I'm Jeff McNurlin, I've been an artist in the video game industry for over 11 years.

Computer Origins:
Even though I have been surrounded by computers throughout my life (can you believe I even had a Trash 80?), I never used them for art. I initially felt computers were "cheating" and not "true art" (naturally, I came around on that one).

In my final year at UCLA, I finagled my way into an animation graduate course on creating a CD-ROM. My plan was to learn computer skills I could use in the workplace. When I had to choose my project's subject matter, Star Wars was the first thing that popped in my head; so I created an interactive encyclopedia of most of the characters.

Not only did I learn graphical computer programs, I was also given a crash course on production. My encyclopedia covered over 160 characters; if I did something once, I literally did it several hundred times. In college there is no outsourcing, so I was forced to learn efficient workflows (that I have applied to my projects ever since). Also, gaining encyclopedic knowledge of Star Wars apparently elevated me to a new level of 'geek' status (which, in this career, gives me a good rapport with my fellow co-workers). My completed project even earned me an A for the course, a trip up to LucasArts to present my project to the president of the company, and a job (my teacher worked at a video game company).

I find it fitting that the first video game Pong was invented the year I was born. As a kid I wore out countless Atari 2600 joysticks, heard Pac Man Fever play on the radio, and even owned a Fairchild game system. It seems I have always been destined to work in the interactive industry. Though I tried my hand in the website world for a few years; making video games has been the only thing that has felt "right". My traditional art section shows that I like to draw characters; but what I really love doing is modeling 3D environments. I'm excited about the possibilities of continually improving game systems and tools, since artistically it feels like I'm in the middle of a renaissance.

Feel free to browse my collection, and enjoy your tour.