In this episode of Psycho-Cinematic, Vic is joined by guest, Brian Kesinger, the lead character designer of Netflix's "Blue Eye Samurai" (2023).

0:00 Intro

0:55 Working for Disney

2:58 Working on “Tarzan” and the rise of CG

4:38 How did you learn CG animation?

7:10 How long did CG animation take 20 years ago?

8:46 Landing job with Disney while in high school

10:16 Being lead character designer on “Blue Eye Samurai”

13:08 How long did it take to design the characters?

15:02 How the budget works

16:05 Making Mizu subtly masculine

20:27 Adapting animation from a historic time periods

22:03 Variants of Mizu

25:40 How to make 3D animation look 2D

28:38 How “Blue Eye Samurai” chose an animation team

30:44 Brian’s reaction after watching the show

32:50 Fan reactions

33:50 Why “Blue Eye Samurai” worked so well

36:20 This show was “woke done right”

40:20 Working on mature content vs Disney

43:59 When is season 2 coming out?

45:48 Why the last episode is in a wide screen format

47:19 Have you worked on any nightmare projects?

49:35 Where to start if you’re getting into animation today

51:34 What software should an aspiring animator check out?

54:29 Thoughts on the rise of AI and AI art generators