Hey MisadventureFilms,
I know this is not what you actually said, I’m paraphrasing you: basically what you are saying is ‘all you guys that use Blender can not match up to Chris Jones, nor can I, but I’ll switch to another software to achieve that goal’. In translation, it’s not the skill, is the tool.
Despite of sounding like a real ass, because I’ll leave out crucial names, I’ll name just a few: Kent Trammell, pitiwazou, MmAaXx, Pior, kbrilliant (I’m trying to keep my list super short), you’re saying that what keeps these guys away from achieving the point you have set as the goal, is that they use Blender.
Think about it, these are some of the top artists out there! And I’m sure (browsing through the internet) you can find a good number that are better then them, but it doesn’t change the fact that they’re still up at the top. Be aware, you are pitting the global cream of the crop against some specific (local) artists.
In 7 years working in CG studios I have personally met one (maybe 2 artists) that could match that clip from Chris Jones. So this is my challenge for your train of thought: provide us with another 4 links that match the quality of the sample from Chris Jones, and then we can talk. Actually 5 samples done in one software by one person (because we are talking about software holding you back), because Chris Jones did not use one software to do that.
I could give you a whole lot of more examples and metaphors here, but I think you get the point. Provide more examples that prove your point, and then we can talk. All you have said so far is ‘Chris Jones does amazing realistic human animations all on his own’.
It’s OK to shoot for the stars, as long as you are aware what you’re setting yourself up for. In case you are not some super talented freak already, it’s gonna take a while to arrive. Your ‘Pug Astronaut’ piece turned out extremely good, you’re on your way. Just keep on rocking