It stopped me in my Twitter nightcap scrolling tracks when I saw it.
A Bored Ape making the same facial expressions and head movements as Kombucha Girl?! The Bored Ape was replicated perfectly, from the upper and lower eyelid movements down to the last-second POOF.
I just had to see more of Jonathan Nash’s work.
Meet Jonathan Nash, the artist of @offshoot3D, a self-taught 3D artist focused on “tech, space, miniature worlds, and the occasional Bored Ape!”
“I had recently learned how to add facial animation to characters for a project and enjoyed the process, so for practice, I decided to see if I could rig a Bored Ape face, as the features are very different from a normal human.”
Jonathan’s immersion in the NFT world helped him take note of every new avatar project, however, Bored Ape Yacht Club was the first one he believed the art stood out and felt cohesive.
That each BAYC was its own character and didn’t feel like randomly generated traits.
“I am still surprised by the success, though, if I had known, I would have bought some when they were within my price range!”
Jonathan, you are not alone on that one.
One of his most popular projects is his second animation after going virtual entitled, “Notifications.”
He calls it “visual eye candy to give the same kind of dopamine hit I got when all the likes started pouring in.”
An iPhone sits on a table, the POV pushes in like a camera, and all the candy starts pouring in like coins spilling from a slot machine.
“This piece went on to be viewed over 5 million times across Instagram and Reddit, and it is the number one post of all time on multiple subreddits.”
Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, it’s visceral. I do, indeed, feel that dopamine hit in real-time as the social media candy fills the screen. Every animation line and each candy pebble is clean, crisp and uniquely feels like his.
Jonathan Nash is meticulous. He is undoubtedly gifted and skilled. On my pure speculation, I imagine that his former professional career as a poker player helped his acute attention to detail.
I imagine him working his 3D models just like he reads his poker opponent. An eyelid spasm here. A quiver of a lip there.
Before becoming a 3D artist, Jonathan played professional poker. He was there for the poker boom after teaching himself how to play using online forums. He never dreamed that playing poker would earn him a good living — but he was dedicated and focused.
“If they could do it, why not me?”
This attitude, work ethic, and dedication that gave him a successful and decade-long career in professional poker is the same hardworking magic that brought him to 3D modeling.
“I started channeling my energy into art. It’s something I enjoyed doing as a child but hadn’t done in over 15 years. A whole new world of tutorials emerged — I could now acquire an art education without going to university. I gave myself three years to learn while working a normal job. I figured I taught myself how to make a living in poker — I can teach myself how to make a living from art!”
In three years, he transitioned to being a full-time artist.
He approaches learning new concepts in an organic way. When faced with challenges he hasn’t encountered as a 3D artist, he learns to problem-solve and move on. The repetition that comes with solving recurring problem areas helps him become proficient.
In this spirit, he tested his Bored Ape rig on “Kombucha Girl,” and the rest is history.
“It was really just a test, but it proved wildly popular on social media, so I decided to do another one using the most popular TikTok video of all time by Bella Poarch.”
He is inspired by other artists and follows many on Twitter and Instagram. He bookmarks and saves everything that inspires him so he can draw on it later for inspiration.
He encourages aspiring 3D artists to look beyond the 3D to dive deep into composition, concept artists, and photographers.
“Learn lighting and storytelling by watching movies and learning how filmmakers do it. Your style and originality will stand out the more reference points you have to draw from.”
Jonathan can’t even imagine how the art world will look five years from now. One year ago, NFTs were not on his radar.
“Now, they are a massive part of my life. I think big things are coming in the worlds of VR and AR, and I think NFT’s are still trying to find their feet — so I see myself being involved in the space for a long time. I am now working on a 3rd animation, each time, I use a different Bored Ape to keep it interesting, and it’s a great way for me to improve my animation skills.”
We can’t look into the future, but Jonathan Nash is certainly shaping it.
We look forward to seeing what’s next!
**
TikTok videos courtesy of Jonathan Nash.
Follow Jonathan here:
https://twitter.com/offshoot3D
