About Me
I am Christopher Lloyd Harkins. I am 26 years old, currently living in Nashville, TN. I'm a full-time Model, Texture, Lighting, Rendering, Flash and Web artist at Magnetic Dreams Animation Studio in Nashville.
The Scoop
Many years ago, I found a hobby in making simple program GUIs and websites for friends. Eventually that turned into a strong interest in 3D. I started out using Hash's Animation:Master and used it for a couple of years. As I started my education at MTSU (Middle Tennessee State University), I began using Autodesk's (formerly Alias|Wavefront's) Maya. When I started working at Magnetic Dreams, however, I quickly shifted gears to learn Softimage XSI to work in their production environment. After using several applications, XSI is my application of choice - personally and professionally. Otherwise, my digital toolbox contains various applications including, but not limited to, Photoshop, After Effects, Maya, XSI, Zbrush, Vue and Flash.
During my time at MTSU, I co-founded and served as President of the MTSU SIGGRAPH Chapter for 2 years - until my graduation. Unfortunately, the chapter has since dissolved and no longer operates. One of my greatest contributions to this community is a 71-page tutorial covering the creation of a Panthera Onca (Jaguar), which is actually responsible for much of the traffic I receive on this website.
I filled the rest of my collegiate time with traditional art, sleep and irrelevant coursework.
I'm a graduate of MTSU having majored in Mass Communication with an emphasis in Digital Animation with a double minor in Art and Non-Teaching Education.
I have taught 2 Spring 2009 courses at MTSU - Intermediate and Advanced Digital Animation - and thoroughly enjoyed that experience.
What else?
As to be expected, I have a strong interest of art in the digital medium, particularly 3D work - the fusion of art and science. I strive to learn and excel in all aspects of computer graphics.
Aside from spending innumerable hours staring at a computer monitor, I enjoy spending time with my family - my wife, Kim, and my daughter, Gemmalynn. We also have a ferocious little beast named Pickle who has grown quite jealous of our daughter.
I really enjoy target shooting, money-willing. I only wish I had more time and money to hone my proficiency. I enjoy watering my garden and begging my plants to grow stronger. I try to find time for other hobbies, but life is busy enough. I have developed an usually strong interest in zombies, particularly cheesy zombie movies.
Not much else to tell you. If you would like to contact me, please feel free to do so! You can reach me at chris.l.harkins@gmail.com . Questions and/or comments are always welcome! A resume is available on request.