Michelle Higa Fox is a director and animator based in Brooklyn, New York. She owns Slanted Studios which focuses on creating mixed-media animation for experiences of any kind. During the episode, we discussed her permanent public art pieces, how she started with Mixtape Club, and the importance of building trust with a client.

Links:

Slanted http://www.slanted.studio/

Website: http://www.higafox.com/

Twitter https://twitter.com/higapod

Squall http://www.marcuseckert.com/squall/

Highlights:

-Background

-Transition into animation

-Mixtape Club- the first business

-Music videos

-10-11 of freelancing months & breaking for 2 months for personal projects

-Transition from doing every style to being a director and needing to make those calls for clients

-Make things over and over again to get better

-Pitches: committing to making something look a certain way

-Making depth without using 3D software

-Building trust with a client

-Interactive installation in an airport

-Touchdesigner

-Love for stop motion

-Squall

-The future for Michelle

-Dream client: The MTA (who runs the Subway in NYC)

-Favorite animated film: Rejected, The Hedgehog and the Fog

-What do your parents think you do: I think my parents know now

-Animalator: a corgi- my dog Merlin

Animalators is part of the Gradient Podcast Network. Learn more at Gradient.is.

Jordan Scott is a 2D animator, designer and illustrator currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. He is in the process of transitioning from freelancing to art directing for the Odd Fellows Studio in Portland. During the conversation, we discussed Ice Cream Hater, how to get started in freelance, and the importance of finding work that fulfills you.

Links:

Twitter https://twitter.com/jdashscott

Website http://j-scott.com/

Ice Cream Hater https://twitter.com/icecreamhater

Odd Fellows http://www.oddfellows.tv/

Highlights:

-How Jordan got started

-Making movies in high school

-Vancouver Film School

-Digital Kitchen, Lifelong Friendship Society

-Getting laid off and forced into freelancing

-How to approach freelance work

-What to put on your website

-Honesty is the best medicine

-Being clear on money, time and expectations with clients

-Share your work

-”It would be like painting something and putting it in the closet”

-Odd Fellows

-Why the shift from freelance to full-time

-Pros and cons of working in a team vs. freelancing

-Ice Cream Hater

-Dream client: a client who is open, honest and ready to take risks

-Favorite animated film: Peter Pan

-What do your parents think you do: no one is really sure

-Animalator: a bear

Animalators is part of the Gradient Podcast Network. Learn more at Gradient.is. 

Sander van Dijk is a freelance animator from Brooklyn, New York. During this episode, we talked about his background in architecture and carpentry, why he switched to freelance and the importance of designing work that matters.

Links:

Wish List After Effects http://www.sandervandijk.tv/after-effects-features

Twitter https://twitter.com/georegulus 

Website http://www.sandervandijk.tv/

Sugar Detox Project: http://www.sugardetox.me/

Time Well Spent Project: http://timewellspent.io/

Facebook Redesign: http://dcurt.is/facebooks-predicament

Motionographer article: http://motionographer.com/2015/12/15/trends-with-benefits/

Steve Jobs’ Speech: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

Highlights:

-Transition from architecture and carpentry into animation

-King and Country brought Sander to the U.S.

-Worked for Buck

-Transition to freelance

-Move away from advertising

-Importance of communicating life changing ideas

-Daily choices

-Personal next steps

-Choosing clients that support what you believe

-New Projects: food, health, and technology

-Sugar detox project

-Time well spent project

-Facebook redesign  

-After Effect’s wish list

-Why motion graphics specifically can help bring about change

-Getting close to a story and a concept when working on a project

-Motionographer article - trends, learning

-What new things Sander has been learning

-Advice for people starting out in motion graphics

-Dream client: someone with a complex idea and communicating it an easy, understandable way

-Favorite animated film: Adventure Time Episodes

-What does your parents think you do: they get what I do and are gracious enough to let me run with it.

-Animalator: a squirrel

Animalators is part of the Gradient Podcast Network. Learn more at Gradient.is. 

Erica Gorochow is an animator based in Brooklyn, New York. She owns a studio called PepRally and loves collaborating with other artists around the world. During this episode, we talked about app designing, the Why Pay? project, and the importance of good writing.

Links:

Specimen: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/specimen-a-game-about-color/id999930535?mt=8

PepRally: http://peprally.co/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gorociao

Why Pay?: https://vimeo.com/145548262

Highlights:

-How Erica got into animation

-As a kid always wanting to be an animator

-Learning After Effects

-Film degree from Northwestern

-Transition from 9-5 to freelance

-Pros/Cons: working for a company right out of school

-Creating a safe space to ask questions

-PepRally

-Collaborating

-Why Pay?

-Focus on design and art direction

-Relationships, marketing, getting clients

-Writing for motionographer and Creators Project

-“Writing is one of the most important things in the director's process”

-Bringing on a copy writer

-App called Specimen - a game about color

-What’s next for Erica

-Dream client: more app Work

-Favorite animated film: Tangled

-What do your parents think you do: "I sit in my office all day"

-Animalator: a peacock or a bear

Seth Eckert is a freelance animator and the owner of The Furrow, a studio specializing in animation, illustration, direction and film, based in Lexington, Kentucky. During our conversation, we talked about the practicalities of freelancing, the pro's of collaboration and the difficult balance of structuring work and life.

Links:

https://twitter.com/seth_eckert

https://dribbble.com/seth_eckert

http://setheckert.com/

http://thefurrow.tv/ 

Highlights:

-Hating the work you used to do

-How to find satisfaction in the work that you’ve done

-The power collaboration

-New people helps make up for your weaknesses

-Cel work

-How Seth started in animation

-School

-Learning programs

-Jumping to freelance from full time job

-Insurance and retirement

-Working with Facebook

-Mimicking people’s work

-Life/work balance

-Business names

-Directing, animation, communication balance

-The future of Furrow

-Dream client: people who are the coolest to work with

-Favorite animated film: Tangled

-What does your daughter think you do: I sit in my office all day

-Animalator: a peacock or a bear

Troy Church is a Senior Experience Designer at Adobe in Seattle, WA. During the conversation, we discussed how the design community can be involved in improving Adobe products, the future of After Effects, and Troy’s role at Adobe.

Links:

http://blogs.adobe.com/aftereffects/ (AE team blog)

http://www.adobe.com/products/wishform.html (Submit bugs and feature requests for any Adobe Product)

https://forums.adobe.com/community/aftereffects_general_discussion (After Effects User-to-User Forum )

http://www.troychurch.com/

https://twitter.com/tchurch  

Highlights:

-Role at Adobe

-Working on a small team

-Creative cloud business model

-Been at Adobe for 10 years

-Future of animation

-We interact with our users all the time

-Huge databases of what people think

-Trip reports

-How can users be a part of helping the product

-Forums

-Submit bugs

-iPad pro

-Flash changes

-Google's use of animation

-Dream client/product/After Effects: a good story

-Favorite animated film: the incredibles

-What do the people you love think you do: Saturday morning cartoons

-Animalator: a horse 

Jorge Canedo Estrada lives in Vancouver, Canada and is a creative director and animator at Giant Ant. During our conversation he shared about how he started in animation, his role and the team dynamics at Giant Ant, and his learnings from Blend.

Links:

Giant Ant: http://www.giantant.ca/

Guyana: https://vimeo.com/96605256

https://twitter.com/jrcanest

http://www.jrcanest.co/

Highlights:

-Motion animation with a camera in Bolivia

-Cyber Cafes

-Mom got him first gig

-Scholarship at Vancouver Film School

-Giant Ant

-Monday morning planning

-Half and half animating and creative direction

-Team dynamics

-Pros and cons of working for a studio vs. freelancing

-“Sometimes the best way to grow is to find the best person for the job and learn from them.”

-Future of Giant Ant

-Learnings from Blend

-Dream client: The one that he doesn't know that he would love

-Favorite Animated Film: Toy Story

-What your kids think you do: "He thinks I click on metal all day"

-Animalator: A llama, the national animal for Bolivia

Adam Plouff is a freelance motion designer and animator based in Atlanta, Georgia. During our conversation, we discuss the beginnings of Rubberhose, how to start coding for animation, and his most recent project: “Why Pay?”.

Links:

Why Pay: https://vimeo.com/145548262

Rubberhose: http://www.battleaxe.co/

Highlights:

- Photoshop T-Shirt Designer

- Lead singer of a hardcore metal band

- Learned Final Cut 6 & After Effects

- Animators Kit

- Writing expressions

- “Try to push yourself forward with every project.”

- How to make lines, curves and invert values and volumes

- Rubberhose beginnings

- ”Coding can be taunting: someone described it as staring into the void”

- ”I wrangle data with code. If you can think of it in those terms: it’s just a different way of managing data.”

- Dream client: Myself.

- Favorite Animated Film: Iron Giant , Rejected by Don Hertzfeldt

- What your kids think you do: I make robots

- Animalator: A sloth because they are adorable, and they know how to chill and I don’t.

David Stanfield is a motion designer and director based in Charleston, South Carolina. During our conversation, we discussed his journey from an advertising major to a freelance animator, the pros and cons of animating with a design background, and the Nine Squares project.

Links:

Blend: http://blendfest.ca/ 

Nine Squares: http://9-squares.tumblr.com/

Highlights:

- Advertising major with design classes

- Animation for TV and broadcasting

- Pros and cons to having a design background

- Illustrator and photoshop background

- Having a harder time with space and dimensions

- A piece of advice: “Don't worry about the animation just yet, start by making it look as good as possible, and telling the story in the most effective way. Worry about the animation later. Don’t limit yourself with fear of not being able to animate it.”

- Making the transition to freelance

- “There are more interesting things to aspire to then being comfortable.”

- Nine Squares

- Dream client: people who know what they want, more kid focused work

- Favorite animated film: Aladdin

- What your kids think you do: make really boring cartoons

- Animalator: hedgehog, it is super cute and I knew my daughter would like it.

Allen Laseter is a freelance animator and illustrator based in Nashville, TN. In our conversation, Allen discusses the importance of storyboarding, how to balance work and social life, and gave some tips on where to start with frame by frame animation.

Links:

Coke project: https://dribbble.com/shots/2226244-Retweets-of-Love-Diet-Coke

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lasetat

Perky Bothers: http://www.perkybros.com

”Are You Wondering:” https://vimeo.com/130635635

Highlights:

- Graphic design history transition to directing to animation

- What he loves more about animation over live video

- Tension between mind and implementation

- Problem critiquing in the moment instead of allowing his mind to allow him to create

- Creative process (shot to shot) storyboards

- Storyboards for clients

- Frame by frame animation - where do you start?

- Link to quoted people's work - Are you wondering? project

- Photoshop for frame by frame production

- Hand letter design - on coke dribble times squares

- Mix between working at home and in studios

- Wife working at Perky Brothers

- “What do you have to complain about? You are just making pretty pictures.”- What everyone says about creative workers

- Wife and husband convos

- Life work balance

- Dream Client: Buck, Giant Ant

- Favorite animated film: Princess something?

- What do your wife’s parents think you do? Some kind of video work

- Animalator: snake