Takeover Tuesday Vanessa Appleby
An interview with Vanessa Appleby: an art/animation director who straddles the divide between motion design and traditional character animation.
Q&A with Vanessa Appleby.
Read time: 5min
Bella Alfonsi:
Hi, Vanessa! Thanks so much for joining us for Takeover Tuesday. For those who are unfamiliar with you or your work, please give us a lil' intro!
Vanessa Appleby:
Hi! I'm an art/animation director who straddles the divide between motion design and traditional character animation. I've been in the business for almost 15 years now, and I've had a chance to try on lots of hats over the years.
Bella Alfonsi:
How did your career begin? Did you always know you wanted to be in this field?
Vanessa Appleby:
I did not! I've always been a bit of a renaissance woman. I have a lot of varied interests.
In high school, I started drawing caricatures at a local amusement park. I think this is probably the most influential experience of my youth. It taught me a lot about life, but most importantly, it taught me that I could make money with my art. Funnily enough, I still have friends from this time working in the NYC animation industry today.
When I entered college, I had narrowed down my career path to fashion design or animation (odd, I know), so I chose a school that had strong programs for both. I ultimately decided on animation for what I thought was a shallow reason, but turns out was actually a smart one. I liked the people who were going into the animation major much more than I liked the fashion design students. They were funny, and I love to laugh.
I started my career working as a 2d cel animator in Flash, mostly working on childrens' TV. Over the years I transitioned to AE character animation, which led to compositing, which led to commercial motion design, which led to art directing, which led to now. It's been a wild ride.
Personal project from Vanessa.
Bella Alfonsi:
On your website you explain how out of every job you’ve done, directing is by far your favorite. Why is that?
Vanessa Appleby:
The short answer? I like making a plan and executing the plan. That's easiest to do when you're the director ;)
I also love finding out what my team is passionate about and delegating those tasks appropriately. I want to foster a sense of excitement for everyone who works on my projects. It makes the outcome so much stronger.
Bella Alfonsi:
Do you have any advice for someone trying to become a director themselves?
Vanessa Appleby:
You'll have to pay your dues in the industry before people start trusting you to direct. Be patient, keep trying, and don't be afraid to take on a lower paying gig if you get to run the show. You're not going to get to start directing at one of the big studios right out of the gate. Try working directly with clients (think music videos for example) to get some directed spots under your belt. Once people see what you can do when you're in charge, opportunities will come knocking.
Love is at 35,000 feet - directed by Vanessa.
Bella Alfonsi:
You’ve worked with a ton of different art styles over the years. Do you have a favorite?
Vanessa Appleby:
Nope! I'm ADHD and have always loved experimenting in different mediums and styles. I like to push myself and create something unique. I do especially enjoy vector workflows, but that's not exactly a style per se.
Bella Alfonsi:
Your personal illustrations are so colorful and full of life. I think that although each piece is unique from one another, it is still evident that you created all of them. What insight would you give to someone trying to find their “style”?
Vanessa Appleby:
Ha! I may be the worst person to ask. To be honest, having a "style" has always been a point of contention I've internally wrestled with.
In our business, popular looks/styles come and go. A director who has the current "it" look may not have a long lasting career unless they are able to adapt and change with the times. I wanted to be in this business for the long haul, and being as diverse as possible was key for that. I think no matter what, your hand will always shine through even though you're trying to emulate a different look. Your hand will give you cohesion even if your brain is trying to avoid that.
Style frame for QUEST FOR THE LOST CONSOLE.
Bella Alfonsi:
Where do you find inspiration when starting a project from scratch?
Vanessa Appleby:
Everywhere! I go on long walks through the city and often see funny and inspiring things. I'm also a history dork, so I tend to find inspiration from decorative arts and pattern motifs of the past. Most recently I became obsessed with Medieval illuminated manuscripts and scoured thousands of pages collecting funny marginalia creatures. Explore your passions outside of art. Inspiration can come from anywhere.
Bella Alfonsi:
As someone with 15 years of experience, what do you think the future of motion design looks like? And how is it different now from when you first started out?
Vanessa Appleby:
Motion design is already so different from how it was when I started. The biggest shift I've seen is an uptick in women in the field. Between 2008 - 2015 I was usually the only female on a team. This boggled my mind since my degree program was predominantly women.
Despite this, there were, and still are unfortunately, not many women at the top. I do think with the advent of groups like Panimation that things are beginning to change even more. I just hope it keeps going and the industry becomes even more diverse and inclusive.
Bella Alfonsi:
What is your proudest moment in your career thus far?
Vanessa Appleby:
This is a tough one- I kind of hope it's still to come!
Bella Alfonsi:
Any final takeaways?
Vanessa Appleby:
Keep going! This business can be tough, especially when you're just starting out. If what you're doing isn't getting you the results you want in your career, try a different approach. We're creative people. Don't be afraid to apply that creativity to how you grow your career or earn your money.
Takeover Tuesday with Lili Boisrond
An interview with Lili Boisrond: a mixed media artist specializing in animation and design.
Q&A with Lili Boisrond.
Read time: 5min
Bella Alfonsi:
Thanks so much for joining us for Takeover Tuesday, Lili! For those who aren’t familiar with you or your work, please give us a lil’ intro!
Lili Boisrond:
Hi! My name is Lili, I’m a mixed media artist specializing in animation and design. I grew up in Paris and headed to NYC for university where I ended up staying for 8 years. I’m now back in Europe and rediscovering the pleasures of French cheese vocabulary!
Bella Alfonsi:
How did your career start? Did you always know that you wanted to get into the motion design industry?
Lili Boisrond:
My pursuit of motion design actually started on a miscommunication in choosing a semester class in college. Thinking I enrolled in a drawing class, I ended up in “drawing for storyboard”, which led to experimental animation and later to narrative animation. It was mesmerizing because until then I had too many passions to see a clear career road, always having to choose between visual arts, music and storytelling. The animation world and motion design showed me they can coexist in a larger, multifaceted creation. I love the idea of a “global” piece when it comes to making an animation. Goosebumps.
Shots from Architectural Digest project with IKEA
Bella Alfonsi:
The motion design industry is full of folks who have extensive schooling and some, none at all. In what ways has having a formal education in visual arts, art history, and jazz affected your career? Would you recommend higher-education to others?
Lili Boisrond:
This is a tough question for me. I very much enjoyed taking the liberal arts road for education, but I think it’s such a personal choice. I had no idea what I wanted to do and couldn’t pick between one artistic or academic area so it was an ideal mix for me. When I started working in an animation studio fresh out of college I realized I had literally no technical knowledge. No kidding, on my first day I asked a freelancer sitting next to me how to make something bigger in Photoshop...
I worked my way up with intensive ‘head banging against the wall after effects tutorial marathon nights’ and learned things quickly, but I always wondered what things could have been if I had attended a school like SVA.
Looking back now, I definitely wouldn’t change the path I took and I think there are tons of advantages to being self taught - you have to be quick on your feet and I think it makes you a creatively independent person faster. I’m also happy I get to feed my work with a broader source of education whether it be music, philosophy or literature, it makes you stand out and you can always nourish your technical abilities later on!
Bella Alfonsi:
What’s the animation scene like in Paris? Are your clients mostly French or do you find yourself working more internationally?
Lili Boisrond:
I’ve only been back in Paris for a year now, and I have to admit, the scene is not as fluid and funky as New York. For starters, the freelancing system still feels very new here and it takes way longer to establish a solid relationship of trust with studios. In the US, producers are proactive and understand that if you did a good job in another animation shop, there’s no reason you won’t do great in theirs. Well Parisian studios and agencies don’t quite work the same way… Over the course of one year I would say I worked 90% with my US contacts, and 10% were French gigs that took weeks to find and book. When you’re still on NYC rhythm, the French work system feels SLOW.
Compositing and post-fx work with Mighty Oak on their Affirm project.
Bella Alfonsi:
You’ve worked with a diverse group of impressive clients (IKEA, Lyft, New Balance, etc.)! What advice do you have for freelancers first starting out who dream of working with clients like these?
Lili Boisrond:
What worked best for me has been to constantly nourish relationships with studios. On five projects maybe only one will be creatively interesting to you, but for all the times you helped out on a project that was never-ending, all the not portfolio worthy projects, the day will come that you are their go to person of trust. And that day you will be leading the project and make the creative decisions you were only dreaming of taking!
And if you find the time, don’t underestimate the power that personal projects can have on your portfolio - studios can see how you can handle a project from head to toe and that you’re serious about your work. Make sure you sprinkle a nice explanatory case study breaking down your process on top, and voilà.
Bella Alfonsi:
You’ve worked on so many fun projects over the years. Are there any in particular that really resonate with you?
Lili Boisrond:
Yes! The last project I did this summer before starting a year of studies at Gobelins comes to mind right away. My favorite animation studio - Mighty Oak - asked me to art direct a stop motion project for L.L Bean. It’s not often as a freelancer that you get to work on a project from stage A to Z delivery day, besides personal projects. Since I never specialized technically, I’m the Swiss army knife kind of motion designer and it was just wonderful to use all my toolkit in one project… storyboarding, designing, stop motion, compositing etc. Hopefully it’s the first of many more projects like this.
New Balance - Data Driven Design project.
Bella Alfonsi:
It feels like people are freelancing more now than ever. What’s something you wish you knew before going freelance yourself?
Lili Boisrond:
I was lucky enough to have the advices of friends in the industry who were already freelancing rockstars, and I will say what they said to me - never undersell yourself, only share projects that showcase something you like doing because that’s what people will call you for, start building a strong list of animation contacts and nourish it with clever updates. In short : put yourself out there!!
Bella Alfonsi:
When you find yourself in a creative rut, how do you get out of it? What or who inspires you?
Lili Boisrond:
A few things have worked for me over the years. I’m a strong believer in talking your way out of a creative rut. Your friends and family might not be into discussing style frames or art direction, but even saying things out loud helps. The power of voicing out a problem is incredible, and the best is having a buddy to bounce ideas off of. I’ve been torturing my husband for years and it’s worked wonders!
A second way out is to stop thinking about it. You may think taking a walk or heading out to an art show will be a waste of time when you’re on a deadline, but it will most certainly make you snap out of your blockage faster than sitting at your desk pulling your hair. Who knows what you might see or hear along the way, and by giving your brain a break it will thank you creatively.
Bella Alfonsi:
What do you think the future of motion design looks like? Anything you’re excited about or things that are concerning to you?
Lili Boisrond:
I’m continuously in awe of what humans are capable of creating, the new styles that come out every year, and how we still find novel ways to tell stories to others. But with the huge acceleration in AI with tools like Dalle 2 and Midjourney, I’m concerned (yet still hopeful!) about what the future of our creative industries will look like. Will young teens still doodle on a drawing pad or dab in creative writing when the most common tool of creativity will be writing a prompt for an AI to do it? I’m hoping it will open a door to many creative minds and new ways of thinking, but it does raise a lot of questions on where we’re heading.
Bella Alfonsi:
Any final advice/takeaways?
Lili Boisrond:
No regrets! This is my #1 rule in life. I live by it, I work by it, and most importantly I eat by it.
Takeover Tuesday with Sabrina Chaney
An interview with Sabrina Chaney: Post-Production Lead at Mighty Oak in Brooklyn.
Q&A with Sabrina Chaney.
Read time: 5min
Mack Garrison:
Sabrina! Thanks so much for taking the time to participate in our Tuesday Takeover series. For those not familiar with you and your work, can you provide a little background on yourself and your creative style?
Sabrina Chaney:
Hey! I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. I went to school for Animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Now I work as the Post-Production Lead at Mighty Oak in Brooklyn, New York. My creative style is an amalgamation of all my interests: comics, animation, music videos, sculpture, and patterns. My main passion is stop-motion animation, so typically I like to imbue whatever I make with some kind of handmade element or texture.
Mack Garrison:
Oh man - love the word imbue! How did you initially get into the motion design industry?
Sabrina Chaney:
After I graduated from college I knew my portfolio wasn't where it needed to be. I was applying everywhere under the sun and it felt like every email was being swallowed into the void. Nothing really kicked off until I took a few School of Motion courses and re-made my portfolio and reel from scratch while living with my parents. You can see the result of that work here. Matt Vojacek from Made by Things was the first person to take a chance on me and give me an internship - working remotely long before Covid, might I add - and that started my freelancing career which I continued for three years after I moved to Brooklyn in 2017.
Shot from Sabrina Chaney’s demo reel.
Mack Garrison:
There are so many talented folks in our industry, who are some of the people you look up to?
Sabrina Chaney:
The people who inspired me the most when I was starting out are all pursuing their own big projects these days. Isaiah Saxon of Encyclopedia Pictura is directing a movie for A24. Charles Huettner, Benjy Brooke, and Sean Buckelew are adapting the Scavengers short into a TV series for HBO Max. In general, I look up to people with big imaginations who do their own thing independently and feel compelled to share their work (remember Late Night Work Club? Bring that back!). Outside of mograph, I adore the work of Meredith Gran (of Octopus Pie and Perfect Tides fame) and Jonathan Bree. They are both master storytellers in their respective fields, and I feel transported by the worlds and characters they've created.
Mack Garrison:
You work at a really cool studio called Mighty Oak who specializes in stop motion, 2D, 3D and mixed media! What's it like working there?
Sabrina Chaney:
I had already built a working relationship with Mighty Oak while I was freelancing, and they were always my favorite client to work with. I joined the team full-time in March 2020. Everyone on the team is a creative problem-solver, and we bring our unique approach and point of view to every brief. Stop-motion is our favorite medium to work with and we bring that tactile sensibility to every project, whether it's animated in-camera or animated completely digitally. As the compositor, I get to solve a new puzzle every day, which makes my work rewarding and enjoyable. I love the variety of work that we attract, and I especially love when we have the opportunity to push ourselves with new techniques we've never tried before. Like a mighty oak, we are continuing to grow every year!
Title card for the Netflix series: the Principles of Pleasure from Mighty Oak.
Mack Garrison:
What are some of your favorite projects you've had a chance to work on?
Sabrina Chaney:
During 2020 and shortly after I was brought on staff, we created animated sequences for Mary J Blige's My Life which is now streaming on Amazon. That project holds a special place in my heart because whether the world was falling apart or I had something going on in my personal life, I always had something beautiful to look forward to at work. It was also the longest-running project we had worked on as a team, so it felt good to practice consistency and surpass our benchmarks together as the months went by. We developed a painterly frame-by-frame 2D workflow using Procreate and After Effects, inspired by the work of our creative director Michaela Olsen. I can look back on what we made and feel proud of what we accomplished. I was also invited to the film premiere in Lincoln Center along with the rest of our team- and Mary J Blige herself was at the afterparty! We made direct eye contact! I'll never forget it.
Similarly, in 2021, we created animated sequences for the Netflix series Principles of Pleasure. Each episode has a different art direction depending on the given topic, and we used a mix of stop-motion animation with props, pixelation with human actors, collage, frame-by-frame 2D animation, and motion graphics to illustrate topics relating to sexual education and female pleasure. We used a lot of the lessons we learned during 2020 and applied it to the production of PoP. We harnessed the momentum of the previous year to create something fresh and different. Those projects combined offered us a lot of fun and challenging work during the pandemic, which is something I'm still grateful for.
Mack Garrison:
Looking at your reel, you've really done a phenomenal job with your compositing skills! Could you talk a bit about your approach in making a shot feel perfect?
Sabrina Chaney:
Consistency is key. It's not about whether a shot is perfect, it's about whether the shot feels believable. Compositing is a lot like being an illusionist who can do card tricks: of course we may know what lies up our sleeve, but all the audience sees is magic! What I love most about working in After Effects is that there are a thousand ways to achieve a desired result, so there is no "wrong" or "right" approach. It all boils down to the needs of each shot and making sure the hero product or character can shine without any distractions.
A few illustrations from Sabrina Chaney.
Mack Garrison:
What are some things everyone should think about when they're compositing animations?
Sabrina Chaney:
Compositing encompasses a lot of different techniques, including green-screening, rotoscoping/masking, special effects, motion graphics, color correction, and rendering. Each of those skills could be its own visual effects discipline with its own specialized software. I tend to keep everything as simplified as possible to avoid getting overwhelmed, and I find this practice also makes it easier if I need to pass off a shot to somebody else. By simplified I mean things like keeping my project folders organized, using only the most necessary layers in my timeline, and frequently reducing my project to trim down on unnecessary files inside of my .aep. I find that these small acts of tidying up help me stay focused on the compositing work that really matters instead of getting caught up in the weeds, overcomplicating things, and then causing trouble for myself later in a project when I can't make heads or tails of my project file.
Mack Garrison:
Your work and Might Oak's has a very hand-crafted feel. I'm curious what your thoughts are around the development of A.I. Are you worried about what it could do to the industry? And how do you think it will affect the stop motion space?
Sabrina Chaney:
Honestly, I'm very ambivalent and non-threatened by A.I. People have already been creating 3D animation that looks like claymation for years, and projects like The Lego Movie directly reference stop-motion animation techniques. Technically stop-motion has already been made obsolete. People simply love it too much to let it die! If A.I does have a place in the process of creating stop-motion animation, then it'll probably occupy a space much like rapid prototyping technology, which allowed Laika to make characters more expressive using 3D animated faces in Coraline and is now an industry standard practice.
Mack Garrison:
Any advice you'd give to the next generation of creatives?
Sabrina Chaney:
I grew up Extremely Online from middle school through college, migrating from deviantART to Tumblr to Twitter and Instagram in an effort to post and share my work. I never had much of an audience, and I found it more draining than energizing. At the end of the day, I'm not sure how much good it did when it came to actually getting work. By far the best networking connections I've made were from reaching out to people directly via email, using the Internet to do my own industry research, and meeting people face to face at in-person events. Your portfolio speaks for itself. If you feel pressured by social media, I recommend deleting your apps for a temporary period and dedicating the time towards things that inspire you without any plans to share what you've done. Maintaining some semblance of privacy can be intensely freeing, because you're allowed to make mistakes, learn, and experiment without subscribing to trends or comparing yourself to others.
Mack Garrison:
Anything else you'd like to add?
Sabrina Chaney:
I want to place a special shoutout to Panimation NYC! Panimation meetups were how I met many of my current friends and peers right after I moved to New York City when I didn't know a soul. Coming out of the pandemic, I learned how easy it can be to become isolated. It helps to get involved with a community of like-minded people who support each other.
Takeover Tuesday with Katie Trayte
An interview with Katie Trayte: an illustrator based in Washington, D.C as well as the Creative Director at Duke & Duck.
Q&A with Sarah Chokali.
Read time: 5min
Bella Alfonsi:
Hey, Katie! Thanks so much for being a part of Takeover Tuesday. For those who are unfamiliar with you or your work, please tell us about you and what you do!
Katie Trayte:
Thank you so much for inviting me to participate! I love your Takeover Tuesday series.
My name is Katie Trayte and I’m an illustrator based in Washington, D.C as well as the Creative Director at Duke & Duck.
Bella Alfonsi:
Do you have any formal training or are you completely self taught?
Katie Trayte:
I graduated from SCAD with an Illustration degree, but I am fairly self-taught when it comes to animation. I started out of school as an apparel graphic designer for Hollister. So if I made it here, you can too! I always felt a pull towards animation and storytelling, but never really saw where I could fit into the compartmentalized pipelines of feature and tv. When I found the world of motion design I was, in a word, obsessed. I was also what the French call, "Les incompetents". My love of the work made it easy to find motivation in closing my knowledge gap. It was an area where my illustration and graphic design passions could both thrive, and I was so drawn to the experimental styles and trend-setting approaches happening in the field.
Shot from Sony’s | Barbra Streisand project that Katie Art Directed.
Bella Alfonsi:
You have an impressive resume of clients, like Sony, Nestle, and Discovery Channel, just to name a few! What advice do you have for freelancers first starting out who dream of working with clients like these?
Katie Trayte:
I have spent most of my career in-house. From that experience, I would say there’s a huge benefit to being part of a company or studio to get access to those partnerships. Especially if you’re still finding your style and the idea of exploring a lot of different visual directions appeals to you. In-house is also a great place to get a master class on business and sales. Confidence in these skills can help you to feel more empowered to establish and foster relationships with your dream clients as a freelancer.
Bella Alfonsi:
What steps did you take to go from illustrator/designer to Art Director? Do you prefer doing one more than the other?
Katie Trayte:
I jumped from graphic designer in ‘the outside world’ to an AD at Demo Duck. Not having much motion design experience behind me at that moment was… different, but a lot of the skills that had led me to advance in design roles were still very applicable despite the shift between industries. Effective communication, articulation of ideas, and management skills all help take you from making great art to leading great art. I have such a strategy brain that I’d say art director is the role for me. I love being client-facing and problem-solving along the way during a project. I still get to do a fair amount of hands-on work in an AD role, so it’s a win-win!
Style Frame from Duke & Duck’s project for Nestlé that Katie designed and Art Directed.
Bella Alfonsi:
Do you have any advice for someone trying to become a director themselves?
Katie Trayte:
Start by demanding excellence from yourself in your area of production. If you’re producing high-quality work in your role, you’ll be trusted to own more and more of the pipeline. Hone your voice, always concept from a unique angle, and keep learning about areas of production that may be outside your expertise. Most importantly- develop your people skills! Effective negotiation, collaboration, and communication help to win the respect of your client and your team. At the director level, more often than not, your people skills are going to be what makes or breaks the success of a project.
Bella Alfonsi:
Tell us a bit about the piece, Be Aware. What was it like working with Barbra Streisand? How did the unique painterly approach come to be?
Katie Trayte:
Be Aware was such a dream to work on. Barbra Streisand was much more involved in the review and development of the project than I was expecting, which was a really fun surprise. I even have a first pass of my storyboards that came back to us with her handwritten notes on them! Treasure. She and Sony were both great clients.
Since moving to DC I’ve become friends with Elyse Kelly, who is an independent director and founder of Neon Zoo. I admire her work so much, and when she asked me to join the project I was excited about the opportunity to shadow her directorial expertise. The painterly approach came out of a lot of style development with Elyse. We wanted a look that matched the song- sweeping, emotive, and sensitive to the subject matter. I did initial sketch boards in a gestural, loose hand and that treatment felt like a natural marriage to the song lyrics. Elyse’s body of work is very painterly, so her talented animation team was very equipped to bring the look to life.
I love to paint, but most of my work up to Be Aware has had to be very graphic-driven. It felt like I got to really be myself with this style and say, “Don’t bring around a cloud to rain on my parade!”
Bella Alfonsi:
When you find yourself in a creative rut, how do you get out of it?
Katie Trayte:
Working remotely, (like I do now), or working freelance can make a creative rut feel like a creative canyon. An impossible abyss of creative failure from which you will never escape! On my own, I have never had a great solution for these difficult patches other than to take it easy on myself and let time pass, knowing that I’ll move beyond it. As a team, we’ve started a lot of open dialogue about overcoming ruts and are committing to more open avenues of collaboration this year. We’re working to let go of any self-inflicted shame associated with being stuck by reaching out to each other to talk through blocks, hurdles, or low points before they get too far. We’re having a lot of success. Working remotely, you're much more prone to anxiety and self-doubt that can make you retreat inwards. We’re all being intentional about training ourselves out of this habit through communication and feeling safe to be vulnerable with each other.
Shot from Duke & Duck’s “Plos” brand video Katie designed and directed.
Bella Alfonsi:
What or who inspires you?
Katie Trayte:
Both in my personal time and inside Duke & Duck we’re making more of a commitment to developing children’s IP. We’re even starting a sister brand for kid’s content called Double Scoop Studio! About a year ago, we discovered how much talent there was on our team for telling character-driven episodic content and have wanted to give that talent an outlet. That’s been a big inspiration to me- having this group of people come together that are committed to starting this new ambitious journey. I love working with my team to help find the special stories we have within us. Working together to grow these ideas, with a lot of laughter and joy along the way, feels like magic.
Currently, I’m really inspired by any kids media that takes more of a motion design direction to its animation approach or offers a new style in the space. Hey Duggee, Wide Load Vacay, City Island, StoryBots, and City of Ghosts are all great examples.
Bella Alfonsi:
Any final takeaways?
Katie Trayte:
I think I’ve said it all. Thank you so much, Dash team, for hosting these interviews and for always finding great ways to bring our community together!
Takeover Tuesday with Sarah Chokali
An interview with Sarah Chokali: a passionate and multidisciplined motion designer based in Brooklyn, New York. I was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, and have had a lifelong interest in the power of visual storytelling.
Q&A with Sarah Chokali.
Read time: 5min
Mack Garrison:
Thanks for participating in our Tuesday Takeover series, Sarah. For folks not familiar with you or your work, could you give us an introduction and a little background on how you got into the creative space?
Sarah Chokali:
Thank you for having me in the Tuesday Takeovers alongside inspirational artists I’ve admired.
I'm Sarah Chokali, a passionate and multidisciplined motion designer based in Brooklyn, New York. I was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq, and have had a lifelong interest in the power of visual storytelling.
Growing up in a challenging environment sparked my creativity and my love for art at a young age. I've always been fascinated by the way that visual expression can create a connection between people.
I’ve started my career as a graphic designer around 2014. However, my passion for animation led me to discover the world of motion design. Since then, I've been on an ongoing journey to learn more about using motion to communicate and bring ideas to life. I aim to create impactful visual experiences, and I’m not tied to one design discipline. I am working on experimenting with different techniques.
Currently, I’m working with the dream team at Grandarmy at their office in New York City.
Mack Garrison:
You've got an entertaining portfolio in a variety of styles! Do you have a preferred medium you like more than others?
Sarah Chokali:
That's a great question. I'm a bit of a medium maverick. I don't believe in playing by the rules and sticking to just one medium. To me, the magic happens when different mediums come together to create something truly unique and unexpected as long as there is a clear contrast, whether in values, shapes, textures, and/or colors.
Having said that, After Effects is like my home base, the central hub where all my creative ideas come together. It's where I can bring all these different assets and techniques together.
Opening shot from Sarah Chokali’s demo reel.
Mack Garrison:
Some would say that 3d motion design work and illustration work are on opposite sides of the creative spectrum. How does one approach influence the other?
Sarah Chokali:
It's true, 3D motion design and illustration can appear to be on opposite sides of the creative spectrum. But for me, it's less about the differences between the two and more about the different processes that go into each.
I think of it like this - sometimes, I sketch an illustration on my iPad using my pen on the screen, then I'll bring those sketches into Adobe Illustrator and use the pen tool with my mouse to refine the lines. Both steps are part of creating an illustration, but they require different approaches.
The same goes for 3D motion design. During the process of building abstract shapes and bringing them to life in 3D whether using simulations of keyframes, it can be very different from the traditional illustration process. Both methods bring me joy and excitement; by combining different techniques in one place, a new style can be born.
The switch between different mediums is challenging. It didn’t come easily to me, especially when I’m fighting that resistance to using my comfort tools instead experimenting with new techniques. It takes time, practice, and dedication to combine different techniques. I had to sacrifice a lot of my social life and even some sleep in order to learn 3D, but my drive to create unique visuals kept me motivated.
I don’t recommend the combination unless you have enough energy and time. Nothing is more important than our health.
Mack Garrison:
Great answer! I really love your character work; both illustrative and the 3d versions. Where does the inspiration for each come from?
Sarah Chokali:
It’s flattering to know that you find it this way; thanks a lot.
My inspiration for the characters comes from my desire to challenge gender norms and celebrate femininity. Growing up in an environment where being a woman was seen as a sin and with limited representation, I've always been drawn to creating strong female characters. I find joy in bringing these characters to life, both through my traditional illustrations and through my 3D animations. I consciously and subconsciously find it as a way to give a voice to those who may have felt suppressed in the past and to provide a positive representation of women in my work.
Character from Sarah’s “Parallel Project.”
Mack Garrison:
What’s an ideal project for you, and is there a brand you would love to work with?
Sarah Chokali:
Since I’m currently not a freelancer, I’d say what makes a great project to me is the project where I need to push out my limits and seek to create unique visuals for it.
Mack Garrison:
It's always hard to choose a "favorite" project, but is there one piece that really sticks out to you?
Sarah Chokali:
Ah, that’s so tough, especially given that the most interesting projects are still in production. But I just started a new passion project where I share a breathing exercise for the social media scroller. This project is dedicated to creating animated content that offers a peaceful refuge for the mind. Also, it is gonna be an exercise for me as a motion creator.
Mack Garrison:
Can’t wait to see it! I know you're a big advocate for women in tech. What are some initiatives you're currently working on?
Sarah Chokali:
It has always been a pleasure and great responsibility to advocate time and efforts to help unrepresented groups. I’m involved with Code Lab initiative in Baghdad, which focuses on creating the first AI hub in Iraq by organizing bootcamps and workshops. However, I’m temporarily not as active as I used to be when I was present in Baghdad. My goal is to create impactful content that serves to inspire or represent oppressed voices, especially women in my country.
Work from Sarah;s Code Lab involvement.
Mack Garrison:
How has growing up in Iraq shaped your professional career?
Sarah Chokali:
With every challenge comes a new opportunity to learn and develop. Living in Iraq was like living life in a difficult mode. Not only I experienced economic sanctions, two wars, and a civil war that cost me to lose friends and family members. But I also experienced living in a society where women are titled to be only good wives and caring mothers. While I was lucky to have supportive parents, the environment was unfair to women. Women’s freedom and independence are far away from being a reality.
I was vocal about my rights as a human being to work and choose my path. My desire to make an impact and work passionately as a creator was unrealistic to dream of in the environment I lived in.
But I was curious about animation creation. When my uncle’s house got a computer, I stayed there playing with MS paint and was fascinated by that software. Yup! I imagined I could create things frame by frame with that software.
It’s more like my motion design career helped me get independence. Additionally, when I paid for my work, I’d save 75% of it to invest in optimizing my work process to overcome the challenges I was facing.
My background has shaped me into a more determined and resilient individual, always seeking to learn and grow in my craft.
Sarah is one of Iraq’s Influential Women In Tech - click the image to see the article!
Mack Garrison:
Any final takeaways for our audience?
Sarah Chokali:
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about my story with motion design.
With motion design being a rapidly expanding field, it's truly an exciting time to be a part of this industry. Accessibility to resources has never been easier, and if creativity gives purpose to your life, then listening to your intuition, overcoming obstacles, and putting in hard work can lead to fulfilling that purpose.
However, keeping up with the constant advancements in technology and technique can be intimidating, which is why it's crucial to prioritize rest. This includes taking breaks from social media and focusing on physical and mental health. Social media platforms are designed to consume as much of our attention as possible, making it even more important to reduce the time spent scrolling and redirect that energy toward what truly matters. It sounds easy but we all know that many of us find it challenging to limit the impact of social media on our energy.
Takeover Tuesday with Juan Jose Diaz
An interview with Juan Jose Diaz: a Colombian Visual Artist that loves to give life to things with animation.
Q&A with Juan Jose Diaz.
Read time: 5min
Bella Alfonsi:
Hey, JJ! Thanks for taking over a Tuesday with us. Tell us who you are and what you create!
JJ:
Hey Dash Team; thank you so much for having me at Takeover Tuesday. I am Juan Jose Diaz or JJ! I am a Colombian Visual Artist that loves to give life to things with animation; I love to draw and experiment with timing, creating compelling visuals that communicate ideas.
Bella Alfonsi:
What made you make the move from Colombia to the US?
JJ:
I got pretty lucky because my uncle applied for a visa for my family. It took 14 years, but we finally made it, hehe, and the first time I traveled outside Colombia was to migrate to the US.
Transistor Studios - Valentine’s Day Post
Bella Alfonsi:
How has growing up in Colombia influenced you and your work?
JJ:
Oh, it has given me a lot of curiosity and allowed me to learn from artistic referents that use art to talk about serious social issues and reflect on different aspects of being human.
So I always look forward to applying that "idea first over the technique" approach.
Loop referencing the iconic comic "Akira,"
Bella Alfonsi:
Do you have any formal training or are you completely self taught?
JJ:
Yes, in 3D, I studied a 2-year program in 3D animation at night while I was studying Visual arts in college, a 5-year program that I did not finish because we had to migrate. But! of course, I have taken a bunch of online classes and read a bunch of books to improve my practice.
But at a distance, I go back to just wanting to draw, in whatever form that takes.
Bella Alfonsi:
Looking at your portfolio, it appears you are a cel animation wizard. Is this your favorite method of animation?
JJ:
Yes, after a couple of years dealing with the crashing of 3D software, I started to find it easier at the beginning to translate my ideas with drawings without having to be a generalist expert in 3D to model, texture, rig, render, etc.
Vegan World.
Bella Alfonsi:
What’s your workflow like when cel animating?
JJ:
First, thumbnails, where all the crazy ideas appear, tiny drawings trying out different compositions, thinking a lot on the negative space. Then translate that into some rough keyframes, and to find out the right timing, I do a bunch of tests just moving balls around (Everything is on the 12 principles); once that is done: time to do more rough frames, then the tie-down and finally the long process of cleaning so I get comfortable with a nice podcast or music and just work. I feel this is the time when animation gets closer to meditation.
Bella Alfonsi:
You’ve worked on a bunch of fun projects over the years, do you have a favorite?
JJ:
For a client, it will be the project for Baqsimi that I did with Ataboy Studios. I got to animate a dynamic scene and used my 3D background to block out the camera and reference the movement to translate that into drawings.
And a personal one will be the appropriation that I did of one of the Akira pages when in 2020, with all the racial issues going on in the US, I contributed with a loop reinterpreting Akira and the fight for human rights.
Project for Baqsimi which helps patients with diabetes.
Bella Alfonsi:
Who are some artists that you look up to and/or inspire you to create what you do?
JJ:
Sebacuri because his career amazed me, he has been able to develop a bunch of new skills seeing him going from being another motion designer to an illustrator with his own voice and making a living from that. And jonathan_djob_nkondo, because he is a master of timing, the way he works, those keyframes are definitely an artistic statement.
Bella Alfonsi:
What are you most proud of in your career thus far?
Rohan McDonald:
Being in a place I never imagined, not even two years ago, having met incredible people along the way, and having a career that supports my hobbies between extreme sports and travel.
Short animated piece for the LA Galaxy soccer team.
Bella Alfonsi:
Any advice/final takeaways?
Rohan McDonald:
Life is an incredible ride full of surprises. You will never know where you will be in 10 years, so keep learning about everything, not just art; keep making mistakes and make sure you take care of YOURSELF!
Takeover Tuesday Rohan McDonald
Dash animator, Bella Alfonsi interviewed animator, illustrator, and director, Rohan McDonald and we’ve got the scoop on it all!
Q&A with Rohan McDonald.
Read time: 5min
Bella Alfonsi:
Rohan! Thanks so much for being a part of our Tuesday Takeover series. For those who are unfamiliar with you or your work, please tell us a bit about yourself and what you do!
Rohan McDonald:
Thank you all for having me!
I’m an animator, illustrator, and director based in Boston, MA, USA. I create work from a 2D hand drawn perspective, primarily focusing on cel animation. I also love working with printed media and reading independent and self published comics. Beyond that, I enjoy rock climbing with my fiance, tinkering with music production and composition (occasionally), and repeatedly watching the Lord of the Rings behind the scenes documentaries.
Bella Alfonsi:
What inspired you to get into the motion design world?
Rohan McDonald:
I didn’t really understand that motion design was an option for me until sophomore year of college. I went to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) thinking I would be some combination of a painter and editorial illustrator. It became apparent rather quickly that I wasn’t a painter, at least in a fine art setting. In my first few years of school I felt like I had something to prove, so every piece would be about trying to impress people or show off. My painting professor at the time even went so far as to say “Rohan, you’re a really nice guy, but this is terrible.” After that righteous burn, I reconsidered what I was interested in, and came to the conclusion that I just love drawing. So I signed up for Intro to hand drawn animation, which was entirely on paper and entirely about drawing. I loved film and TV and also did some theater as a kid, so it was the perfect combination of acting, drawing, and film for me.
After that class, I wanted more digital animation skills. That’s when I got a crash course in photoshop, After Effects, and how to bring your hand-drawn paper work into digital space. The work we watched in that class brought me closer and closer to motion design as a future career. I would talk to professors outside of class about how to achieve certain looks I was going for and what to watch. So I sought out things like “Late Night Work Club,” where I saw films from artists like Nicolas Menard, Charles Huettner, and Alex Grigg. Then people like Sophie Koko Gate, Caitlin McCarthy and “Parallel Teeth,” appeared on my radar. All of these artists showed me that there was a really intriguing mix of graphic design, print media aesthetics, and cel animation to experiment with. I remember just feeling excited to get out into that world, even just to make commercial work, because I could play.
I then cold emailed every studio/agency in Chicago that created work in the motion design space. I sent over a short 30s reel in search of an internship, a part time job, anything really. I got a fair amount of responses! At the time that was surprising, but the Chicago motion design community is really small, tight knit, and welcoming.
I ended up at Demo Duck as an intern. After my internship, I worked part time at Demo Duck until I graduated. Then Demo Duck hired me full time as a junior art director! I spent the next 3 and a half years at Demo Duck and learned so much on the job, eventually being promoted to Art Director. It was like going to grad school, but without the debt. I really got to put in the time and see Demo Duck grow as a company, in addition to seeing the industry grow and thrive.
“Thanks for Asking” project with Demo Duck
Bella Alfonsi:
Do you have any kind of formal training or are you completely self taught?
Rohan McDonald:
This is a hard one. I definitely have formal training in cel animation and some in drawing overall. But when it comes to graphic design, and digital animation, I learned through a mix of more general SAIC courses, YouTube tutorials, and asking people how they did things. In addition to my own painstaking trial and error. However, I owe a lot to my SAIC professors Joel Benjamin, Shelley Dodson, Matt Marsden, and Jim Trainor, who taught me how to think about film and motion media overall.
When it comes to more soft skills (client communication, organization, timelines + budgeting) and motion design specific stuff, I really learned through immersion. Through Demo duck, I got to go to conferences like Blend and Comotion, in addition to working with amazing freelancers like Zak Tietjen, Milton and Valeria from Notreal, and Martiniano Garcia Cornejo from Fu Imagery (to name a few). I also got to work with the best in house team of producers, art directors, creative directors, and writers, all of whom taught me so much and supported my independent work and my career growth. It was a working experience that really spoiled me in the best way, and gave me lifelong friendships.
Frame from Rohan McDonald’s 2021 Reel
Bella Alfonsi:
As someone who does both animation and illustration/design, do you prefer to do one over the other and why?
Rohan McDonald:
It really depends! I go through waves. Sometimes I’m really tired of animation and sometimes I’m tired of design.
It also depends on the style I’m working with. For certain styles, I like doing more design and illustration rather than motion, and for other styles I like taking more ownership of the entire pipeline. It also depends on the structure of the project: Am I going through an agency, through another director/studio, or is it direct to client? That being said, I love the pre-pro development side of things. And that’s often times a design + motion test kind of process.
But at a distance, I go back to just wanting to draw, in whatever form that takes.
Bella Alfonsi:
Animating by hand is a great way to fully understand the principles of animation and have complete control over what you’re creating. Do you think it’s important that all animators know how to do it the good ol’ fashioned way (by hand)?
Rohan McDonald:
Another hard one! Before I answer this fully, I have a hot take: not all of the 12 traditional animation principles have to be your bible (side note: the “Appeal” principle really frustrates me and feels like an unhelpful and subjective Richard Williams-ism). I know, I know, controversial.
I think animation now is so diverse, experimental, and often times technology driven, to the point where you can accomplish a lot in motion design without having the hand drawn animation background. That being said, you need to know how to think about animation and understand why something might not be working. That’s where an awareness of traditional animation principles comes into play.
So let’s say your simple mograph match cut transition is looking abrupt and startling. Having awareness of traditional animation ideas like anticipation, follow through, and timing will help you tweak that speed graph or adjust the distance between those keyframes to smooth it out. So no, I don’t think people need to know how to hand-draw animation, but knowing the thinking behind the old ways will make you a strong animation warrior.
SupplyFrame NPI Explainer Video
Bella Alfonsi:
I’m sure it’s hard to pick, but do you have a favorite project you’ve worked on?
Rohan McDonald:
I’ve gotten to be part of a lot of great projects in the past few years. One that stands out to me is a project from early 2021, which was a really simple but “vibey” music video for Liam Kazar’s song “Nothing To You.” I had a lot of freedom and I didn’t plan a lot of things out. And interestingly enough, it wasn’t a cel animated project. I just jumped into After Effects with a few rough designs and created tons of loops. Working with that type of improvisation is really fun and low pressure. I’m excited to do more of that in my personal work.
Frame from Liam Kazar’s song “Nothing To You” music video.
Bella Alfonsi:
Your portfolio is full of so many different art styles-from simple shapes with minimal color to more illustrative with lots of bright colors-do you have a favorite style to work in?
Rohan McDonald:
It’s been hard for me to focus on any particular style, or set of tools to work with. I love trying out a style and then trying to add something new, or just explore how I do it specifically. That being said, I usually start off with a line-based pen sketch, so I tend to gravitate towards a line-based illustrative style.
I think there’s a frustrating notion that you have to “find your style” to get work or be noticed as an illustrator and animator. And to some extent that is true. But I have another hot take here: having a style doesn’t have to mean doing the same type of thing over and over again. It can be finding out how your specific perspective translates to different mediums, color palettes, and tools. While algorithms love consistency, oftentimes you can recognize someone’s creative voice no matter what medium they’re in, as long as they’ve experimented and cultivated that voice (which I still struggle with sometimes).
Bella Alfonsi:
What’s the workflow like for a freelance director? Are there any big challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Rohan McDonald:
I’ve been part time freelancing for a while, but 2022 was my first year as a full time freelancer, so there were a ton of challenges!
To be honest, my biggest challenges have been messaging/making sure people understand my offerings while balancing direction projects vs. projects with more specific roles (i.e. cel animator, AE animator, storyboard artist, illustrator). I think this is where my previous point about style becomes relevant. I do a lot of different things, and so I have a lot of different types of projects come along, so I have to plan my time in a way that allows me to flex all those different muscles effectively. Without that stylistic focus, sometimes my freelance workflow has to be re-thought and adapted. And that’s rewarding, but difficult!
Still frame from “Rooms.”
Bella Alfonsi:
“Rooms” is a really fun piece and I love the unique take on connecting mental space with physical space. I see that it’s also been featured on Motionographer, Aeon Magazine, Good Moves, and on Vimeo’s Staff Pick (congrats!!). Can you tell us a bit more about this one and how it came to be?
Rohan McDonald:
Thank you! “Rooms” started out as a series of risograph printed artbooks that I created with my college roommates Lucas Reif and Austin White, who are both amazing designers and collaborators. They had been working through “ShelfShelf,” a small publishing collective. I don’t remember who had the idea to interview people about their spaces, but we all ran with it and conducted our own interviews with family and friends. Lucas and Austin handled the type design, layout, and printing. Then I did all the illustration, and helped with file set up and assembly. We really love the way they turned out and I thought there was a film in there as well. The illustrations were so fun to draw and I thought it would be even more fun to make them move. This was around 2018.
Cut to the pandemic and everyone is experiencing some awareness of physical space and mental space. Everyone remembers how it felt. I used that time to truly investigate how this film could work and what narratives I could find in common between interviewees. I combed through all of our audio, and what started off as a ten minute film was edited down to around two minutes (dodged a bullet there).
The biggest production challenge was creating a workflow that didn’t feel stale or forced. I was working full time at home and it was difficult to find the intrigue and joy in creative work sometimes, especially when going from one screen to another. So I decided to do two things differently: Use rough animator on my iPad for all the rough animation, and delve into Animate CC, a software I hadn’t used a ton at that point. Rough animator allowed me to work more spontaneously and Animate CC gave me clean lines and quick fills that I could apply subtle effects to in AE. Changing up my process really worked out this time around, and Rooms came together with the help of two additional animators (Sofia Diaz, Dena Springer) and a sound designer/composer (Limes and Cherries).
I’m very happy I took my time with it, and I learned a lot. Although I’m glad my girlfriend at the time (now fiancé) pushed me to finish it.
Bella Alfonsi:
Any advice/final takeaways?
Rohan McDonald:
There are always multiple ways to do something, especially in animation. Not everyone needs the perfect AE script or the latest plugin to make things work. Just explore and find the way that you like to do things! And I’m also still trying to figure out how I do things. That will be a lifelong pursuit!
Takeover Tuesday Scott Hoch
An interview with Scott Hoch: a freelance motion designer from Detroit, Michigan.
Q&A with Scott Hoch.
Read time: 5min
Matea Losenegger:
Hi Scott! Can you introduce yourself and explain what you do?
Scott Hoch:
Howdy! Thanks for having me, I’m stoked to be here. My name is Scott, I’m a freelance motion designer from Detroit, Michigan. I also teach digital animation part time at my alma mater, College for Creative Studies (CCS). I like birds, movies, coffee, and making pixels move on screens. Lately I’ve been really thinking about my identity as an artist and where I want to go from here. It’s the beginning of the year so it’s a time of self reflection. I'd say you reaching out to me was good timing because I wanna talk about it!
Matea Losenegger:
What sparked your interest in design and animation?
Scott Hoch:
As long as I can remember I’ve loved drawing and making people smile. I drew all through elementary school, designed t-shirts for my friends' screamo bands in high school, and after that I got an animation degree from CCS. My ambitions were never really focused, I only knew I wanted to do creative work, make a decent living, and make others happy. At one point in college I MAYBE thought I could move to LA, work in TV or feature animation as an artist. Maybe even direct movies. It turns out LA is super competitive and the housing market is a complete joke. If I didn't get a job after graduation I'd be completely screwed but I did not want to move across the country away from my family to MAYBE get a job that hardly covers rent not to mention my debt. I needed to find a different path.
It was around this time that I was introduced to both After Effects and the Detroit Mograph community. Not only was I hooked on this program that could seemingly make magic happen at the push of a button; there was a whole industry outside my front door welcoming me with open arms. There really is something special about a bunch of Midwestern nerds all into the same nerdy shit as you. I instantly felt like I belonged. Soon after I graduated I got an internship as a motion designer for a mortgage company where I learned the ins and outs of the studio system. Two years later, Julie Craft convinced me (and the rest of Boxfort basically) to quit my job and go freelance.
I'm so happy that I didn't have to move away from home to be an animator. Detroit has such a unique identity that is a part of me; I don't know if I’d fit in anywhere else. It’s the perfect sized city, not too big, not too small and there’s lots of nature in the area too! There are so many more artists and creative folks here than anyone would guess because that part isn’t talked about nearly as much in the news. Heck, I didn’t even know it until I was in college. I love Detroit, I could go all day but I’ll leave it at that. Come visit!
Opening shot from Scott’s Demo Reel.
Matea Losenegger:
What’s it like being a part of an animation collective like Boxfort and how often do you all get to collaborate?
Scott Hoch:
It’s the BEST! At its core Boxfort is just a coworking space that a group of friends share so we don’t go crazy working from home all the time. Though, to be honest, I only go in a few times a week. One of my goals this year is to go more often regardless of if I’m booked or not. It’s a wonderful space with cool vibes, hacky sack, movie nights and, yes, there is LaCroix in the fridge. As far as collaboration we all work on such different projects it’s not common that we collaborate on client projects. Sometimes 2 or 3 of us can work together on a larger project but we’ve never truly staffed up to work on a big campaign like a studio would. I think we all prefer being independent. I also think we prefer putting our collaborative potential into short films and music videos. Deep down we’re all storytellers and we love working together to make our ideas a reality. I know all of us at Boxfort are itching to produce more shorts this year so stay tuned!
Matea Losenegger:
You have a slick, succinct reel with a strong intro and outro. What was the thought process behind it and what would you say makes a compelling reel overall?
Scott Hoch:
Maybe an obvious answer but thanks to the internet age everyone’s attention span has been completely obliterated. People can process information really really fast these days which means they can also get bored really fast. I read somewhere that art directors will know within 15 seconds of a reel if they’re going to hire someone. I have no idea if that’s true but why risk it? The intro and outro is one of my happy places. I think everyone should keep a list of their most favorite places and memories. Whenever I have trouble drawing something I just think of clouds, trees, water, sand, lots of stuff! A lot of my art is very intuitive, my hand takes me where my heart wants to go. I love the beach, I love the way it makes me feel. When people watch my reel I want them to be sucked in by the cool ocean breeze and calm waves right before I bombard them with crazy visuals. Then as soon as the reel is really getting you amped up it’s over and we’re looking at a nice pretty wave again. You gotta ease in and ease out amirite?
Half Rez 8 Opening Titles
Matea Losenegger:
I really love the use of color across your portfolio. What is your strategy in creating a successful palette?
Scott Hoch:
There are tons of sites that will show color palettes from different movies or from nature that you can use and I think over time I’ve gotten a better sense for making my own. Coolors.co is a really great site to generate quick palettes that work well together. I'm also fortunate to work with a lot of incredible illustrators that are much better with color than I am. Perhaps from animating their designs I've gotten better at color from osmosis. Honestly I never thought of myself as having good colors so I really appreciate you saying that!
Matea Losenegger:
Is there a particular type of project you like to work on?
Scott Hoch:
Any project where I can collaborate with kind talented people are the ones I like best. Seeing others bring their A game inspires me to do my best. It also helps when my values align with the mission of the company I’m working for. Beggars can’t be choosers in the freelance world but I definitely feel better when I believe the work I’m doing is helping people. I’ve been fortunate to provide animation services to some non profits in the area and would love to do more “good” work with the skills I have.
Matea Losenegger:
Who would be your dream client or artist to collaborate with?
Scott Hoch:
As an avid birder I would do anything to work with the National Audubon Society. Conservation is a very important cause to me and I would be over the moon if any of my work someday helps with wildlife conservation efforts. Lower down the list but still big dream clients for me would be any climate change organizations, any local Detroit businesses or even small coffee brands. So if any Detroit coffee shops that do charity work for birds by tackling climate change are reading this, I’m your guy.
Shot from Scott’s Abstract Waving Loops
Matea Losenegger:
As a seasoned freelancer, what are some of the challenges and benefits that come along with the lifestyle?
Scott Hoch:
I'm sure you've heard this a thousand times but the biggest benefit of freelance can also be its biggest challenge. You are your own boss. It's up to you to keep yourself busy working on your business both on the clock and off. Your schedule is more flexible but you're constantly thinking about your next gig, your taxes, networking, healthcare, retirement, death, taxes, marketing yourself, editing that reel you'll never finish, social media, taxes, etc etc etc. It's a good gig if you've up for the challenge but it's not for everyone. I love being freelance but I'm not sure what the end game is and can see myself going staff one day if the stars align.
Matea Losenegger:
Do you have any advice for aspiring creatives or freelancers out there?
Scott Hoch:
I think art can be an addiction much like any passion. When you're young you're filled with so much anxious energy to create as much work as possible to improve and hopefully get a job. It's good to light a fire under you for a while. But someday that light is going to burn you and if you're not careful it could completely engulf you. Take breaks. Go on trips. Spend time with your loved ones. Art isn't worth sacrificing your health for. I tell my students this all the time but the immense pressure they’re put under, the greatness we expect from them, it’s no wonder why so many artists are nervous wrecks.
In this modern world we live in, everything has been commoditized and our eyeballs are currency. Companies are competing to get the most eyeballs to watch their thing for 6 to 30 seconds before they click or swipe away. I keep saying I’m an artist, that we are artists but that isn’t true. We are content creators. Just throwin’ more chum into the garbage disposal that is the internet. I’ve spent so much of my time in recent years fixing my relationship with art. How does one create something worth anything in a world that’s on fire? What’s the point? And don’t even get me STARTED on AI art.
Clearly I have a ways to go but I feel hopeful for the future somehow. Maybe the point is to defiantly do what makes you happy against all odds. There is still a lot of beauty out there in the world and I want to capture it. Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. I came up with that quote, don't look it up.
Mograph Mondays - Detroit
Matea Losenegger:
What does 2023 look like for you? Are there any projects you’re excited about?
Scott Hoch:
My schedule is actually wide open right now as far as client work is concerned (cough cough hit me up). I think 2023 is going to be a big year of growth for me. The last few years I’ve felt a bit stagnant with my personal art (see above, re: world on fire) but I’ve been taking some online courses and drawing in my sketchbook more lately. Turns out art IS still fun! I really want to add more storytelling to my work like a concept artist would. I want to play with lighting and color and value. Heck, maybe I’ll take up gouache. I feel like I’m finally ready to open the door to growth and the world feels wide open to me again. We’re always told to stay curious and enjoy ourselves but it’s easier said than done. Thank you again so much for reaching out to me and giving me the opportunity to chat! I hope everyone has a great 2023!
Matea Losenegger:
This was great! Thanks, Scott.
Takeover Tuesday Abbie Bacilla
An interview with Abbie Bacilla: 2D and 3D motion designer and illustrator.
Q&A with Abbie Bacilla.
Read time: 5min
Matea Losenegger:
Thank you for taking part in our Tuesday Takeover series! Can you give us a little insight into you and your work?
Abbie Bacilla:
Thank Y’ALL for considering me for Tuesday Takeover! My name is Abbie Bacilla, I’m a 2D and 3D motion designer and illustrator. I work primarily in tech, but love to do character animation on the side.
Matea Losenegger:
What made you pursue design and animation as a career?
Abbie Bacilla:
Animation was always something I wanted to pursue; I wanted to work for Cartoon Network or Disney when I was in high school, but CalArts was (and is) way too expensive. Instead, I went to a small liberal arts college and shifted to graphic design, because I thought it would lead to more jobs. While in college, I happened upon a night class for motion design. My professor gave me the impression that it was way easier and faster than frame-by-frame animation, so I gave it a shot. I ended up liking it so much, I shifted my whole career to it!
Excerpt from How Conservatives Created Cancel Culture #shorts
Matea Losenegger:
What is it like to work at Frame.io on a platform that’s growing so fast within our industry?
Abbie Bacilla:
It’s incredibly exciting to work for a product that other motion designers use. It’s the reason I wanted to work for Frame.io in the first place – it’s a great product with great people working on it! I’ve been at Frame for almost five years, and I’ve had the privilege to watch the company grow from under 100 to over 500. It’s a unique situation for sure, and made me learn a lot of motion techniques and soft skills very quickly. I highly recommend working in a small in-house team at least once; it’s very rewarding to build a brand and make content with a tight-knit group of creatives.
Matea Losenegger:
How would you describe your art style and what was the path that brought you to it?
Abbie Bacilla:
I like to keep my Frame.io and personal art styles separate. My Frame.io “art style” is more about the motion; we like to look at the minimalist typography trends that other tech and film brands are achieving and apply it to our own brand voice. My personal art style stays in the realm of round, colorful and expressive characters, mainly in 2D but sometimes in 3D. I love stretching and exaggerating emotions with a character’s face and body language.
Playing Cards - character loosely based off of King Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn
Matea Losenegger:
The characters you create are so fun and playful. What is your process for bringing them to life?
Abbie Bacilla:
In the beginning, LOTS of pinterest boards and instagram bookmarks. I try to actively seek inspiration rather than wait for it to jump in my lap. I’m mainly inspired by runway fashion, drag, video games, cartoons, and my own life experiences. When I’m sketching, it’s really important for me to streamline the character’s shape language and cut unnecessary detail. In the future I’d like to experiment with more geometric, sharp character designs, rather than my usual bubbly style.
Matea Losenegger:
Do any of your projects stand out as a favorite?
Abbie Bacilla:
My short film that I launched in October, Spacepup, is my favorite so far! It was originally created for the anthology series Things Took a Turn, but I’ve submitted it to a multitude of festivals in New York. I’m hoping it’ll get selected for at least one, so I’ll be able to watch it on a big screen with my best friends in 2023.
Matea Losenegger:
What was one of your most challenging assignments?
Abbie Bacilla:
The first fully-3D launch video I made, Frame.io’s iPad app in 2019. I had a very rudimentary knowledge of Cinema4D at the time, and was limited to Arnold as a third party renderer since I only had an iMac Pro to work with. I was put in charge of the story and boards, so I had to partially direct all the live action bits. I learned a lot from creating that video, and it gave me a taste of what a director role would look like!
Frame.io for ipad
Matea Losenegger:
I see you’re a four-time School of Motion alumni and have a wide skill set in 2D and 3D. Are there any areas in animation that you haven’t explored yet or would like to?
Abbie Bacilla:
There are too many things to learn! I know every motion designer is saying this, but I’m going to try and dive deeper into Blender. I follow a lot of Blender artists on Twitter and they’ve inspired me greatly. Other than that, I’m at a point in my career where I need to double down and expand/improve what I can do with Cinema4D and After Effects. Cinema4D is just a rabbit hole of possibilities. I just need the right project to inspire me to learn more!
Matea Losenegger:
On your site you mention that some of your hobbies include video games and drag shows. Have you found any inspiration from those things for your work?
Abbie Bacilla:
Yes, absolutely! There are so many creative AAA and indie games that inspire me all the time – my latest favorites have been Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, Hades, and Cult of the Lamb. I’d love to create 2D character animations and assets for an indie game someday, ideally for a side-scroller like Cuphead or a fighting game like Skullgirls.
As for drag, it’s not the most obvious source of inspiration for motion design, but that’s why I love it! Drag is great inspiration in terms of color palettes, shape language, visual storytelling, comedic timing and motion in general. I’m a queer artist living in NYC, so I have an abundance of local drag I can go see. But I also watch shows like Rupaul’s Drag Race and Dragula – they’ve really popularized the art form and made it more accessible. Highly recommend both shows as well as supporting the local drag in your area!
School of Motion Manifesto
Matea Losenegger:
What does 2023 look like for you? Are there any projects or upcoming endeavors you’re excited about?
Abbie Bacilla:
I’m collaborating with a friend on a character-heavy short, which I’m very excited for. Other than that, I haven’t consistently kept up with my drawing since covid started. I think 2023 will be the year I develop my visual style and start posting illustrations and 3D renders more.
Matea Losenegger:
What advice would you give to aspiring creatives?
Abbie Bacilla:
This is a common one, but I would find a hobby or source of joy outside of motion that can inspire your work. For example, my latest short film was inspired by my dog Ernie. Not that I’m saying to get a dog – it’s a big responsibility and it’s not for everyone – but it could be pottery, a sport, a tabletop game, book club, anything that will get you outside your home and office and talking to people!
Matea Losenegger:
Thanks so much, Abbie! This was a great chat.
Takeover Tuesday Zak Tietjen
An interview with Zak Tietjen: an animator & illustrator/designer living out in Columbus, Ohio.
Q&A with Zak Tietjen.
Read time: 5min
Mack Garrison:
Zak! I've been lucky enough to work with you over the years, but for those that don't know who you are, tell us a bit about yourself.
Zak Tietjen:
Thanks so much for having me! I’ve really enjoyed reading other interviews of people I’ve admired & some friends of mine.
I’m an animator & illustrator/designer living out in Columbus, Ohio. I love working on a variety of projects from 2D shape animation to cel animated characters and all the way to realistic 3D animation. I have a wife, 2 little girls and 2 dogs who I love spending my free time with at playgrounds, hiking, or cooking up some new recipes.
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Excerpt from Zak’s reel
Mack Garrison:
As more and more folks choose to live and work in smaller markets, tell us a bit about how you were able to build a successful freelance career in Ohio.
Zak Tietjen:
Honestly, I feel like I sort of stumbled into it. I’ve been freelancing for about 6 or so years now and thankfully I’ve been able to build up a lot of connections outside of Ohio. It started slow but it was very important to me to build up trust with any studios/agencies/clients that I worked with. Never miss a deadline, always communicate when you need more time or don’t know a certain skill/technique (but willing to learn), and try to meet or exceed expectations for the project. And honestly, just don’t be a jerk haha. These are all things that several people before me have said, but following those loose guidelines is what I think allowed me to thrive working remotely, before the pandemic made it more common. After doing that enough, you start to get good word-of-mouth. Friends would recommend me for projects or studios would come back because they know I’ll make it easier for them by working hard and hitting deadlines.
Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight - Main On End Title Sequence.
Mack Garrison:
Let's jump into style. How would you describe your aesthetic and your work?
Zak Tietjen:
Oof, that’s a tough one. I’ve been told that I have a certain style but I guess I don’t really see it that way. Admittedly, I love dabbling in a bunch of different styles but I think what people see as a through line is how I animate. I love bringing some of my humor into my character work, when possible. My wife won’t admit I’m funny, so I like to use my work as an outlet. I also really love a nice blend of styles, since that reflects a bit of my skillset. When there’s a lovely blend of 3D & 2D (heck, throw collage in there too!), that’s what excites me! I get bored staying within the same style and I like to jump around. It might also be a bit of envy (or overconfidence haha) when I see artists I admire creating amazing work in other styles and I think to myself “Oh! I want to try that!”.
Mack Garrison:
What are some of your favorite types of projects to work on? Do you have a favorite project from over the years?
Zak Tietjen:
What I love about this industry is that there is such a massive variety of mediums that we can work in. I could be working on some fun cel animation and brush up on my drawing skills, or finding new ways to keyframe some bouncy shapes in After Effects. Then I’ll get tactile and step away from the computer to explore some collage style animation, or rig up some goofy 2D characters. And there are so many opportunities that excite me. The majority of my work is what I’d consider ads, but I’ve also done title sequences, billboards in Times Square, UI animation for tech conferences and graphics for large sports stadiums. Because I’m able to hop around a lot, I think that helps keep each project interesting.
A couple times a year I’m asked to give a talk to the seniors at my alma mater Bowling Green State University and I always try to explain to them that working in this industry doesn’t have to feel like you’re doing “soul-sucking ad work”. I try to find opportunities in every project to do something I consider fun. Whether that’s taking a 2D illustration and giving it a bit of faux 3D in After Effects or pushing the creative a little bit beyond what’s expected. This also brings it back to building that trust and trying to exceed expectations, when possible. Each project presents its own challenges, and at my core, I’m a problem-solver. It’s fun for me to break down a challenging shot and see how we can break it down into smaller actions.
Mack Garrison:
Who are some artists and studios that really inspired you?
Zak Tietjen:
That’s always a tough question to keep concise haha. I find inspiration from so many things and artists, but I’ll try to avoid the usual freelancers & studios that everyone is familiar with. Nocky Dinh is an amazing artist who I had the pleasure of working on Hawkeye with and I was blown away by her talent. She can seemingly crush both 2D & 3D styles. Continuing the trend of title design, Arisu Kashiwagi was another amazing artist who I found on Instagram and I was surprised how much of her work I already had seen & loved. And then Petrick is a collective I believe in Germany, but they’re chock-full of absolutely stellar designers & animators. Everytime they release something online I’m blown away by the wonderful blend of styles and humor. And you know I’m a sucker for people who blend multiple styles together.
Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye - Main On End Title Sequence
Mack Garrison:
What are some things folks should consider before they go freelance?
Zak Tietjen:
For a lot of people, going freelance straight out of college sounds both appealing and terrifying haha. I know it’s obvious, but you’re all on your own. You will often need to communicate directly with clients without the buffer of a studio, so you want to make sure you have good communication skills. For me, I think it helps to have worked in a studio for a few years so that you have an understanding of the full process, from producers to art directors and sound mixers. And one of the bigger tasks that often deters people from freelance is time & money management. If you have a partner or even children, those are big factors. My kids are eating machines, I need to make sure I’m planning our finances out months in advance.
It’s great to work for yourself and build your own schedule but you’re solely responsible for everything. Sometimes getting a nice check at the end of a project, it’s tempting to go get that new gadget in your amazon wishlist, but you have to plan ahead and make sure you have funds set aside for taxes as well. I could go on and on about all of the boring ‘adult things’ you should consider before freelance (I didn’t even talk about insurance or retirement!) but I’ll spare everyone haha.
Mack Garrison:
What's the hardest part of working for yourself and what's the best part?
Zak Tietjen:
I know it’s not for everyone, but I actually really enjoy working from home. I like being able to decide my own schedule. Over the years, I’ve begrudgingly forced myself to be a morning person, so I really enjoy waking up early and starting on work for a couple of hours before the kids wake up, and then spending time with them before school. This also allows me some time to go to the gym, which I think really helps fight off that feeling of sitting at a computer all day.
Skater boi Zak
I’m also the chef in the house and we have a lot of mouths to feed, so if I’m ahead on my work, it’s nice that I can start prepping for dinner or run to the grocery store.
On the other hand, being solely responsible for your work & income can be a bit daunting. Thankfully, I feel like I’ve made enough friends and have a good system of keeping track of my invoices & upcoming projects that it’s rarely an issue, but occasionally there’s still that self-doubt in my mind that’s asking “What if I never get hired again?”. I’ve always been someone who tries to plan ahead for the future so having a career that’s constantly uncertain can be worrisome, but I feel like I’ve been able to figure out my own ways of staying organized and allowing some wiggle-room for uncertainty.
Mack Garrison:
For any studios or agencies reading this post, what's the number one takeaway they should know when booking a freelancer?
Zak Tietjen:
I’m not really sure I have any advice for just studios or agencies, but I do usually try to approach working relationships like friendships. We’ve all had a friend who didn’t treat you the same as you treated them. Maybe you’re the one who always paid for food or you helped them move into their new place but they can’t help you when you need it. So I try to see things from both sides.
I’ve been fortunate enough to build up some nice relationships with studios who hire me often and when they do something kind for me, I’m definitely going to remember that and return the favor. Let’s say it’s 7pm on a Friday and the client has some easy last-minute feedback (easy being a keyword haha). If I’m at home, I don’t mind quickly changing that for the studio because one day my kids will be home sick from school and I’ll have a slow day or maybe I need to take my dog to the vet, etc.
Showing kindness or understanding in a working relationship goes a long way, and if you don’t take advantage of it (freelancers or studios & agencies), I think the output of work is likely to improve, in my experience.
Mack Garrison:
What are you most excited about with the future of Motion Design?
Zak Tietjen:
A bit of projecting here, I’m sure, but I’m super excited for all of the motion dads & moms! Relatively speaking, I’m still pretty young in this industry (the peppered gray in my hair would disagree), so I’m always wondering what kind of longevity I have as a freelance animator/designer. From my experience, typically you would hustle in a big city (L.A., New York, etc.) and either become a Creative/Art Director, or open your own studio and eventually you’d find your way to retirement.
Well, things seem to be changing now. You no longer have to live in those big cities to get work or grow as an artist and some people are just rocking it as amazing freelancers. That and now people being more open about a healthier work/life balance, and many are relocating and starting families. I’m just excited to see where that takes us as an industry. Will I still be jamming as a 60 year old freelance animator? (Can you throw my face through one of those aging filters please haha)
Mack Garrison:
Anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
Zak Tietjen:
This industry can feel so large and daunting but all takes is a simple trip out to a conference (Dash Bash Vol. 2, anyone?) to make it all feel small again. There are so many wonderful and kind people that I constantly bump into both online and at meet-ups, and I’m incredibly grateful for all of the friends I’ve made. There’s nothing better than seeing another friend pop-up on a kick-off call, on the 1st day of a long booking.
By nature I’m an introverted person, but I extremely value the friends and connections I’ve made along the way. So if you haven’t tried to put yourself out there and go to some in-person meetups, I highly recommend it!
Mack Garrison:
Thanks so much, Zak! This was a great chat and I know a lot of folks will be happy to have your insight. And see you at the Bash this July!
Takeover Tuesday Diogo Rosa
An interview with Diogo Rosa: Portuguese graphic designer and creative director.
Q&A with Diogo Rosa.
Read time: 5min
Mack Garrison:
Thanks for participating in our Tuesday Takeover, Diogo. For those that are unfamiliar with you and your work, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Diogo Rosa:
I am a Portuguese graphic designer and creative director who collects a vast and varied amount of ambitions and passions. I love cinema, design, art, food and I recently discovered that I like to travel more than I thought I would.
The idea of being able to experience other cultures and other realities beyond my own is something that fascinates me.
I have been working as a freelancer for the past 7 years now, which allows me to travel while I work. I started my career while I was still in the second year of my design degree at the University of Aveiro. Since then I have worked with numerous brands, studios, and companies. I have had the privilege of working on significant projects that effectively and actively want to create a positive impact on people and society.
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Snapshot from Diogo’s “Spice Trade” project.
Mack Garrison:
You have a wonderful blend of whimsical characters to more graphic looks. How did you develop such a wide range of styles?
Diogo Rosa:
I'm not fascinated by the idea of doing the same thing over and over again, some people say that sometimes my head can be a little chaotic and complex, but in my opinion, it's just a wide range of ideas coming at the same time, and a huge desire to put them all into practice. I get bored easily, so I find tools to ensure that doesn't happen. That ended up defining a little bit of what I do professionally. I'm always pushing my limits to learn and do new and different things, and when that happens I want to see that reflected in my work.
Character from Diogo’s “O Rosa” project..
Mack Garrison:
What are your favorite types of projects to work on?
Diogo Rosa:
Those that allow me to tell stories. Since I was a kid I always loved the idea of storytelling. These stories can be found in many different forms: in movies, visual identities, logos, posters, illustrations... the list is endless.
Mack Garrison:
It's always hard to choose one piece, but is there a project that you're especially proud of?
Diogo Rosa:
By the time I finish a project, it is not difficult to choose, however, this decision is ephemeral. Since progress is my central goal, I strive to make the next piece better than the last. They all tell different stories and represent different contexts. By this I mean, that right now my piece could be one, but tomorrow it could be another. But, if I had to choose only one, it would be the one I did not do in a professional context, but as an escape from everyday routine, almost like an illustrated diary of my ambitions, anxieties, and desires. This project would be "O Rosa".
Mack Garrison:
How did you initially get into design and illustration? Who were the folks that inspired you?
Diogo Rosa:
I remember my parents saying that I wanted to be a chef when I was a kid, yet every time they looked at me, I was drawing, painting, or building something. I don't see it so much as a premeditated choice, but something that happened naturally and organically. Ignoring the cliche, I assume that everything that surrounds me is a reason for inspiration. However, my most recent passion for traveling around the world has acted as a base for many of my new projects.
Work from the Spotify ID project.
Mack Garrison:
Could you tell us a bit about your process? How do you try to tackle creative problems?
Diogo Rosa:
There isn't usually a consistent and uniform line of creation for me. I like to adapt to the clients and the project itself. Everyone and every project require different ways of thinking, and it doesn't help me to have something very rigidly structured. Don get me wrong, the structure is always there, however, for the initial phase, where the creative part is a huge portion of the equation, I like to have a more flexible and fluid process.
But there is something I always do before I start designing. I open my notebook or a blank artboard in adobe illustrator and start putting all my ideas there, from the craziest to the most basic and simple. And in the middle of all these experiments, there is always something that can work as a base or structure for the project.
About the creative problem, well... we all procrastinate, we all have moments where we feel uncreative, and in those moments the only thing that helps (at least for me) is to just keep pushing.
Mack Garrison:
What are some of the tools you use to create your work?
Diogo Rosa:
Throughout my career, I have lost count of the number of tools I have used to create projects, and the number keeps growing, every day we have new tools to respond to new needs, and I make the effort to learn them. Whether these tools are digital or analog. Right now I use Adobe Creative Suite, however, I believe we just need to be creative and stop thinking we need to use X & Y tools to create something magical.
Mack Garrison:
As a successful freelancer, any advice you'd like to give to the next generation of artists?
Diogo Rosa
Thanks for calling me successful, but I still have so much to learn and to grow, and maybe that's what I can share. To not stop growing and learning. No one knows everything, even when we think we do.
It is so easy nowadays to create, share and learn. This easiness brings with it a higher level of competition. With more people doing it, the more saturated the market becomes. Nevertheless, there are audiences for everyone.
My advice is not to waste time with doubts. It was something that I struggled with for a very long time, with so many ideas running through my head, plus all the doubts about which one I should do... It's not worth wasting time on second thoughts, but rather gaining time on doing what is on your mind.
Mack Garrison:
Anything else you'd like to share with our readers?
Diogo Rosa:
Work on your dreams and yourselves. Keep trying to keep yourself fulfilled and happy. And above all, if we help others to achieve their goals, others will help us to achieve ours. We don't have to drag other people down to feel empowered. Be ambitious and humble at the same time.
Mack Garrison:
Thanks so much for the great chat, Diogo! And for the folks reading this, make sure to check out Diogo’s Behance linked here.
Takeover Tuesday Andy Evans
An interview with Andy Evans: an independent Motion Designer with a strong focus on 3D & Art Direction.
Q&A with Andy Evans.
Read time: 2min
Mack Garrison:
Thanks for participating in our Tuesday Takeover, Andy. For those that are unfamiliar with you and your work, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Andy Evans:
Hey, thanks for inviting me to this! I’m Andy Evans, a freelance motion designer based in Reading, UK. I went freelance a month before the pandemic struck which was beautifully timed but I’ve been busy ever since. These days my work has transitioned over from 2D to 3D projects but I still call myself a generalist.
Snapshot from Andy’s BBC Showcase.
Mack Garrison:
Your 3d work is so fun! How did you initially get into the animation space?
Andy Evans:
Thanks! I’ve always been into drawing from a young age and I grew up watching Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon in the 90s. Fast forward 20 years and I started to grow an interest in graphic design. I went on to study this in which one of the modules was motion graphics. At the same time, I discovered Andrew Kramer’s videos on YouTube and it spiralled from there. After graduating, I worked at a few studios and agencies in London surrounded by incredibly talented people who knew 3D inside out. I would always pester them and ask the most basic and mundane questions, but I learnt so much.
Collection of shots from Andy’s “play” page on his website.
Mack Garrison:
Are there certain types of projects that you love to work on? What makes a good client?
Andy Evans:
My favourites are always the ones where there’s lots of room for creative freedom. When the client understands the process and enjoys the outcomes, it always ends up becoming such a positive and fun experience.
Mack Garrison:
Tell us a bit about your process, how do you approach a creative challenge?
Andy Evans:
I try and keep as open-minded as possible during the early stages while sticking to the fundamentals of graphic design. I then sketch these ideas out on paper before bringing them into the digital scene. At the same time, depending on deadlines, I need to be considerate of how long things can take as 3D always takes longer than you think! .
Mack Garrison:
I love the "Play" page on your website. How important is play in a creative workflow and how often do you get the chance to mess around?
Andy Evans:
Thanks! I think it’s very important to have some fun. With some projects, there are restrictions on brand guidelines but I always try and bend the rules. On the other hand, projects can be so open that messing around is to be expected! There’s nothing more satisfying than putting your stamp on something.
Work Andy did for Adele’s performance at Hyde Park.
Mack Garrison:
It's hard to pick one project as a favorite, but do you have any that stick out as being really fun?
Andy Evans:
I recently was lucky enough to work on the visuals for Adele’s concert at London’s Hyde Park this summer. I was surrounded by so many talented people which made the process so much fun. The energy and enthusiasm from the team were electric!
Mack Garrison:
Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give to aspiring creatives?
Andy Evans:
Never stop learning! Keep experimenting and try new things. Don’t feel pressured by social media to compare yourself to others. Just be yourself :)
Mack Garrison:
What do you think the future of Motion Design looks like? Anything you're particularly interested in exploring?
Andy Evans
The fast development of A.I. has been seismic in the past year. Every week there seems to be another company that’s flexing its AI muscles which is fascinating to see. I have started dabbling with it for ideas so I’ll continue to explore that.
Mack Garrison:
Any upcoming projects or personal endeavors you're really excited about?
Andy Evans:
I’m currently working on something that involves boring everyday objects but is portrayed in a fun and unexpected way. Watch this space!
Mack Garrison:
Thanks so much for the great chat, Andy! And for the folks reading this, make sure to check out Andy’s site!
Takeover Tuesday with Marta Azaña
An interview with Marta Azaña: a freelance 2D animator and motion designer..
Q&A with Marta Azaña.
Read time: 5min
Mack Garrison:
Hey, Marta! Thanks so much for participating in our Tuesday Takeover series. For those unfamiliar with you or your work, let's start with an introduction - who are you and what do you create?
Marta Azaña:
Hi! Thanks so much for having me at Takeover Tuesday. I’m Marta Azaña and I’m a freelance 2D animator based in the South West of England. I’m a big fan of bright and retro-y colours and I tend to apply these to my animations, usually pretty abstract and sometimes featuring typography or characters (and bikes!).
Snapshot of Marta’s portfolio.
Mack Garrison:
How did you originally get into the motion design space? Did you have formal training or were you self taught?
Marta Azaña:
I have grown up in a creative family - Before retiring, my dad directed TV commercials and both my mum and dad are also photographers. I remember going to the sets with my dad practically my whole life and I wanted to be a filmmaker too! But I also loved graphic design and illustration. I studied Media in uni, eventually specialising in video editing. To improve my videos, I started to watch a lot of After Effects tutorials on Youtube to create nice looking intros, title sequences, etc. And that’s when I discovered that motion graphics was a thing and it was actually what I wanted to do as a career.
I didn’t study anything related to motion graphics in uni so I’m mostly self taught (I did take an After Effects and Cinema 4D course eventually). Then did two motion design internships in Madrid, Spain.
Biker study from a broader collection of .gifs
Mack Garrison:
I saw you moved to Bristol from Madrid, what was the reason for the move?
Marta Azaña:
When I finished uni in Madrid in 2013 it was recession times and the youth unemployment at that moment was around 55% (the worst year!). After two internships no one hired me and it was suuuper hard to get a junior role so I started to get a bit frustrated and I felt like I wanted a change of scenery for a little while. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to improve my portfolio. I had friends in the UK so I went to live with them while looking for motion graphics & animation jobs. I ended up in Bristol where I did….. another internship! haha this one at least was the most productive one, I learned a lot of animation stuff thanks to my good friend Matt Wilson who also was incredible patient with me & my English. After that internship I got a full time job at Bait Studio in Cardiff (where I lived for a few months) and, after that, at Hungry Sandwich in Leeds (this time remotely). I have been a full time freelancer since 2018.
Virgin America App
Mack Garrison:
What's the animation scene like in Bristol, UK? Are most of your clients in the UK or do you find yourself working more internationally?
Marta Azaña:
When I moved to the UK in 2014 I didn’t know anything about Bristol. Maybe I had heard the one thing or two when I lived in Spain but I moved there blindly which is kind of what I wanted. I instantly fell in love with the city and I was so surprised by how big the animation and creative scene in general was. There were a lot of animation studios and this was 8 years ago… the population has pretty much doubled up since so you can imagine the number of freelancers and studios these days (still quite impressive considering Bristol’s population in 2022 is 700k!).
When I started freelancing I worked with Bristol studios mostly. Nowadays I work with UK and international clients.
Mack Garrison:
It seems like everyone is moving freelance these days. What's something you wish you knew before making that decision yourself?
Marta Azaña:
When I started freelancing I used to feel a lot of anxiety when I finished a gig and while I was waiting for the next one to happen, even though I had been earning more money than I would do if I worked full time. It might have only been a couple of days wait haha but I felt really nervous and I often ended up accepting whatever came next, even if it wasn’t really interesting, just because I wanted to see myself busy. 5 years later I can see there’s definitely plenty of freelance jobs and I feel way more relaxed about not having bookings. In fact, I take way more time off than before and I use it to work on personal projects or just spend more time outdoors, riding my bike and being away from my computer.
I also used to feel guilty about not posting enough personal animations on social media while I didn’t have any client work on. Seems like when you’re a freelancer there’s a lot of pressure to always do something that feels productive or work related and constantly share it with the world, but at least in my case, I found that pressure pretty counterproductive. I love to work on my own animations and experiment when I have time off, but it’s ok not to feel in the mood for it. I find that when I’m in the mood I enjoy it sooo much more, there’s no point to force ourselves in to it.
NPower Business Rewards
Mack Garrison:
What's been your favorite part of freelancing?
Marta Azaña:
As cliche it might sound, I love having a better balance between work and life and also the variety of projects and clients I’ve got to work with. In my opinion, one of the most rewarding things is when you work with a client for the first time and they want to hire you for a second, third time, etc. You don’t really get to experience that while working full time.
Mack Garrison:
Have you found any tips or tricks to landing clients?
Marta Azaña:
When I went full time freelance, I reached out to some studios to get my first projects and since then, the word of mouth has worked very well. My advice would be to enjoy every project as much as possible, even if it’s a small one - The more motivation, the better the results and the communication with the client, which could lead to more future potential projects. Also keeping in touch with lots of different freelancers through social media, platforms like Discord or attending to events (I’ve enjoyed going to Blend and OFFF and I’ve met a few people that way too).
Mack Garrison:
Your portfolio looks great and I'm sure it's hard to just choose one, but do you have a favorite project you could tell us about?
Marta Azaña:
here are so many I’ve enjoyed working on, but the 36 Days of Type 2018 I got to do with Meghan Spurlock meant a lot professionally and personally. Also during the pandemic I got to work on some animated scenes for a documentary called “Meat me halfway” with a Bristol studio called Yoke. That was pretty different to everything I’ve done so far and I realised I would love to do more animations for documentaries or short journalistic pieces.
36 Days of Type 2018
Mack Garrison:
I'm sure there are a lot of animators who look up to you, so I'm curious, who are some motion designers you've always looked up to?
Marta Azaña:
There are sooo many! As I mentioned above, when I was a student I spent A LOT of time on Youtube and Vimeo (good times!) watching tutorials and looking for inspiration and the first person I remember coming across was Jorge Canedo when he shared the projects he did at Vancouver Film School. When above I said “that’s when I discovered that motion graphics was a thing and it was actually what I wanted to do as a career” what I really meant is that Jorge made me want to be an animator haha. I felt soo inspired and since then, the other people that have made me feel the same way have been Andrew Vucko, Yukai Du, Jordan Scott, Bee Grandinetti or Will Rose.
Mack Garrison:
Any final thoughts you'd like to share with our audience?
Marta Azaña:
To anyone who wants to make a career as a motion designer, I’d say keep experimenting and learning, but NEVER feel pressured by social media or compare yourself to others, the main goal should always be to enjoy. When you enjoy and stay motivated, everything else finds its way.
Thank you for this opportunity to show and talk about my work!
Community
Before dash, it was just Mack & Cory. Two animators trying to make some cool stuff in an industry built around speed and efficiency. Cory and I clicked immediately. He was a fantastic 3d animator with a warm personality. Self taught and organized, Cory was the ideal creative to receive a project file from. On the other side of that coin, was me - a 2d animator fresh out of design school, full of ideas and apparently way too many pre-comps in my Ae files. We were both empathetic creatives who stayed late, did a solid for a client, or got a project manager out of a bind. We cared. About the work and the people we worked with.
But, after five years of projects at an agency that was more concerned about how much we could create vs how much care we put in the creative, we were feeling burned out.
We needed a change. And the good news for us was that the industry needed a change too. Clients were becoming more accessible just like the applications we were using and the idea of starting a boutique studio didn’t feel as far-fetched once we saw the success of others.
So Cory and I decided to follow suit. No business background. No real training. Just two guys who thought things could be done a little differently. Two creatives who believed in a work-life balance. Who believed that when love and sweat are poured into a project, less clients yielded bigger results. Two creatives who knew those results came from working in teams, sharing ideas, and collaborating. That’s why two creatives quickly turned to four, then eight, and in a blink of an eye, it wasn’t even about numbers anymore, it was just about the people.
The motion design industry has been awkwardly finding its place over the years. Navigating from infancy, into its adolescence, and in my opinion, finally into who it’s supposed to become - the next leader in the creative space. The motion design industry is feeling confident and if anyone wants to hire and retain talent, you have to be a people first organization.
Each year dash has a word or phrase we try to build around, and for 2022 its “purpose and intention.” We’re not growing just to grow. It’s not about hitting a specific number. We want to make better work with great people. A late, great friend of ours once said that he loved dash because in his words “there is the day you’re born and the day you die, what happens in between is the dash.”
Before dash it was Mack and Cory, now it’s a team.
Mack Garrison
Director of Content
Takeover Tuesday with Rafael Silveira
An interview with Rafael Silveira: Brazilian artist living in Curitiba, Brazil.
Q&A with Rafael Silveira
Read time: 3min
Mack Garrison:
Thanks for joining us for our Tuesday Takeover, Rafael! Your creations have a very unique flavor and they feel incredibly original. For those unfamiliar with your work, could you tell us a bit about your style in your own words?
Rafael Silveira:
Brazilian Contemporary Art with a RetroPopOpPsychodelicSurreal Twist.
Calor Humano - Oil on canvas
Mack Garrison:
Do you think of yourself as an artist or an illustrator? Is there a difference?
Rafael Silveira:
Artist. I think illustration is something different, it's a kind of art you create by demand to clients (usually brands or editorial companies) working together with other creatives (designers, art directors, writers, marketing people). it's also great art and I love good illustration.
Mack Garrison:
Did you have formal training or were you completely self taught?
Rafael Silveira:
I studied art at university (did not finish) and I have a degree in advertising. I think I learned a lot in these places, but I also learned most of things I do today by doing this things and making a deep research, as a self taught.
Mack Garrison:
How has growing up in Brazil influenced you and your work?
Rafael Silveira:
All my personal experiences have a lot of influence in my work. Brasil are very intense and surreal sometimes...
Circonjecturas - Solo show at Caixa Cultural Brasilia
Mack Garrison:
Your textile work looks phenomenal and I love all the little details. Have you always been interested in textile work or is that a new development?
Rafael Silveira:
All these details come from the talented hands of my wife, textile artist Flavia Itibere (my textile works are made in collaboration with her). She influenced me a lot with her fashion/textile references.
Mack Garrison:
Do you have a favorite type or project or medium to work with?
Rafael Silveira:
I work with several mediums. I love oil on canvas and digital art.
Mack Garrison:
Growing up, who were some of the artists or designers that were a big inspiration to you?
Rafael Silveira:
There are a lot of influences...Arcimboldo, Magritte, Mark Ryden, Audubon...I also love anonymous paper ephemera, an artist from 19th century.
BOOM! - Oil on canvas and carved wood
Mack Garrison:
Are there any upcoming projects you're excited about?
Rafael Silveira:
Yes! My new solo show #EspumaDelirante (in english #DeliriousCream ) at Farol Santander São Paulo
Mack Garrison:
Any final takeaways you would like to share with our audience?
Rafael Silveira:
Please follow my insta page for news and more art @rafael_silveira_art
Wild Life - Oil on canvas and carved wood
Takeover Tuesday with Caibei Cai
An interview with Caibei Cai: designer and animator who lives in Shenzhen, China.
Q&A with Caibei Cai
Read time: 3min
Mack Garrison:
Hi, Caibei! Let's start at the beginning: how did you start your career in animation?
Caibei Cai:
I studied animation during my undergraduate, and after I received MA Animation degree from Royal College of Art, I started working as a freelancer. I have made some advertisements, music videos and visual designs, sometimes I also curate programs for the animation weeks.
No More A-Roving Tour
Mack Garrison:
What's the animation scene like in Shenzhen? Is it a pretty big community?
Caibei Cai:
Shenzhen is a city with many Internet companies, animation is usually used for the APP or games. Normally, they would like to choose conservative artistic styles to cater to the public taste. So it is quite difficult to get a suitable project for me.
Mack Garrison:
Do you mainly work with local clients or do you collaborate internationally?
Caibei Cai:
I often collaborate with some agencies in Shanghai and Beijing. I haven’t worked with foreign agencies before, and I’m willing to try it.
Mack Garrison:
Your style is very unique! The textural and organic approach provides a really tactile feel in a digital space. How did you develop this approach?
Caibei Cai:
Thank you! Seeing can mean touching the texture of a thing as people can see roughness and smoothness. Our eyes can feel the coarse edge of the paper, the smooth silk or the sticky oil bottle. So what I trying to do is invite the audience to touch my film through their eyes. But not passively following the storyline or fully understanding the meaning of the film. For me, the film is like a body, you could feel its’ breath, skin, hair instead of dissecting it’s muscle or organ inside.
Pining
Mack Garrison:
Could you tell us a little bit about your process? How do you come up with ideas for a project?
Caibei Cai:
I am very interested in people’s emotions, especially anxiety. Half Asleep talks about a silent relationship, Pining is the unobtainable feeling and the clocks in my room stops is about the insomnia experience. In the pre-production of Half Asleep, I created a linear story, but I only kept the emotion and removed every specific plot. It is similar to the force triggers tactile, you can’t see the actual force but you could feel the physical changing. As for me, the story plot is similar to the force, which let the audience could feel the changing emotion, so I tried to hide the plot but only left the emotion in the film. Besides, Havelock Ellis mentioned that Touch is the most irrational and emotional in the five senses. So showing the tactile could also enhance the emotional expression in the film.
Half Asleep
Mack Garrison:
I noticed you've received Vimeo Staff Picks for Half Asleep, Pining, and The Clock in my Room Stops; congrats! Do you have a favorite of those three? Why or why not?
Caibei Cai:
I don’t have the favourite one, because I always looking forward to my next film, and I’ve just finished an animation short film called Silver Cave, which is about the hunt, domestication and desire.
Mack Garrison:
How long does it typically take to make this style of animation? Is coming up with the idea the hardest part of bringing your vision to life?
Caibei Cai:
Most of my animation is drawn frame by frame, drawing on paper allows me to touch every frame in the film. But it is really time-consuming. I would like to share the working process of Half Asleep. First, I drew all the movement on the paper with charcoal or soft pastel...
I projected the animation on fabric and recorded it.
Finally, I printed the frames out and re-coloured them.
And when I made the logo intro for the BlackFin Production, I drew the frame by colour pencils, and then scan the frames, finally printed it on the waterslide transparent paper.
Mack Garrison:
What's your proudest professional moment so far?
Caibei Cai:
Probably is the moment I got a tattoo of 1920 X 1080 on my arm.
Mack Garrison:
Any advice you'd like to give the next generation of animators?
Caibei Cai:
Eat well, sleep well, play well, and draw well!
Takeover Tuesday with Nol Honig
An interview with Nol Honig: director, designer and animator who lives in New York City.
Q&A with Nol Honig
Read time: 5min
Mack Garrison:
Hey, Nol! Thanks so much for taking the time to hop on a Tuesday Takeover; I've been a big fan of yours for a while. For those who are not familiar with you or your work, could you tell us about yourself?
Nol Honig:
Hi Mack - thanks for the kind words, and for inviting me to participate in this excellent series! Really glad to be here and in the company of so many others I admire.
My name is Nol and I’m a director, designer and animator who lives in New York City. I’ve been freelancing as a motion designer since the late 1990s, which makes me OG. At this point I’d say that I’m best-known for photo-driven, mixed-media “collage” animation, as well as for teaching After Effects Kickstart at School of Motion. Hello everyone!
The Andy Warhol Diaries
Mack Garrison:
How did your career begin? Did you always know you wanted to be in the motion world or did it take a little more luck than that?.
Nol Honig:
It took a lot of luck!
My parents were both very artistic, and encouraged me to be creative from early on. So right there, that’s extremely lucky. I was really into drawing and painting and all the usual stuff, but when I was seven years old Star Wars came out and after that I became fascinated with visual effects, stop motion, photography, and optical trickery. For me, that’s pretty much where it all started. I was also pretty lucky to have an older brother who got seriously into ‘home computing’ in the early 80s, and so I grew up feeling comfortable around computers ahead of a lot of other kids of my generation.
As a teenager I really wanted to be an indie filmmaker like Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, or the Coen Brothers, so after making a lot of 16mm films in college I applied to NYU for an MFA like all of those guys. And I was lucky to get in. When I was there I was really drawn to editing and post production, and volunteered to cut my thesis film on the film department’s first ‘non-linear’ (aka, computer) editing system — an AVID, which the department had just gotten that semester. Spending a few months working on a film project on a computer, and having to learn new software, was a big turning point for me.
I graduated in 1996 and while working in film production, I found myself much more interested in learning the newest software from Adobe called After Effects that had come out in the last year or so. I know it sounds obvious now, but at the time After Effects was the missing piece of the puzzle that allowed me to combine my love of filmmaking, design, animation, storytelling, staying indoors, and technology together in a way that just clicked for me. Still, there was no coherent motion design community at that time, and I worked in various production and post-production roles for many years — including directing a number of music videos for indie bands like Guided By Voices and Apples In Stereo.
My entryway into full time motion freelancing also happened as a result of luck. Somehow I had talked my way into working as an editor for a company that was producing commercials for then Senator John Kerry, who was running for President at the time. And after a few days I convinced them that I should be making commercials for them in After Effects, and not AVID. I made a ton of spots for the campaign that way, and even though John Kerry lost, I became a one-man freelance graphics department for this company. Fast forward many years, and that’s how I wound up as a lead animator for President Obama’s team in 2012.
Fireside History with Michael Beschloss
Mack Garrison:
You've got a really impressive resume of clients: Golden Wolf, Elastic, Buck, Pentagram, Hornet, Block & Tackle, PepRally, Ranger & Fox, Gretel, and let's not forget winning a Martin Scorsese Post Production Award! Tell us a little about that.
Nol Honig:
Well, the Martin Scorsese Post Production Award was something I won for my thesis film at NYU — specifically for the editing. I didn’t get to meet the great man, but as part of the award I was required to write him a letter of thanks. Not much of a story there. I believe the award was $300.
But yeah, in terms of studios … I’m super lucky to have worked with so many excellent teams over the years. As a senior freelancer, I appreciate great producers so much. They work tirelessly to make everything run smoothly, and often don’t get much credit or attention. For people entering the industry, remember: Creative Directors inspire, but Producers hire. Be nice to them, be honest about your calendar and the way you estimate your time, and always make sure to credit everyone on the team if you post about your work — including the producers.
Munn, After Losing
Mack Garrison:
You're a creator and a teacher. What led you to the education side of motion design. Do you prefer one more than the other?
Nol Honig:
I wouldn’t say I prefer teaching over animating, but I will say that being a good teacher is much harder than being a good animator. At least for me. People are more complex than keyframes.
Honestly, I got into it by accident. In 2000 a friend recommended me for a job teaching a class called “Broadcast Design” at Parsons School of Design. I got hired on the spot because I knew After Effects, even though I had no prior teaching experience. But in the end I taught at Parsons for 18 years and in 2017 I won a Distinguished Teaching Award for my contributions to the school. And I’m still in touch with a number of very talented people who I first met as students and are now working in all corners of the industry.
Even better, I had the great luck to team up with School of Motion in 2017 to create their foundation class After Effects Kickstart. I am so proud of that class, and couldn’t be happier that I partnered with such great people.
Mack Garrison:
I see you also do some writing as well. How important is it for creative to be able to write in your opinion? Any tips or tricks to being a better writer?
Nol Honig:
Being a good writer is very important, in my opinion. It helps me make good first impressions over email with people who want to hire me. It helps me win pitches for new work. And it helps me promote that work.
My advice is to remember that writing and editing are separate tasks. Both are necessary, but write first and then edit second if you can help it. And don’t skip the editing part.
The Endless Scare
Mack Garrison:
Tell us a bit about "The Drawing Room." Where does the name come from and why not just go by Nol Honig?
Nol Honig:
Traditionally, a drawing room is where the owner of a house, perhaps with a guest, could ‘withdraw’ for more privacy. For me, that’s where I want to work. In that private, relaxed space, maybe with a friend.
But the reason I don’t work under my own name is just mostly for tax reasons, as boring as that sounds.
Mack Garrison:
Looking ahead, what do you think the future of Motion Design looks like?
Nol Honig:
Laser-guided keyframes.
Mack Garrison:
Any final takeaways?
Nol Honig:
Generally — figure out what works best for you, and then work in that direction. If you want to be a better designer, find sources of visual inspiration outside of motion design. If you want to be a better animator, observe the world intentionally.
Also ... if everyone is doing X, do Y. But that’s just me.
Takeover Tuesday with Allen Laseter
An interview with Allen Laseter: an animator, designer, and director making stuff for brands and studios around the world.
Q&A with Allen Laseter
Read time: 5min
Mack Garrison:
Allen! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us for this week's Tuesday Takeover. For those who are not familiar with you or your work, could you give us a little intro and creative background?
Allen Laseter:
Thanks for having me. I am an animator/illustrator type, now working as Creative Director along with my wife and business partner Lindsey Laseter for our very newly formed studio, Lasso.
My background is really more in the live action world. I went to a small art school in Nashville where I still live and work and studied film, concentrating mostly on directing and cinematography, but the school was small and scrappy enough that you really were able to learn how to do everything, which in retrospect was a massive bonus.
Lasso Studio
My dream at that time was to make narrative films as a director, but when I graduated, reality set in and I started my career freelancing around town working on sets, editing, occasionally “directing” tiny commercials for local businesses, and trying my best to make non-commercial short films and other weird projects with friends.
I was doing this for a couple years until my friend who was really into After Effects and an all around technical wizard passed on a motion graphics type of job to me that he was not able to take on. The school I’d gone to didn’t have any sort of motion or even VFX program, but I’d picked up some After Effects tips from him and had made some stuff for fun just poking around on my own time. I decided to take on the project with my incredibly limited knowledge, and realized quickly how little ill-equipped I was. However, I was forced to learn a lot on the project very quickly, and by the end, I realized that I really liked working this way and wanted to seek out more of this kind of work.
This was still in the first half of the 2010’s when Vimeo had what felt like a really thriving and active motion community, and I was lucky enough to, over time, fall into a network and gradually improve my skills and find work until I had worked out a pretty nice freelance groove, working with various studios around the country as a remote animator, and occasional designer. I kept working on my chops until I began to pursue directing, and eventually got the crazy idea to form a studio!
Mack Garrison:
You've worked on a lot of fun projects over the years, but I'd love to know which have been some of your personal favorites.
Allen Laseter:
The first one that comes to mind is the first project I did for Ted-Ed on the topic of the Hedonic Treadmill framed around the scenario of Winning the Lottery and how it affects your happiness long term. I think this was the first time I had the opportunity to create a project from scratch, aside from the script which was supplied to me, and really approach a client project with a director’s mindset, in terms of really shaping how the overall piece would feel to an audience. It was also by far the longest thing I’d made, being over 4 minutes long. I think this project in particular gave me a big boost in my freelance career.
TED-Ed: Will winning the lottery make you happier?
Another memorable one for me was a short spot I did for Lagunitas as part of their “Mumblephone” series. The task was to take a voice mail that had been left on the company's customer feedback phone line and create an animation to it. That was basically the entire brief and I was allowed to do just about anything I wanted, which is rare and one of my favorite things. It was one of the early times where I got to really be adventurous and imaginative as well as really focus on a narrative for a client project.
Lagunitas: Mumblephone
Mack Garrison:
A lot of folks look up to you as a creative leader so I'd love to know who you look up to?
Allen Laseter:
That’s a really nice thought! This may sound like a cop out, but I look up to tons of people, from people who I know well to some I’ve never even met, and I hate to leave anyone out, so I will purposefully keep this short and limit it to our niche of the industry and name Zac Dixon and Sam Cowden who founded IV Studio here in Nashville. I look up to them for their rare mix of creativity and business ambition. They manage to seemingly keep their studio insanely busy with both client and self initiated projects alike and are extremely successful in both areas which is a huge inspiration to me.
Mack Garrison:
Our industry has been growing like crazy and we have more freelancers than we've ever had before. Any words of wisdom you could share with the next generation of creators? Things you wished you knew as a freelancer?
Allen Laseter:
When you get stuck or run into a problem that you can’t figure out on your own, tell someone quickly instead of burning time trying in vain to figure it out yourself for the sake of your ego. This was a big temptation early in my career and it never worked out well.
Be nice to people, even if they annoy you. It’s still a pretty small field. This will help from a business perspective and from a human perspective.
Hire a cpa.
Mack Garrison:
You and your wife Lindsey recently started a new studio called Lasso which is so exciting! What was the reason for the transition from freelancer to studio owner?
Allen Laseter:
Before Lindsey and I officially decided to start building our studio, I had personally been at a point for a while where I felt like I was ready to move on to something new, but wasn’t sure what. I had been freelancing for a while and enjoyed it but the thing I always craved was more influence over the entire process. I tried going the director route for a little bit and worked with a few different reps, but ultimately nothing ever really worked out all that well.
I was already feeling this in early 2020 and the biggest push in this direction came in March when the pandemic took over everything and we locked down and began to figure out how to work in the same space while raising our daughter and learning how to balance all the new things that stemmed from that. We also just happened to be beginning to collaborate on a project together for the first time ever, even though we were still independent freelancers. These experiences made us realize that, while we had to learn a new way of communicating (and are still learning it) we actually worked pretty well together and that our skill sets overlap very nicely and allow us to do work that we think is unique from a lot that is out there.
Some thumbnails from Allen’s portfolio
Mack Garrison:
What are you hoping to accomplish in the studio space that you weren't able to do as a freelancer?
Allen Laseter:
The main things for me are having more control over what work I take on, more influence over the end result of the work, higher quality/bigger scope projects that become possible when leading teams (as opposed to just working by myself which I’ve often done in the past) and finally, focusing more on actual directing skills, which was kind of my original goal back in film school, just in a different environment.
Mack Garrison:
What do you think the future holds for our industry? Anything in particular you're excited about or things that worry you?
Allen Laseter:
As things become more and more digital, I think that will create more and more opportunity for our kind of work. In particular, I’m excited about what this means for brand identities as this is the main focus for our studio, Lasso. In an increasingly digital space, it’s less and less necessary for a brand’s visual identity to be thought of as static first. It’s interesting to think of a brand in terms of its potential to be a changing and dynamic thing, which is what we are trying to do at Lasso.
On the other hand, and from a more zoomed out perspective, I worry about the increasing percentage of our lives that are spent in the digital realm and I think we should all go outside way more!.
Mack Garrison:
Last but not least, any new projects or creative endeavors we should be on the lookout for?
Allen Laseter:
Lasso will finally be launching a portfolio in mid-March, so keep an eye out for that!
Takeover Tuesday with Kai Kundler
An interview with Kai Kundler, a Berlin born, Frankfurt based Motion Designer and Art Director.
Q&A with Kai Kundler
Read time: 5min
Madison Caprara:
Hi, Kai! Why don’t you start us off with an introduction to yourself? What originally drew you to the creative industry and how did you find yourself where you are today?
Kai Kundler:
Hey! My name is Kai and I am a Motion Designer and Art Director currently based in Frankfurt, Germany. I also love drawing, and I try to bring it into my work as much as possible, whether in personal projects or in my creative daily life. Right now I work a lot for the automotive and motorsport sector.
My creative career began quite conventionally: as a child, I loved to draw and return continually after breaks. The love of drawing evolved into a general lust for art, which led to graffiti and, eventually, design..
Madison Caprara:
I’m not sure I’ve asked this question in previous Takeover Tuesday interviews, but I’m curious. What is it about motion design that you love? Can you remember what the original draw of it was for you personally?
Kai Kundler:
My intention was never to become a motion designer, but like many others, I grew into it. Since I was a kid, I have been a big fan of cartoons and Disney Classics. From a young age, this moved and influenced me. My four-year-old heart was broken by the Mufasa Scene in The Lion King. However, my passion for motion design has grown over the years. I wanted to be an illustrator at first, but then I switched to a more traditional digital designer focus until I discovered my passion for motion design. I was hooked after trying more 2d and 3d animation and knew this is what I wanted to do. I still enjoy creating and watching anything that moves on the screen. I've always been curious about new things and love experimenting with them.
Madison Caprara:
You’re based in Frankfurt, correct? How’s the creative industry? Do you find yourself working more with home-based or international clients? Has the pandemic affected workflow much?
Kai Kundler:
In general, I believe that the creative community is a very open and straightforward one. You run into each other at festivals, talks, and award ceremonies. You usually know each other from a variety of settings or share friends, acquaintances, or coworkers. When you don't know each other, then you will surely meet at a later point in time. It makes little difference whether you live in Frankfurt, Berlin, London, or New York. I have also had the honor of working only with open-minded and easy-going people in this business.
The creative industry has always been a fast-paced one. This was also obvious during the pandemic: it was one of the first industries to be severely impacted, and it was also one of the first to recover and pick up again. Frankfurt has always had a strong international connection as a result of its proximity to financial clients and trade fair events. In general, I work with both international and national clients. Due to the fact that big network agencies are also based here, there is always a strong exchange with other international hotspots.
Of course, the pandemic has changed a lot of our lives. Working from home requires agencies and studios to become even more digital and adaptable. People are used to collaborating in a single location. You sit across from each other or are in meeting rooms. You have offered your support when you have noticed that colleagues need help. We have all worked with teams, slack, dropbox or whatever before. However, in the office, we had many more opportunities to communicate spontaneously or keep up. Now you have to be more active to know what your colleagues are doing, to exchange thoughts, or to see how they are doing.
Madison Caprara:
How do you think the German design industry compares to that of the U.S.?
Kai Kundler:
In general, I believe the design industries in Germany and the United States are similar, but there are differences in influences. Shared influences enable an exchange in Europe, whether it's the German Bauhaus, the rich art history, or the nearby influence of Swiss Design, De Stijl from the Netherlands, Russian constructivism, or even the strong cultural and art history from France or the UK.
It is always dependent on the project or the client. In other words, Germany can appear formal and impersonal at times. This is already present in the German language, as we have a polite and a more personal form of address. This is less prominent in English, making it appear much more relaxed and simple. Until now, it has frequently been the case in Germany that the safer, formal option was chosen over trying something new. But you can also sense a shift here; this is becoming softer, and there is a lot more experimentation going on, both in national and international projects.
The US market appears to be considerably faster-paced and more zeitgeisty. Furthermore, one must not overlook the sheer magnitude of power, technology, and money emanating from Silicon Valley. The global impact is still incredible, and it is still unique in the world.
Madison Caprara:
Where do you go to for inspiration when you find it lacking and how do you maintain your creative edge?
Kai Kundler:
It's important to get inspiration from art, music, photography, architecture and other art forms as well as the motion design scene. When confronted with a blocking barrier, however, the most effective response is to do nothing. Devoting one's time and energy to other activities may be beneficial if circumstances and time allow. Another project, or simply sleeping on it for the night, sports, a walk, or other forms of distraction are always helpful. After that, you can return to the topic with a clearer head.
A walk through the city works best for me. I love to walk through the city and streets and like the vibes of the city. It is very inspiring for me to be connected to the streets. I'm also looking forward to traveling more, and I'm also a big fan of creative challenges like Inktober. Forcing yourself to be a little creative every day exercises your creative muscles and often leads to surprisingly good results.
Hyundai Mocean - Kai Kundler
Madison Caprara:
Do you have an all-time favorite client or project you’ve worked on?
Kai Kundler:
It's tough for me to claim that one particular client was exceptional, because it would imply that other customers weren't as excellent. It is always very dependent on the project and the briefing. But I had a lot of joy working on projects for technological firms like DJI and, as previously mentioned, the automobile sector. In Germany, you just can't get around it. Just as important for me are personal projects or commissions.
Madison Caprara:
What are some up-and-coming media that you’re really interested in diving into in the future?
Kai Kundler:
There is a lot going on right now, such as the Metaverse, NFTs, and AI-based tools. New technological devices, such as Apple's maybe mixed reality device, can also give the entire industry a boost and change entire work processes. I always try to stay curious and try new things, but this has the side effect of increasing my pile of shame with plugins, software or learning new things. To my disadvantage, I like to be an early adopter, so I always have a lot of things I want to try out. However, this also means that I am rarely bored.
Shapes - Kai Kundler
Madison Caprara:
I see that you studied at The RheinMain University. How valuable was your time and education to your career? And is there anything that you felt that you experienced or learned at university that you wouldn’t have been able to learn from anywhere else?
Kai Kundler:
The most significant benefit of this time was the opportunity to experiment. At first, I was given a lot of flexibility and was able to devote myself to a wide range of disciplines. This was the only way for me to discover and strengthen my inner love for motion design, 2d, 3d, and everything that moves on the screen.
That, I believe, is the most important thing a university can give you in a creative field. It is critical to be taught how to sit down and learn on your own. Motion design can be a very technical profession, and new tools are constantly being developed to help you achieve an even better result faster and more efficiently than before.
Madison Caprara:
Now, I’ve heard time and time again how personal projects outside of client work are important for mental health upkeep and furthering your skills as a creative. What is your stance on passion projects? Have you had the time recently?
Kai Kundler:
Personal projects are extremely important. Only here can you completely loosen up and experiment with new things. You can devote yourself to skills and things that are pushed aside in your day-to-day job here as well. You can learn and practice new skills. And once you're comfortable with what you've learned, you can apply it to your job or to your clients. You lay your own foundation here. I try to work on personal projects on a regular basis, and right now I'm focusing on typography and analog drawing.
A visual crush on Japan - Kai Kundler
Madison Caprara:
Aside from creating them for enjoyment, what are some things that you feel you gain from taking the initiative to do your own work?
Kai Kundler:
You begin to fine tune your skills, try new things, but you also strengthen what you already have. This boosts your self-esteem and allows you to recognize your own worth. What you quickly forget is that personal projects are the only way to get started in the creative industry. I can't tell you how many hours I spent as a kid drawing on my paper and having a good time. That is exactly what you should maintain and continue to do later on.
Madison Caprara:
Are you working on anything exciting we should be keeping our eyes open for in the near future?
Kai Kundler:
I'm currently working on a number of projects that I'm not allowed to share or that are still in their early stages. But I make an effort to be active and to create new and exciting things. As a result, it is always exciting.
Madison Caprara:
Is there anything in particular that you would like to end this interview on?
Kai Kundler:
I am sure we will come out of the pandemic stronger than before, having learned a lot about ourselves and appreciating life much more day to day. So keep moving, educate yourself, and stay creative. Also never watch Disney Classics with me because I will cry my eyes out.
Thanks for having me!
Takeover Tuesday with Linda Miletich
An interview with Linda Miletich, an illustrator and digital marketing manager based in Oberpullendorf, Austria.
Q&A with Linda Miletich
Read time: 5min
Madison Caprara:
Hi, Linda! Why don’t we start with a bit of insight into who you are and what it is you do.
Linda Miletich:
Hey there, I’m Linda! Currently I’m enjoying my rather traditional life in the Austrian countryside. That’s also where I found my ideal work-life-balance. Or maybe “work-work-life-balance“ is more accurate: I recently started as a Digital Marketing Manager but I am also an Illustrator and I love the combination. I realized that when your talents and skills are in the creative spectrum there’s so many fields you can bring them into. And I’ve always wanted to cultivate all my interests. Since I’m a very analytical person and super interested in psychology I started to get into conception, brand strategy and marketing. Focusing entirely on illustration wasn’t an option for me since I don’t really like working from home and building mainly virtual contacts (you have to do that if you want to be an illustrator in the middle of nowhere with no real creative community around). I wanted to dive into the real world and spend less time on instagram and my phone. So in my illustration time I focus on a few commissions that really fascinate and inspire me and of course I work on my own projects too.
Madison Caprara:
I see that you studied communication design in school. Could you break that down for us, what exactly is communication design?
Linda Miletich:
Communication design sounds a little cryptic but I think it’s the perfect term for what you learn in design school. There is always a message that has to be conveyed, something you want to show, tell or explain to your audience. Or there might be a way you want to make your audience feel. In communication design you get into the space between the sender (client) and a receiver (target audience) of information and you do all the work so that the receiver takes away the right message. For that you have to dig into a topic, understand it, take it apart and put it together in a way the receiver would understand. You have to develop a concept and your approach to the challenge. That’s what you learn in the course – and of course the many tools that help you visualize and send your message: photography, illustration, text, film, graphic design, sound and interactive media.
Madison Caprara:
How did you pivot into illustration and how have you utilized the skills you learned with your education to further your creative career?
Linda Miletich:
Love that question! I wouldn’t say “pivot“, I’d say I “boomerang-ed“ back to illustration. Drawing is how it all started. As a kid I loved watching anime and every time I played Super Mario I was so fascinated by the fact that you can create a whole new world from your imagination: the stories you can tell, the things you can invent. In design school I focused on brand strategy and design because at the time I thought that illustration was just not foreseeable or reliable enough as a career path for me.
But I also learned that your own happiness and your success is not about choosing what the majority of people does or what is perceived as “safe“. Your safest option is recognizing your own talents and building on them. You owe that to yourself. So I returned to illustration and art, it’s really where I feel most at home and alive at the same time. I think my education in strategy and conception helps me to double check if what I plan and what I draw communicates the right message. But I do get carried away too and find myself in a creative free flow sometimes – that’s often when the best ideas happen. I definitely believe in intuition!
Madison Caprara:
What are the range of projects you’ve worked on? Do you have a favorite?
Linda Miletich:
So far I’ve illustrated wine labels, icons and illustrations for websites, tattoos, cover art for musicians and I am currently working on my own book project. My favorite project is probably my new series “Lenny’s Adventures“. The main character is a little boy. He symbolizes the vulnerable inner child within each and every one of us and I like visualizing the struggles of life with him.
Madison Caprara:
I see that you’ve done a bit of cover art for different musicians and playlists. Tell us more about that!
Linda Miletich:
Sure! I was asked if I wanted to participate in building up the playlist brand Chill Better Daily. The musical focus is instrumental chill vibes and my two partners already had the idea of animal characters as a base for the branding. I developed the five characters and the imaginary world they live in as a base and location for the sceneries and covers along with the overall corporate design, typography and color scheme for the brand. Chill Better Daily releases EPs and singles with different musicians from all over the world. My time at Chill Better Daily has come to an end since I had to re-evaluate my creative capacities but I am super excited where the journey will go for the music and the cover art in the future!
Madison Caprara:
How has living in Austria affected your work?
Linda Miletich:
Well, I don’t think that living in Austria has any particular influence on my work but I create art from a perspective of a young woman living in Central Europe. I think that defines my experiences and therefore my art.
Madison Caprara:
Now, along with the title of “Illustrator” and “designer,” you also are skilled in brand strategy. How do you define the role(s) of a brand strategist? What personal skills does a strategist need to be successful?
Linda Miletich:
Brand strategy is really where every design discipline comes together. As a strategist you have to supervise every little aspect of communication and make sure that the overall result fits the goals of the brand. You are responsible for the brand positioning, the corporate design, brand tonality and everything that builds the identity of a brand. For that you have to like thinking, diving deeper into customer’s brains, understanding them, analyzing their behavior. When building a brand it’s really about bringing together the following things: What do people want? What is economically and ecologically responsible? What is viable for the company? What is feasible? So you have to be ready for complex challenges!
Madison Caprara:
How does it tie in with the work in which you are physically creating?
Linda Miletich:
Apart from a conceptual approach there is not much connection for me and that is wonderful. I love creating with my hands and switching off my brain for a while when I draw. That’s also where ideas find me and I don’t go out there searching for them.
Madison Caprara:
Do you think of yourself as a “brand?” If so, how would you say you’re positioning yourself for success?
Linda Miletich:
I would say: not yet. But I am definitely taking the steps to find and develop my own style. I couldn’t lose my own creative identity for of a commission. In fact, I want to be consulted because of my style. And I am planning a “Lenny’s Adventures“ book in the future – I want to bring my own art into the world too because my own ideas define my most authentic creative self. My ideas come from daily struggles and thoughts. I like to look behind the surroundings, routines and behaviors we view as "normal". So when I have to describe my positioning or my motivation to create art I’d say that I like exploring the mysteries of the obvious.
Madison Caprara:
What do you think will be the most exciting design-related trends of 2022?
Linda Miletich:
I hope that we will see a lot of yellow this year again and recently I am noticing more and more retro Disney illustration vibes. I think and hope that we will continue the revival of past decades and complete the aesthetic with „modern“ elements.
Madison Caprara:
What are you passionate about outside of work?
Linda Miletich:
That’s a good one. My biggest passion is building a life that I am genuinely happy with. Work is a part of this but also building meaningful connections with people is extremely important to me. I love spending quality time with my friends and also I focus on growing as a person and becoming my truest self. Soon I will also move into a new home so at the time you mostly find me putting together interior moodboards.
Madison Caprara:
Is there anything, in particular, you would like to end the interview with?
Liz Galian:
I want to say thanks for the opportunity, this was a lot of fun. And to anyone who reads this: You’re awesome and you’re talented. Keep searching for where you belong. And be nice to each other. :) Much love, Linda.