Month: November 2024

Recently I have had a rise in interest in stop-motion animation, whether that be due to the fact that I had always had a great fondness from an early age for doing Lego stop-motion or even in school when I experimented with clay. The passion for stop-motion never really went away, and the visit to the studio Blinkink as well as the viewing of Kubo and the Two Strings with the CEO and director Travis Knight confirmed that feeling.

Back in October, I visited Blinkink in Camden as a studio visit with the university. Blinkink is an animation production studio known primarily for its stop-motion short-form video content but has also worked commercially in 2D, 3D, CGI, and puppet work. They are known for their works of the music video of Elton John and Dua Lipa’s Cold Heart and the original series “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared”.

Producer and head of animation Ben Cole gave us a presentation on the ins and outs of working at Blinkink, stating that they mainly work on a freelance basis with their connections to many directors that have known and have worked with Blinkink for a long time. With those freelance work, they have a small in-house development team (with a total of 80 employees) that is very hands down and ready to complete the project.

When asked about how they could get hired here they mentioned that even though they are a very small company, they never say no to people who want to work here. He mentioned that he prioritises quality and storytelling and makes things that people want to watch and be curious about.

Due to the size of the company, one of the main things that they are always aware of is the time limitations and financial stability, understanding that they need to have an extremely high work ethic and making sure that they are planning meticulously which is something they need to have as a freelancing company.

The idea of being freelance is interesting to me after hearing from multiple companies and people in the industry. The positives lie in being able to jump from project to project with no limitation of working at a studio, the amount of work you need to promote yourself as an artist/ animator on social media and being on the lookout for those new projects.

However, looking at Blinkink makes me realise I want to work at a studio. Whether that be a director or an assistant animator, being in an environment of same-minded people with the passion to create and animate sounds like a place to help build me and push myself as an artist.

The role of a game artist is to take the 2D or 3D assets and bring them to life by making them move. They are within the pipeline within the gaming production after the concept art and art design stage.  

Many game artists will specialise in one or more of these areas as game development becomes increasingly sophisticated. The extent of the role also depends on the size of the studio and project.

During their career, you might take on different positions within an animation, modeling or assets team, leading to an ever-increasing deeper understanding of the process.

During my time in my Bachelor, I specialised in Game Arts on my animation course, as I didn’t feel confident in my skills as an animator and also always had an attraction to understand the gaming industry. Upon learning that within the gaming industry, there were a plethora of sub-roles that you could do I was in awe.

However during the games art pathway I found out that the roles that I was interested in (concept art and character design) were one of the most competitive roles in the industry, which caused me to struggle to land a job after I graduated.

Currently, in this time, the majority of game artists specialise in 3D animation/modelling as well as it is extremely competitive. Not only that but seeing the high news of layoffs in both the animation and gaming industry the search for an entry-level job has gotten even harder.

However, there are still pathways within the gaming industry even if you specialise in 2D animation or in a similar role such as an illustrator, texturing artist for 2D and 3D assets and a visual effects artist ( this can also then lead to not just the gaming industry but also the TV and film industry.

A runner (also known as a production runner) is the general assistant to the production team, they are normally helping out with basic tasks that are needed to ensure a smooth running of the production process. They will take on a lot of administrative jobs, including answering the phone, preparing sets with the production team, organising and recording orders, taking notes in meetings, and sending reports to the appropriate people.

This role is a very good entry-level job to help put your foot in the door when stepping into the animation/ TV and film industry. While in most cases you may not be able to help in any of the animation processes, it will still allow you to have insight and an understanding of the animation production process.

This role was recommended when I visited the studio BlinkInk where they discussed the industry practice and the ins and outs of their company which I will discuss in another post.

The role of a runner is very hands-on and it requires you to be very fast-paced and make sure that you are working efficiently. It requires you to be very organised in multitasking when situations occur. Being able to listen and take instructions so that production runs smoothly.

Although it may not be the ideal job, especially if you want to be animating immediately. But it will allow you to gain the experience from watching others and gaining a network of people that if the opportunity does arise, you would be one of the first on their minds.