Here we are again, this time with my pal, Peter Jackson.

Wait…are we talking about THE Peter Jackson?

That all depends on what you mean by “THE.”

If you mean the one Peter Jackson I know personally, then yes.

If you mean the Peter Jackson most people know about, then no.

Worry you not, this Peter’s a good dude and he’s got some great advice for you.

Tell us a bit about yourself and your favorite creative activities:

My name is Peter Jackson. Born and raised in Alaska. No, I did not make any of the Lord of the Rings movies or anything like that. I went to college at Full Sail to get my Bachelor's Degree in Computer Animation. From there I worked at Image Metrics as a Facial Animator, at House of Moves as a Motion Capture Retargeter, and I currently work back up in Alaska at my home church, Anchorage Baptist Temple, as a Motion Graphics Designer doing motion graphics and video shooting/editing. I love video games and board games and stream playing video games on twitch.

Creatively, I enjoy drawing on the occasion. I run a couple D&D campaigns, I get to be very creative there as well as that helps with creative thinking and learning to quickly improvise. I do a little woodworking on the side and coming up with board games.

When do you find it easiest to be creative?

I usually find it easiest to be creative when I am quiet and there isn't a lot of distractions around. Just sitting there, nothing really going on, my mind tends to wander and I start to think of weird things that in turn trigger ideas for games, pictures, animations. I try to write these things down so that later when I am looking for things to work on, I can look back and see what I had come up with and work with what I have. Other times, I tend to be creative when a problem is introduced. I sometimes, at a little bit of a fault, think of solutions to those problems and then end up expanding on those later.

Where do you look for inspiration?

I usually look to my friends and others in my field of work for inspiration. I tend to be a bit competitive when it comes to things, whether it is work or games. Every once in a while, I will head over to a friend from college's demo reel and watch it or check out a another person's work. I end up watch and motivating myself to try and do work just as good, if not better, than what they have done.

What is one suggestion you would give to someone who wants to further develop their creativity?

One suggestion I would give someone who wants to further develop their creativity; make a goal, find others of the same goal, and push yourself to be better. Competition can be a great driving force for becoming better. It doesn't have to be an outright competition with someone, but rather in your mind you have seen what they do and say to yourself, "I plan on trying to do better than what they have done", and if it is a friend you can even use them to help you become better ‘cause they should, in turn, try and help you succeed.

Where can people find you or your work?

Currently, I have my demo reel (though old and outdated) up at https://vimeo.com/pjackson02 .

I also stream on twitch at twitch.tv/playertested