If you really want to have your mind boggled, then head on over to the jonkajtys channel. There, you'll find the work of Polish animator Grzegorz Jonkajtys, who's uploaded some of the most dazzling animated films you're likely to find on the Web.

To watch his movies (ARK, Legacy and Mantis) is to be astonished by the evolution of computer animation technology. These films, along with the amount of detail that went into them - the interiors of the ship in ARK, the complicated lighting effects in Legacy - are a testament to what a painstaking process this kind of work really is.

For his part, Jonkajtys seems to enjoy the painstaking part. In fact, the longer it takes the better. Now based in California, Greg spoke with Openfilm about the movies he's worked on: both the after-hours indie stuff and the big-budget Hollywood stuff.

Hi Greg! Tell us about your education, and what you were working on before you started making short films.

I was born in Poland, where I lived for 30 years. I studied graphics at Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw. After college, working as a graphic designer and illustrator, I slowly embraced what was called "new media" - Internet and interactive CD presentations.

These mediums required some animation, whether it was a spinning logo or a flashing background. These elements of motion design were always cool to create, but I wanted to put more soul, more personality and story into my little animations.

In 1999 I decided to create my first animated short film, Mantis. I had to learn everything: How to write a story that would be suitable for a short film; how to design my characters; how to build them, rig and animate; how to set up 3D scenes, lighting, editing, etc. I knew bits of it before, but here I was facing over 5 minutes of animated film and it wasn't easy. It took me nine months. I did this animation mostly on my Mac, using software called Cinema 4D.

What software do you use now?

For animation, I use a variety of software, like Softimage XSI, Lightwave, Maya, 3Dstudio Max, it really doesn't matter. After all, these packages offer pretty similar tool sets for the animator. What I'm trying to do in creating my animated films is to mix real models, miniatures, with CG animated characters. That's how we did ARK, that's how I did Legacy. I build miniatures, light and shoot them. After that, I populate these plates with CG characters. It adds so much more realism, and makes it more believable.

ARK feels epic in scope but is less than eight minutes long and has only a handful of scenes. How did you come up with the story?

It all started with the striking visuals at the ancient Christian Catacombs in Rome. The mesmerizing maze of the underground corridors made me think of the great closed interiors of a ship transporting people, half dead, half awake... That was the main visual inspiration. From then on, I was developing the story. The final twist at the end of the film was written after the production started.

Do you enjoy the writing process?

Actually, I tend to write down very rough ideas, and jump into the animatics. Since I can very quickly visualize the story, using very rough sketches, some low quality audio samples, and editing software, I tend to immediately create a sequence, rather than go through iterations of written story. Even with dialog, I would record myself talking, and put it straight in the time line, mix it with sound, edit it, etc etc.

ARK took three years to complete, and movies in general often take a very long time to make. As a filmmaker, how do you keep the fire burning?

Well, once you believe in your story, you just know that the process is slow and painful to create it. And with animation - especially after-hours, side-project animation - it's not easy, but doable. What helps is having a friend who believes in the project, and if this friend is an executive producer, that helps, too. In the case of ARK, the producer, Marcin Kobylecki, my great friend, was an unspeakable help and inspiration for me. I have to say, I like long-lasting projects. Ever since college, I enjoyed the assignments that lasted the longest. Whether it was a series of paintings, or a series of posters, I liked to take my time, and evolve my ideas in time. I usually jump into production of the initial idea, right away, and then I polish it, change and shape as I go. It makes the whole process more interesting, and I believe the end result is better.

What movies and other references have you used in designing the look of your films? Spielberg's A.I. would seem to be an obvious touchstone…

In fact, A.I. wasn't the film I referenced in any way. :) I loved this movie, but in the case of ARK, I was more inspired by Ridley Scott, Alien and Blade Runner being the main inspiration, mostly visual of course.

When it comes to the design of the characters, the stunning portraits of Daniel Lee were my main inspiration. The whole idea of using miniature sets was influenced by Brothers Quay short films.

OK, some film-geek questions. You've worked as lead animator on some really cool effects-driven films. What was it like working with Guillermo del Toro on Pan's Labyrinth?

Working on Pan's Labyrinth was a great experience. I was responsible for the majority of CG insect shots, as well as some faerie animation, and a Pale Man monster CG extension. Guillermo del Toro was very specific about what he wanted when it comes to the look and the performance. It was a true pleasure to work with him, because he just knew what he wanted. :)

I'm a huge fan of Frank Darabont's The Mist, which has some very creepy fx. What scenes were you responsible for?

I animated mostly the large insects, but also some scenes with the little dragon, and the medium beast in the parking lot. Some shots of the spiders were really fun to create as well. CafeFX was the sole provider of visual effects, and we had great communication with Frank Darabont.

Some users have commented that the hero of ARK looks like Spock. Was this intentional?

The similarities to Spock are in fact NOT intentional. What I wanted to achieve is the pit bull look. However, I welcome the comparison to Mr. Nemoy with honor. :)

Where do you go from here?

Right now, I am working on two shorts, one live-action called 36 Stairs, and one animated - House of Mirrors. I am also developing a script for a feature film, called The Snow King. On 36 Stairs, I'm collaborating with my friend, director and producer, Philip Koch. It is a very simple story, set in a kind of anti-Utopian world where people's moral decisions are heavily influenced by bureaucracy and the insurance system. (Sound familiar? :) This is a bit of a sci-fi project, but mainly in the drama/thriller genre.

All this, of course, after regular job hours. :) From 9am to 7pm, I immensely enjoy working at Industrial Light and Magic in San Francisco, on a variety of big-budget films, creating visual effects.