Animation Industry Podcast

This chat features Ryan Summers, a veteran motion designer who was just tapped as Senior Creative Director at the creative studio Spillt. Over his career, Summers has worked on projects for Warner Bros, Starbucks, Pokémon, and Google and in this chat he’s going to share how to put together a portfolio to get hired in motion design. Tune in to Ibele and Summers to hear: *The four phases of animatio...

This chat features Eugene Fong, who Terry Ibele met through a pitching workshop at the Toronto Animated Image Society. What’s interesting about this chat is that Fong is not himself an animator, or even in the animation industry. Instead he does global supply chain as his day job, but he’s currently researching everything he can to make the jump into animation - something Ibele did just a few year...

This chat is with Marcos Meson, one of the original founders of the 2D animation app FlipaClip. Meson shares how he started FlipaClip along with his brothers as a side project and grew it into the app that is used by millions today. He also shares what it was like building the team from scratch, how he’s created a very involved international animation community, and their plans for the future of t...

This chat features Brent Forrest who has worked as a special effects animator, storyboard artist, director, and is currently a Technical Director at Marza Animation Planet Inc. in Japan. Forrest shares how he created the concept for his short film Samurai Frog Golf, pitched it to Marza, and then worked with them to get funding and produce the full short. Samurai Frog Golf will premiere at SIGGRAPH...

This chat features the Nice Shorts animation podcast cohosts Fu Yang and Johnny Knittle. Besides interviewing animators on their short film process, Fu Yang is an award-winning stop motion and 2D animator and Johnny Knittle is a music composer who focuses his talents on concert hall works and animated short films. In their chat, Yang and Knittle share the behind-the-scenes of running an animation...

This chat features Eric Larson, a freelance illustration and motion graphics designer who shares how he went from a professional ballet dancer into animation. He also shares how he’s modeled his career after Joey Korenman’s The Freelance Manifesto: A Field Guide for the Modern Motion Designer, which helped fasttrack him to where he is today. Tune in to Ibele and Larson to hear: *Which course Larso...

This chat features Mike Caron, a seasoned Nickelodeon Director and Producer known for his work on Game Shakers, Henry Danger, and most recently, Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder. Caron shares how he worked his way up from an actor on The Young and the Restless to Directing some of Nickelodeon’s biggest shows. He also shares the unique pipeline they created for the live-action/animation mix on Fairl...

This chat features Dutch hand-drawn animator Lava Hijzelaar. Currently she is a student at the renowned Gobelins in Paris and in this chat she’s going to share how she got accepted as an international student and was able to completely skip first year. Plus Hijzelaar will explain why she began to prefer pencil and paper to digital animation and the benefits that come with that. Tune in to Ibele an...

This chat features four stop motion animators, Stephen Belford, Anna Harestad, Heather Little, and Tawny Therrien, who were part of the 11-person team who created Cantastoria, an award-winning stop motion film produced at Sheridan College during the pandemic. Together, they share the challenges of producing a stop motion film remotely, as well as some of the unique solutions they came up with to c...

This chat features Chris Rodgers, who is a stop motion animator living and building a studio in South Korea. Over the years Rodgers has worked on projects for Frederator, The Lego Movie, and Big 5, a South Korean children’s program. Tune in to Ibele and Rodgers to hear: *What opportunity made Rodgers pack up his bags in the USA and pursue stop motion in South Korea *What the South Korean stop moti...

This chat is with 2D animator and storyboard artist Grahaeme Cowie, who is most recently known for his short film, “Everything is Going to Be Okay.” Cowie’s skills have been sought after by animation powerhouses like WildBrain and Titmouse and in this chat he shares how he worked his way up to animation supervisor, then threw that all away to start over from scratch as a storyboard artist. Tune in...

This chat is with Karen and Bill Drastal, the co-founders behind the Chubby Beagle animation studio. Karen and Bill are both seasoned animators, having worked in 2D, production, storyboarding, and directing with companies like Google, Bento Box, and Warner Brothers. In this chat they also share how they came to work on the first ever drag queen superhero feature film, Maxxie LaWow. Tune in to Ibel...

This chat features Luis Ribeiro, who is currently a Partner and Executive Producer at LOBO, the creative design, 2D, 3D, and stop motion animation studio based out of São Paulo and New York. Over the years Ribeiro has worked with brands like Coca-Cola, Disney, and 7Up and in this chat he shares his journey from Brazil to the USA and how he prioritized risky career moves to become the producer he i...

This episode features Karen Disher, who was the first female Director and Story Artist at Blue Sky Studios where she worked on Robots, Ice Age: Dawn on the Dinosaurs, and Ferdinand. Currently she is the Creative Director in Development at Spire where she’s working on their new feature film. In this chat she’s going to share how she got her start, what she’s learned about story and where to find th...

This episode features stop motion animator Jace Wertz, who quit his job in retail to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional filmmaker. Since then he’s set up a complete studio in his home and has gone on to become a stop motion animator, cg animator, editor, director, audio wizard, and more. In fact, he was recently featured in a WEDU Arts Plus documentary and his work on the Chompin’ Stompi...

This episode features London-based 2D animator Jeremy Nixon of Instagram and TikTok Fame. Over the years Jeremy has worked with brands like Amazon Prime, Dell, and Modern Wolf to create animated loops, music videos, and game trailers. In this chat Nixon shares his climb to social media fame and his strategy to make it as an independent animator. Tune in to Ibele and Nixon to hear: *Nixon’s social...

This episode features independent stop motion animator D.M. Galloway, who animates action figures for a living. Over the years he’s worked with brands like TMNT, Iron Man, Halo, and Captain America, and in this chat he’s going to share where it all began. Tune in to Ibele and Galloway to hear: *How Galloway grew a following of over 100K subscribers on YouTube from scratch *How Galloway manages to...

This episode features Spanish illustrator and 2D/stop motion animator Alba Medinyà, who in 2018 decided to leave Spain and pursue an animation career in Canada. In this chat, she details the entire process from leaving Europe, finding stop motion animation work in Canada, and then her ultimate decision to move back to Spain in 2021. Tune in to Ibele and Medinyà to hear: *What the visa process is l...

This episode features artist and animator (and Danny Phantom fan art enthusiast) Christian Haynes. In this chat, Haynes shares his journey to get his own original series, Zack in Time, off the ground. Tune in to Ibele and Haynes to hear: *How Haynes assembled a team to work on Zack in Time *Hayne’s thoughts on animation school vs learning on your own *How to get the right type of feedback to impro...

This episode features Toronto and New York based stop motion animator and filmmaker Chelsea Lee. In the past Lee has worked with brands like Bank of America, Hennessy, and Pinterest, and also productions like Ultra City Smiths, and Benny’s Mini World. In this chat Lee shares her journey from professional dancer into the art of animation. Tune in to Ibele and Lee to hear: *Her biggest tips to impre...

This episode features animator, artist, and director, Laurie Rowan, who is renowned for his quirky, loopy, and cute 3D animation style. Over the years clients like Google, the BBC, MTV, and others have commissioned custom pieces from Rowan. He’s also racked up numerous accolades including a Children’s Bafta win, a Lovie Award, and the super-coveted Vimeo Staff Pick. In this chat Rowan shares how h...

This chat features puppet, set, and prop fabricator, stop motion animator, and super cool cosplay artist, Meaghan Hettler. In their chat, Hettler shares how she trained as a puppet fabricator, how she got her first paid gig, and how she continues to pursue her dream career of making crafts for a living. Tune in to Ibele and Hettler to hear: *What made Hettler switch gears from animator to fabricat...

This episode features animator, writer, producer, development executive and currently the Chief Content Officer at Ottawa-based Mercury Filmworks, Heath Kenny. His current role at Mercury sees him managing the development team and heads up their content strategy, but in the past he’s worked on projects like Robot Boy, the Gorillaz music videos, and Noddy Toyland Detective. In our chat he’s going t...

Check out the Hello Stop Mo Podcast: https://animationwildcard.com/hellostopmo This episode features Moroccan self-taught 3D animator, Ayoub Moulakhnif who teaches at AnimSchool and works as a character animator at Axis Studios. In their chat Moulakhnif shares what the animation industry is like in Morocco, including what opportunities exist, how to find determination to pursue your dreams even wh...

Enter to win 1 of 2 CLIP STUDIO PAINT EX licenses here: https://forms.gle/3HRUZaKNChjw58vv7 Check out Clip Studio Paint here: https://www.clipstudio.net/en?utm_source=web&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=terryibelle_podcast&utm_id=220301 This chat features Jordan Beck, the Head of Development for Hero4Hire Creative, a commercial and TV development animation studio. In our chat Jordan is going to sha...