Despite quite a short time at QORPO Game Studio, Marián Jurik is already breaking barriers in 3D animation and bringing our games to a whole new level.
Marián Jurik has a truly broad experience in animation across multiple projects and formats. He has been working on immensely successful projects, some of which are considered legendary. Besides being an ace at 3D animation, Marán is a nice guy, and fun to hang out with since conversations with him are always meaningful and intellectually stimulating.
Among all the animation disciplines, Marián is most prolific in 3D character animation, with huge names up his sleeve, such as Axis Studios, 2K Czech, and Metricminds. He left a recognizable mark on iconic games - Mafia II, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Tarzan, to name a few. Sounds incredible? Without further due, let’s dig into his story.
Hi, how did you start your career?
I’ve been involved in animation almost all my professional life, maybe except for the very start, when I was focused on web design in HTML and CSS.
My experience goes back to my start when I was working on animated TV series for children while attending remote studies of Mass Media. My breakthrough, however, came with my role in Illusion Softworks, later rebranded to 2K Cezch, working on Mafia II. To start with, I was responsible for mockup animation, scaling it up to the position of cinematic animator.
Oh, that sounds huge! Mafia II is considered legendary. What made you go forward?
The world of animation is so broad. Even in gaming, there are several disciplines, from script animation to the more complex in-game animation. And I am always seeking opportunities to widen my experience and explore the full scale of my profession. Now I can say that I’ve been through all the disciplines animation contains, from movies to TV series and games.
What are the other projects you worked on? Give me some highlights.
I used to live in Brno, Czech Republic, but I moved to Bratislava, Slovakia, a to work on relatively successful hunting games for Cauldron Studio. It was a very exciting experience indeed. But shortly, I left for Munich to work on a remake of Tarzan. Well, I hopped through lots of projects in an effort to gain as much experience as possible and reach new horizons. I wanted to try everything.
For instance, in my beginnings, I used to work a lot with Motion Capture. And sure, it’s a tool with a certain place in animation, and it’s powerful, but I realized I want to focus mostly on the hand-made animation.
Great! But let me ask you, how did you get to QORPO Game Studio?
I’ve been here for a relatively short time yet. I joined last November after being approached by Antonín, our recruiter. I liked the project, so I jumped onto it. Right now, I’m responsible for everything animation-wise across games QORPO is developing. I’m busy working on Citizen Conflict characters as well as the pre-production of AniMate - and it’s so interesting since it revolves around many various creatures, each different and unique.
What was the biggest contribution to QORPO Game Studio so far?
I think that, paradoxically, I can enrich teams with my unorthodox approach to animation since I never formally studied it. Sure, formal studies are great and can be very helpful, but maybe, because of the lack of them, it’s safe to say that I have kind of an outside-the-box point of view.
Sure, I lack some sort of solid background stemming from formal education, but being able to learn everything on my own provides me with the ability to adapt to this fast-evolving field.
So which trends in animation do you perceive the most in recent years?
For instance, I used to be a fan of slower animation, I saw the potential and some sort of strength in it. But moving forward, I re-focused on the faster-paced work. This trend was brought by the latest Spiderman - Spiderman into the Spider-Verse. It set a whole new benchmark in game animation. It introduced so many new techniques to embrace.
Tell me something about your personal goals, professional and outside the workplace.
It’s hard to say. As I said, I’m eager to grow in the animation field, and it still gets me going. Regarding my hobbies, I used to be into skateboarding, karate, photography, and all kinds of animation fields and techniques. I try to stay diverse and also focus also on techniques outside of the gaming niche. I constantly try to develop personally, technically, and artistically.
What do you like the most about QORPO Game Studio so far?
I really appreciate the technical equipment goes above and beyond the current standards. I’m also happy to see the freedom in creative processes. You can really work with an open mind and bring new concepts to the table. Last but not least, I’m happy to be surrounded by great, friendly, and talented people. We can work more freely thanks to the flat structure and informal management at QORPO Game Studio.
Thank you for the interesting talk.
No, problem. Anytime.
