Challenges and Rewards of Learning Blender
49:35 Finding a Style
55:16 Blender Learning Curve
01:03:28 Integrating Blender into Your 3D Pipeline
01:20:21 The Future of Blender
01:24:12 That's a Wrap!

🗒️ SHOW NOTES
Artists:
Elijah Sheffield https://www.behance.net/sweetboymotion# 
EJ Hassenfratz https://www.youtube.com/@eyedesyn/videos 
Myles Bolden https://mylesjbolden.myportfolio.com/
Jonathan Winbush https://www.youtube.com/@JonathanWinbush/ 
Norm MacDonald https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_Macdonald 
Chris Smith https://csmithstudios.com/ 
Joey Korenman https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeykorenman 
Andrew Kramer https://www.videocopilot.net/ 

Studios:
School of Motion https://www.schoolofmotion.com/ 
SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) https://www.scad.edu/ 
Pixar https://www.pixar.com/ 
DreamWorks https://www.dreamworks.com/ 

Work:
Museum of History and Magic https://www.museumhm.org/
Killdozer https://www.instagram.com/sweetboy.motion/p/Cw0os46AIZN/ 
Spider-Verse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Across_the_Spider-Verse 
Ninja Turtles
Arcane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcane_(TV_series) 


Resources:
Greyscalegorilla https://greyscalegorilla.com/ 
Maya https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview?term=1-YEAR&tab=subscription 
ZBrush https://www.maxon.net/en/zbrush 
Cinema 4D https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d 
Blender https://www.blender.org/ 
Unreal Engine Course https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/unreal-engine-for-3d-artists 
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/
Demo Reel Dash https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/demo-reel-dash

Arnold https://www.autodesk.com/products/arnold/overview 
Eevee https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/eevee/introduction.html 
Grease Pencil https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/grease_pencil/index.html 
Clay Pencil https://pepeschoolland.gumroad.com/l/ibbls 
Donut Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0J27sf9N1Y&list=PLjEaoINr3zgEPv5y--4MKpciLaoQYZB1Z 
STL files https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STL_(file_format) 
Blender Market https://blendermarket.com/ 
Freelance Manifesto https://www.amazon.com/Freelance-Manifesto-Modern-Motion-Designer-ebook/dp/B071JRYMSG 

 

 


Tune into the School of Motion Podcast for a genuine look behind the scenes of the motion design industry. Created by the team at School of Motion, this series goes far beyond simple software tutorials, though you’ll certainly find deep dives into tools like After Effects and Cinema 4D. The real value lies in conversations with the people shaping the field-from working animators and 3D artists to producers and studio owners. Each episode explores the intricate balance between creative artistry and practical business, offering insights that are as useful for freelancers as they are for those leading creative teams. Whether you’re firmly established in your career or just 3D-curious, this podcast provides a thoughtful space to learn about craft, workflow, and sustaining a creative practice. It’s a resource that feels like having a direct line to the collective wisdom of a vibrant community, all dedicated to the art of making things move.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

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Podcast Episodes
The Year in MoGraph - 2020 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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We've mentioned it a few times, but one of the most important steps in any project is the storyboard, and specialized artists work tirelessly to bring the story to life. Alex Quintas' career path took a few turns before…
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Duration: 1:03:42
Medical Illustration is a fascinating path for Motion Designers. This challenging work requires a clear understanding of anatomy, and the ability to toe the line between style and accuracy. We talked with Director Emily…
What is the Future of Motion Design? Nobody Knows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:39
It is incredibly difficult to know where our industry is headed—almost as challenging as defining "motion design" itself. Where is animation or experiential or VR/AR going over the next five years—or even the next five m…
Your Copilot Has Arrived: Andrew Kramer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:54:07
In the wild early days of the Internet, Motion Design was a much smaller community. Unless you had proper training, it was easy to feel overwhelmed by the learning curve. With many people struggling to get their careers…

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