𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 is a weekly newsletter for animators. Every Sunday, I share short film reviews, animation tips and personal notes from life as an animator and creator. Inside, you’ll find curated shorts, animation tips, reflections on craft and career, and ideas to keep your animation and creativity alive.
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Animators: Are You Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket? 🧺
Published about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Issue #77 | December 7th, 2025
Smear frames from Sponge Bob
Hey Reader 👋 Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket You’ve heard the saying. We all have.
But when I really think about it… that’s what most animators are doing. They’re putting all their hopes, time, and creative energy into one very specific skill: animation. Often in one software. Sometimes in one style. That’s it. That’s the whole basket.
Obsession vs. Opportunity And listen — there’s beauty in mastery. There’s power in obsession. I get that. Some of the best animators I know have laser focus. They think, breathe, and sleep animation. That’s how you reach Pixar, or Sony, or Weta.
But even then — even at that level — there are no guarantees. The studios might not hire you. Or the opportunity might take ten years to arrive. So what happens in between? That’s exactly what we talked about during the latest Animator Now Office Hours. This idea that specialization is a luxury that not everyone can afford anymore.
Because the industry? It’s competitive. Fiercely so. And as an animator today, I believe you need more strings to your bow.
Other Strings to Your Bow That doesn’t mean abandoning animation. It means being curious. Exploring adjacent skills like rigging, or 2D animation. It means diving into After Effects or Unreal Engine, just to see what happens. Maybe you try stop motion. Maybe you learn to build a rig. Maybe you fall in love with storytelling in a new way. One of my students did. He started in animation… and today he’s rigging creatures...at Weta.
I started out as an art director. Over the years, I’ve been a video editor, a branding designer, a teacher. I directed, I animated, I storyboarded. All of it feeds the work I do today. That diversity? It’s not a distraction. It’s a superpower.
Versatility = Survival And beyond creative fulfillment, it’s about survival. When the studio job ends, when the credits roll, when the paycheck stops — what will you do?
That’s why in our community, we talk a lot about freelancing. Because freelancing requires versatility. It forces you to become resilient, adaptable, and multi-skilled. And that’s what I want for you. Not to be everything. But to be enough — enough to build a life with this craft, even when things shift and get tough.
So ask yourself: Am I being driven? Or just stubborn?
Because being obsessed is good — until it turns into blindness. Being open is smarter. And in this industry, it might just be the thing that keeps you going.
New Course Coming Soon Also — if you’re curious about freelancing and want to go deeper, I’m launching an interest form for the Freelancing for Animators course. It’ll be inside the community and available as a standalone.
If you want to be notified first, just drop your email in the form linked below.
Okay, I’ve got one for you this week that’s been haunting the edges of my mind for years.
La Noria is not new. It’s not even something I just discovered. In fact, I’ve known about it since before it even existed — back when Carlos Baena, a long-time Pixar animator and co-founder of Animation Mentor, was whispering about this dream of his. A dark, deeply personal animated short. A horror film. Not “horror-adjacent,” not “spooky but safe” — an actual animated horror story. And it’s stunning.
The story centers around a grieving boy, swallowed by loneliness, when strange, shadowy creatures begin invading his world. But it’s not the monsters that linger. It’s what they mean. Because this isn’t a jump-scare film. It’s grief, made flesh. It’s trauma, animated.
And the way it’s made? Honestly, it floored me. I’ve seen thousands of short films — that’s not an exaggeration — and yet the opening frames of La Noria made me stop breathing. The detail, the lighting, the cinematic polish… it’s as if Pixar decided to do a Guillermo del Toro short and somehow made it indie. It’s that good. The animation is terrifyingly good. Like, go-watch-it-twice-and-still-miss-things good.
Carlos left Pixar to make this. That matters. It matters because he didn’t just want to animate; he wanted to say something. That’s a recurring theme with ex-Pixarians — Dice Tsutsumi did the same when founding Tonko House, and it led to beautiful projects like Oni. Sometimes, you need to leave the biggest stages to find your own voice.
The creatures in La Noria? I interpret them as grief monsters. Not evil, just… manifestations. Of sorrow. Of pain. Of memory. That’s the beauty of the film — it invites you to feel, not just watch.
It’s also quite long for a short (12 minutes), but every frame is intentional. Watch it when you’re alone. When it’s quiet. Let it get under your skin a little. CREDITS: Written & Directed by: Carlos Baena Produced by: Sasha Korellis & Carlos Baena VFX Supervisor: Yasin Hasanian Music by: Johan Söderqvist Sound Design: Oriol Tarragó Studio: NightWheel Pictures
P.S. Some of the animators on this film? They were in my Animation Mentor class — first generation. That was almost 20 years ago. Wild, right? 🤯
The Job Fair
Remote 3D Blockbuster Animator - ataraxyBSC We’re seeking a part-time Minecraft Blockbuster Animator to join our creative team on a permanent basis. This role is remote (UK-based) and ideal for someone who loves storytelling, YouTube, and Minecraft machinima. You’ll play a key part in our weekly content pipeline, animating and recording multiple shorts per week using Blockbuster / BBS Studio inside Minecraft.
3D Animator - Zeilt Productions ZEILT Productions is a production company founded in 2007 by Laurent Witz, winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for "Mr. Hublot." Based in Luxembourg, the company specializes in producing 3D animated programs for cinema, television, the internet, mobile phones, and video games. Its ambition is to produce innovative, entertaining, and enriching programs, drawing on national and European expertise and creativity.
Lead Animator- Playnetic Playnetic is an innovative and fast-growing player in the iGaming industry. We create cutting-edge casino games and technology that entertain millions of players worldwide, combining creativity, quality, and innovation at every step. Our innovative gaming content is built around our core values: quality gaming, dedicated customer service, and reliable delivery to our partners.
🔥The Key Machine – There’s a plugin floating around the animation community that might just save us from the clunky grip of AnimBot. It’s called The Key Machine, and while I haven’t tested it yet, it looks like a cleaner, simpler alternative. AnimBot is fine… until it crashes your Maya, locks you out after a subscription update, and makes you uninstall/reinstall like it’s 2005. So yeah—anything that helps me skip that mess? I’m in.
ChatGPT Voice Mode Gets a Glow-Up – The latest iOS update for the ChatGPT app just made it actually useful for voice users. Live transcriptions? Visual input with your camera? Real-time feedback as you talk? It’s starting to feel like you’re chatting with a true assistant—one that listens, sees, and responds like a creative partner. I’ve been waiting for this one.
Blip: AirDrop for Everyone – If you’re a Mac user, you probably love AirDrop. But if you’re on a PC? Welcome to the dark ages… until now. Blip is like AirDrop, but cross-platform. Mac to PC? PC to iPhone? It just works. Haven’t tested it deeply yet, but it might be the little transfer app that saves you from endless WeTransfers and QR-code hopping.
PS. Some links in the newsletter are affiliate links. PSS. Was this forwarded to you? 👉 Subscribe here PSSS. Hit reply any time. I reply to every single email.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 is a weekly newsletter for animators. Every Sunday, I share short film reviews, animation tips and personal notes from life as an animator and creator. Inside, you’ll find curated shorts, animation tips, reflections on craft and career, and ideas to keep your animation and creativity alive.
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