Makers at Heart | Looking back with Senior CG Artist Lauren Shields on the project that allowed her to take ownership & what makes her excited to get to work

We are Makers At Heart. We create the extraordinary.

As the creative engine room of the world’s biggest brands we are driven by one purpose: to solve our client’s toughest briefs beautifully. Our Makers believe in the power of cooperation and partnership to deliver ambitious ideas to that break new ground and deliver awe-inspiring creative work.

Everything we do as a team makes great ideas come to life. We are thinkers, designers, artists, directors, producers, developers, colourists, coders, technicians, editors, animators, writers, doers and makers.

In our Makers At Heart series, we introduce the people behind the projects to hear more about their inspirations, motivations and creative insights. We spoke to Senior CG Artist Lauren Shields about the project that allowed her to take ownership & what makes her excited to go to work.

If you had to choose a project that defines your career, what would it be and why?

In the end, I feel like all the projects I’ve worked on have defined my career in one way or another. Back in college, actually working in the industry seemed like a dream to me! Now that I’ve been working at The Mill for almost eight years, I would pinpoint my work on Monster’s ‘Opportunity Roars’. This job really brought together so much of what I loved and had learned about my practice.

It was hard work, but it allowed me to take ownership of multiple facets on a really cool job (modelling, shading and lighting environmental elements). I felt that everything I had learned came together on that job, and on top of that, I was learning new things. It was, and still is the new experiences that my career brings that makes getting up and going to work exciting for me.

Tell us about something you couldn’t get through your work day without? 

Of course, coffee is a given, but one thing I can’t get through my day without now is my rescue dog, Roxie. Before the pandemic, I would bring her into work with me – having her there gave me a new sense of structure and purpose somehow. Now that we’re all working from home, not much has changed!

There is a quote that says something like “Strive to be the kind of person your dog thinks you are” and it couldn’t be more true in work and life in general.

Check out more Makers At Heart features here and get in touch with our VFX team regarding any upcoming projects here. You can also follow Lauren on Instagram @colonyVFX.