Jong Jin Choi - The Mill, New York
Just the facts: Age - 31; Hometown - Seoul, North Korea; Education - Kyunghee University, Seoul - degrees in visual communications & business administration (2002), and Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, MFA in digital arts (2005); Employ - hired at The Mill, New York in Oct. 2006.

Previous experience: Although Choi began experimenting with computers at an early age - he has memories of fiddling with "green monitors and dots and lines" from the age of 12 - he took a circuitous route towards his ultimate destination, working as a 3D artist. Working as a web designer in Seoul, he then, upon parental prompting, investigated a career in business, nabbing a job at Seoul's Hyundai headquarters as a target cost manager. But the pull of the pixel proved too strong to resist, and Choi moved back to fiddling with 3D, working as a modeling and texture artist for a game developer in 2002. Taking the plunge and moving to New York the following year, he enrolled into Pratt and created several accomplished photo-real projects, including a stunning aerial extravaganza titled "Airshow". Upon graduating at the top of his class, he was snagged by The Mill's 3D head in New York, Asher Edwards.

Best work: For PS3 "Drake's Fortune", Choi turned to Mother Nature to inspire the photo-real exterior shots he was responsible for. "I took pictures of the cliffs around my house and studied the textures," he says. "I always try to find the beauty [of the shot]." His experience in modeling and texture work for gaming also helped in developing the look of the lead character. In JCPenney "Zombies" he crafted a slew of menacing yet fashion-friendly 3D monsters. With one of the year's best-loved Super Bowl spots, Coca-Cola "It's Mine", Choi looked after a number of the shots as part of the team that had to turn the spot around in three weeks. He credits senior Mill 3D artists on the spot (including former FBA winner Andrew Proctor) with helping him achieve the necessary looks. Crafting a mid-air war between huge cartoon character balloons "was really challenging and pushed me over my limits", he says.

Future ambitions: As a child he had a healthy obsession with robots, but Choi says he's in no hurry to work on the Transformers sequel. Currently at work on the character design and modeling for a top-secret all-3D commercial for The Mill, he's happy to stick with the frantic deadlines and quick turnarounds of the commercial realm. "If I had to work on the same shots for two or three months I would go crazy," he says with a laugh.

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