Sarah Blank is a freelance animator, compositor, designer and sometimes-writer/director. In the episode, we chatted with her about CG and live action compositing, Travel Oregon and user interfaces in VR.

Lisha Tan is a Creative Director at The Mill in Los Angeles, CA. In the episode, we chatted about The Story of O.J., reading YouTube comments and managing creative limitations as a director.

Wesley Louis is a Director at The Line Animation out of London, UK. In this episode, we talked about The Line’s team structure, hiring freelancers and Super Turbo Atomic Ninja Rabbit.

Manddy Wyckens is a director and designer at Studio AKA. In episode 57, we talk with her about giving direction, doing things she loves and finding a voice.

Handel Eugene is a motion designer and instructor for Mograph Mentor and Otis College. In the episode, we talked about his journey to Full Sail University, failure motivating success, and his obsession with documenting life.

Joe Russ is a director, illustrator, motion designer and one of the developers of indie game Jenny LeClue.

Tuna Bora is an illustrator, production designer, and content creator living in LA. On the episode, we talked about working with Nexus Studios, Hussein Chalayan, and getting out of your head.

Alex Griendling is the co-owner of Lunar Saloon with his wife Meg. On the episode, we talked about movie posters, creative freedom, and making what you want.

Andrew Kramer of Video Copilot joined us for episode 52. We talked about rising to expectations, Intercept, Star Trek lens flares, and relying on the talents of a team. Links: Website: http://www.videocopilot.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/videocopilot Element 3D: https://aescripts.com/element-3d/ Action Movie FX: https://apple.co/1kehsvC SENTiNEL: https://vimeo.com/248374832 Intercept: http://bit.ly/2D4iwii Notes: -Video Copilot -Deciding what to work on -Pushing yourself ...

Austin Mann is a travel photographer who is constantly on the move creating content for today’s best brands. He also founded Weld, a co-working space and community for creative pros. On the episode, we talk about fostering creative communities, how to face closed doors in your creative career and how to pitch yourself.   Links: Website: http://austinmann.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/austinmann WELD: http://www.weld.co/ Good To Great: http://amzn.to/2EbyHj5   Notes: -Weld ...

Wesley Slover is the founder of Sono Sanctus, a sound design studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan. On the episode, we talk about Wesley’s music library, learning to think like a designer, and his love for game development.

Ross Plaskow, is a freelance animator and creator of Meat Mysteries. Having worked with the likes of Google, Target, Disney XD, Hulu, and Facebook, he told us a little bit more about his university beginnings, falling into freelance and the London animation scene.   Links: Website - www.rossplaskow.com Twitter - www.twitter.com/rossplaskow Instagram - /www.instagram.com/rossplaskow/ Meat Mysteries - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC0O6WtmY8A Animade - https://animade.tv/ Greg Gunn -...

Daniela Negrín Ochoa and Iria López are the co-founders of Wednesday Studio based in London, UK. We talk about how they work together as a team, why they often exchange roles, and the importance of always having a personal project on hand. Links: Website - www.wearewednesday.com Twitter - www.twitter.com/WeAreWednesday Instagram - www.instagram.com/wednesday__studio/ Anchorpoint - www.anchorpointanimation.com/ Strange Beast - strangebeast.tv/ NFTS - nfts.co.uk/ Daniel Clarke -...

Lana Simanenkova is an animator and designer at Animade in London, UK. On the episode we talked the Animade created program, Boords, gathering inspiration from tumblr, and the Estonian animation scene.   Links : Website :  http://lana.land/ Twitter : https://twitter.com/LanaSketch Animade : https://animade.tv/   Notes : -Animade -Character work -Talking to Clients and being nervous -Storyboards and style frames -Boords -Boords drawing tools and photoshop -Gathering inspiration...

Lauren Hartstone is a new staff creative director at Sibling Rivalry, having worked with a myriad of companies like Stardust, LoyalKasper, MTV, Imaginary Forces, and Gretel. On this week’s episode we talked about the pros and cons of being scatterbrained, how she approaches a pitch, pulling references, and the necessity of learning from other people.   Links : Website : http://lhartstone.com/ Sibling Rivalry : http://siblingrivalrystudio.com/ Imaginary Forces :...

Bee Grandinetti is an independent graphic designer, animator and illustrator who is currently working on a team at Google Creative Lab. On the episode, we talked about her consistent desire to learn, her love for small companies and working in her PJs, and how she manages to still be social while working so many hours.   Links: Website:  http://www.beegrandinetti.com/ Motionographer Article - http://motionographer.com/2017/06/27/the-good-and-bad-about-life-as-an-expat/   Notes: -Hyper...

Daniel Savage is a designer and director based in Los Angeles, CA. On the episode, we talked about his deep love for Instagram, why animation is best done in the context of a team, and the reason for mixed parts.   Links: Website: http://somethingsavage.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/somethingsavage Motionographer Article: http://motionographer.com/2013/12/05/daniel-savage-wondersauce-yule-log-2-0/ Vanity Fair Article: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/05/welcome-to-the-hive Mixed...

Joey Korenman is the founder of School of Motion and author of The Freelance Manifesto. During the episode, we talk about why and how he started School of Motion, a few tips from The Freelance Manifesto and his love for teaching, his kids and a short commute.     Links: The Freelance Manifesto http://www.freelance.how/ School of Motion: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/ Toil: http://toilboston.com Twitter: twitter.com/SchoolOfMotion   Highlights: - Freelance.how - Story behind his new...

On this week’s episode, we were live at Blend Fest 2017 with Andrew Kramer, Patrick Osborne and Erica Gorochow. During the panel, we talked about how originality is a byproduct of authenticity, how their is power in saying yes to something you may not be ready for and the importance of creating in new mediums.   Links: Andrew’s website http://www.videocopilot.net Patrick’s website http://www.bighappyaccident.com/blog/ Erica’s Website http://peprally.co Tilt Brush -...

Ted & Adam are the founders of the NYC-based design and animation studio Block & Tackle. During the episode, we talk about what it’s like to work with FX, the difference between being fine artists and commercial artists, and how they balance the fear and unknown in projects.   Links: Website: http://blockandtackle.tv/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/blocktackletv   Highlights: -Work habits -Managing staff -Working with people you like -Letting employees do what they do best ...

Ian & Nick are the founders of Gunner, a Detroit based animation and illustration studio. During the episode, we talk about their studio mantra “no bad frames,” how they attract good artists to their studio, and finding inspiration through old books.   Links: Website: www.gunner.work Twitter: www.twitter.com/gunneranimation   Highlights: -Six people - studio growth -More comfortable now -Hiring people to do the things they don’t know how to do -How they began their partnership ...

Dave Chenell is on the motion team at Google. During the episode, we talk about his love for designing games, his new found joy in creating music, and the importance of finishing and sharing your passion projects.     Links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/davechenell Website: thewaterbear.com   Highlights: -Job at Google -Studied information studies -Failed startup -Learning to code -The more knowledge you get the more cautious you are to approach new things -The Dark Room -David...

Zac Dixon is the creative director at IV in Nashville, TN and also happens to be the host of this very podcast. During the conversation, our guest host, Jay Grandin, (creative director / owner of Giant Ant) and Zac talk about why he started Animalators, how he built up his studio in Nashville and his love for personal projects.   Links: Twitter: twitter.com/zacdixon Website: Iv.studio   Castle Rock Trailer: https://www.iv.studio/portfolio/castle-rock-teaser-trailer   Highlights: -IV ...

On this week’s mini episode, Zac shares about our new Animalator product: limited edition t-shirts featuring the animalators designed by our guests. For our first t-shirt, we chose Justyna Stasik’s hermit crab (Ep. 36)! To check out the t-shirt go to iv.studio/store. Fifty percent of all the profits go to the artist, while the other half goes to help support the costs associated with running Animalators. We are thankful for your support and are excited to continue cultivating community...