That Other Guy
Jackson founded Illusion Studio in November of 2002 and quickly grew it from a one-man operation to Houston's leader in full production 3D computer animation. He earned a bachelor's degree in Animation from The Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg and has since taught advanced 3d animation classes at the college level in Hong Kong. In 2009, Illusion Studio became a part of Bouncing Pixel.
Jackson's work has received numerous Worldfest/Houston Remi Awards and AAF Houston Addy Awards. He has directed and worked on simulations and animations for the oil and gas industry, television commercials, product animation, corporate communications, and public relations. His work has been used by advertising agencies, video production studios, large corporate clients, and publicly traded companies.
Making Stuff Move
- Games and Movies
- Character Animation
- Television Commercials
- Oil and Gas Simulations
- Corporate Communications
Founder of Illusion Studio
Jackson started Illusion Studio with the goal of creating the best computer animation house in Houston. He began as a one-man operation and grew to a cohesive and talented team of artists. The diverse skillsets required to produce finished animation coupled with Houston's lack of experienced talent made this a huge feat. To achieve its goal, Illusion Studio turned itself into an on-the-job training facility where artists fresh out of school produced the award-winning animation that Jackson and his crew have become recognized for.
See Jackson's award-winning 3D computer animation.
Highlights
- Built an animation studio with talent from around the country to support a multi-million dollar video game production.
- Produced 60 minutes of character animation for NIH-funded Escape from Diab health game.
- Created 12 60-second award-winning animated shorts for the Archimage / Baylor College of Medicine Teen Choice project.
Working on Cool Projects and Lovin' it
Not long after starting out in the business, Jackson assembled Houston's largest animation studio to work on the NIH-funded Escape from Diab and Nanoswarm projects. These efforts spanned several years during which his team produced nearly two hours of character animation, special effects, and live action scenes superimposed over virtual CG sets.
These were followed by the Reggie Veggie, Judy Fruity, Teen Choice and Squire's Quest 2! projects for Baylor College of Medicine's Children's Nutrition Research Center. These projects explored ways to make children healthier using animation and interactive media to deliver healthful messages.
Awards
- American Advertising Federation Houston
Gold and Silver ADDY Awards - American Advertising Federation District 10
Silver ADDY Award - WorldFest Houston
Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards - TELLY Awards
- Screenings at International Film Festivals
Winning Awards
Jackson's character animation and award-winning work can be seen in television commercials, product simulations, computer games, and educational materials. His creative use of character animation mixed with a never-ending variety of styles turned what could have been run-of-the-mill health educational content into entertaining pieces that kids actually want to watch again and again.
2009 was a standout year for Jackson and his team. Their imaginitive work garnered three ADDY Awards from the American Advertising Federation, a sweep of the animation category at the 42nd Annual WorldFest, a TELLY Award, and film festival screenings in California and Canada.
