BRANCHING OUT

Whiskytree founder and CEO Jonathan Harb lifts the lid on the studio's story and its phenomenal success in turbulent times

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Times are tough for the VFX industry, but it’s not all bad news. Even with Hollywood strikes, job losses, and the rise of AI, studios like Whiskytree have been able to blossom.

The California-based studio has garnered a reputation for its breathtaking environments, on-set VFX, compositing, effects simulation, and plenty more on top. Most recently you can see its work in the Apple TV+ series Masters of the Air, with other recent credits including Andor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Indeed, Whiskytree has seen so much success that it recently announced the opening of a second location near Atlanta, Georgia. The facility will help to meet the increasingly extreme demand for VFX in that region, and provide dozens of sought after job opportunities for artists and technicians.

3D World recently caught up with Whiskytree founder and CEO Jonathan Harb to find out about the studio’s journey so far, its incredible CG creations, and why things aren’t necessarily quite as bad as they might seem for the VFX industry.

THE SEED

Whiskytree’s seeds were planted when Harb left school and landed his first job in Industrial Light & Magic’s art department. He gravitated towards concept art and animatics, finding his niche in photorealistic concept work. “While working on the Star Wars prequels, my concept work started to overlap with matte painting, and I moved into the matte department in 1998,” Harb says.