Jama Jurabaev is a widely celebrated concept artist, illustrator and a matte painter collaborating on blockbuster films and franchises. Originally from Tajikistan, he’s now based in London where he’s contributed to series in the Star Wars universe including The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi; feature films like Ready Player One and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; as well as BBC`s Prehistoric Planet, to name but a few.
Through the years, Jama has been a regular guest at Playgrounds events where he’s shared his insights during both online and in-person editions, most recently in Eindhoven in 2024. He always makes sure to give us a new take or fresh twist on his material, and the audience is always blown away by what he has to share. He was quickly at the top of our list for this edition in Berlin.
Celebrated in his field today, Jama’s career trajectory was not a straight line. In fact, at first he studied aerospace engineering, but in his mid-twenties pivoted to focus on concept art. In 2012, he landed a gig at MPC London, working as a matte painter in their commercial department but quickly found himself working on Hollywood productions like Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Moving from MPC, he found himself at Framestore as a lead concept artist for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Beauty and the Beast, Ready Player One and Pan and many more.
Although he studied Aerospace Engineering, in his mid-twenties he decided it was not for him thus switching over to concept art. In 2012 he started working at MPC in London, as a matte painter in the commercial department. There he also got his first taste of the Hollywood experience working on movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Jama’s career has also seen him collaborate with Industrial Light and Magic and Lucas Film. He’s currently working on an unannounced Star Wars project.
We’re looking forward to welcoming him to our Berlin stage where he’ll be sharing insight into some of his most recent work, and diving into his workflow. You won’t want to miss this one!