Animation

Great work. Nice clean storyboard. Clear.

Oh is this an animation story? are you looking into animators for it?

it was nice meeting you as well, and nice to connect

if you are gonna need an animator, you can hit me up

Dylan Oriondo Montalbo Abidoye Ezekiel I'm pretty new here and just getting my footing while developing my series. Right now I'm focused on learning and connecting with people in the space. I'm not bringing on animators yet, but I really appreciate you reaching out and introducing yourselves.

Hi Alisha Mull glad to have you here. I am working on an animated series for kids and a short film set in World War 2.

Sarah, I checked out that artist and her work is very beautiful. Something regarding art, happened in this country recently which was a bit of a warning to writers. There was a prestigious literary competition and a book that might have otherwise won, was disqualified, simply because it had a cover designed by AI. So real artists are still important, and oh boy, do I value them and envy their skills. I designed my own most recent book cover and produced its art my self. I was happy enough with the end result but it took me a hundred hours to every one a professional would have taken to do the job.

An American artist did my Ripple cover for me and his art had a wonderful energy to it.. I found him online. We became close friends and he visited me in New Zealand three times. He and I went on some crazy Lord of the Rings film-set explorations. Never again sadly, as he died recently.

Moana reminds me more of Gail Carriger's heroine's journey story structure than the traditional hero's journey story structure. It has antagonistic forces but not a "villain" per se.

The link gives a good overview of the Heroine's journey structure and major beats. Please note that both male and female characters can go on a heroine's journey. Scroll down a bit an there is even a handy visual representation of the arc.

https://romantasyrealms.substack.com/p/the-heroines-journey-an-overview

To me a villain is more of a active agent working against the main lead while an antagonist or antagonist force might be something passively or unintentionally working against the main lead but still presenting a challenge to the main lead. Eg the Sea (if not personified) as a neutral force that absolute can and will provide many obstacles to sailors while not intentionally trying to kill them. Your own subconscious blocking you because of patterns its picked up where it thinks it is helping you/ helping you stay alive even if they now hurt you/ block you from your goal. (Man verses nature and man verses self type stories).

That's interesting, perceiving the difference between villain and antagonist - reminding us that an antagonist need not necessarily be villainous. I think I needed that reminder.

I checked out your heroine's journey link and I find it quite relevant to my work. In the past, I always disregarded the whole Hero's Journey idea, thinking it must result in formulaic stories, until I realised I had accidentally created work that represented it exactly, even though I never intended that to happen. Nor did it result in anything formulaic.

Feeling a bit confused. Evan said he would call me first, the day following our last Zoom, to arrange a time for the one-on-one. I haven't heard from him yet. I emailed but got no response. Has anyone else heard from him?

Very true and characters' pose, even when standing still can convey emotion and motion once you know the feeling you are going for. Sadness is not just expressed in the face but in body language and clothes, even the environment.

Abidoye Ezekiel, I love your point about a simple animated scene sometimes saying more than multiple live action shots. That ability to distill emotion down to its essence is one of animation’s greatest strengths. Is there a specific animated moment or project that really made this click for you?

Ashley Renée Smith

yes there is, there is this project i did for one of client somw years ago, that project makes me really know the power of animation, and that's what makes me take animation serious to date

That's a great place to start. The end result should always be in mind from the beginning.

Really well said, Abidoye Ezekiel. I’m curious, once you’ve identified that feeling, what’s your next step? Do you map it out through storyboards, references, or go straight into rough motion tests?

Ashley Renée Smith

i do map out through storyboard, it is easier to to re draw than to re animate a particular scene

Kevin Jackson, this is fantastic! I love that you emphasized it not just as a creative tool, but as a communication tool. Being able to sell the concept to a client and align everyone visually before moving into full production is huge. That kind of clarity upfront really does save time, money, and a lot of back-and-forth later.

When you’re building your animatics, do you tend to focus more on timing and pacing first, or on visual storytelling and composition?

Kevin Jackson

this cool man, I will like to connect with you,

i am an animator as well

Alex Olguin What stands out most is your commitment to restraint. Building an adult animated series that leans on atmosphere, silence, and visual storytelling. Your references to Samurai Jack and Primal make a lot of sense here, especially in how they trust the audience to engage without over-explaining. Since you’re leaning so heavily into visual storytelling, what has been the biggest challenge so far in communicating these deeper themes without relying on dialogue?

Ashley Renée Smith That’s a great question, thank you for taking the time to really look into it.

Interestingly, silence itself wasn’t the biggest challenge for me. The protagonist was conceived from the start as someone who barely speaks, and the world around him follows that same logic, with only very specific characters breaking that pattern.

The real challenge has been maintaining the tone.

Finding that balance between something tender or emotional, without breaking the darker, more visceral atmosphere of the series, especially in Chapter 1, has been the hardest part. It’s a constant tension between contrast and consistency.

In a way, the silence helps… but the tone is what holds everything together.

Listen Banafsheh Esmailzadeh this entire movie is a masterclass. So many parts are my favourite. The Carl and Ellie story being my favourite. Told with action and no dialogue yet you felt it so hard. I loved whe Russell came over and started reciting his script to Carl and Carl kept shutting him out. Only to realise Russell was still with him when the house took off. Every scene with dug and the plot twist with Carl’s childhood hero.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh, I love this so much, and welcome to the Up appreciation club. That opening montage really is one of the best examples of visual storytelling doing all the heavy lifting, no exposition, no over-explaining, just pure emotion. The fact that it makes you feel that deeply in such a short amount of time is exactly why it’s studied so often. I cried when I watched it in theaters for the first time.

If you haven’t watched them yet, I highly recommend Into the Spider-Verse and the Netflix series Arcane. Both are incredible examples of animation pushing storytelling in different ways. Spider-Verse is a masterclass in style, pacing, and character voice, while Arcane dives deep into emotional complexity, world-building, and layered character arcs.

That’s awesome, Geoff Hall! What are you most looking forward to? Are you going to see it with your son?

Hello Ekaterina Pavlova

I am Abidoye Ezekiel, I'm a 2d animator and a storyboard artist focused on cinematic storytelling

your animatic is cool, I will like to connect and see if we can work together, in bringing this project to life

Hello, Abidoye Ezekiel I sent you the request

Hey, Chase Carmichael! Welcome! Have you listed these concepts as loglines on your profile? You can add them (hover on the PROFILE tab and then click on LOGLINE) and then ask members to rate and comment on each! Otherwise, I would highly recommend posting in the Animation Lounge to meet more like-minded animation writers: https://www.stage32.com/lounge/animation

As for me, last year I launched my Off Duty, Thanks! brand (www.offdutythanks.shop - I just made new apparel for Mother's Day!) and this year I'm focusing on publishing my #StoryMath YouTube channel and book. It's not ready yet, but here is the channel if you'd like to start following ahead of our launch: https://www.youtube.com/@storymath.online

I spend most of my time in the Stage 32 Writers' Room, though, so if ever you need accountability or more regular activities throughout the week to keep your projects moving forward, feel free to join me there! For more info, you can drop me or Geoff an email at WritersRoom@stage32.com Cheers!

Would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

it amazing man, i.am also an animator as well.

I would love to connect with you

Hello Ezekiel,

Thank you for reaching out.

I would be interested to learn more about your ideas and how we might collaborate. On my side, I am currently developing a full creative universe around my character, Baby Madison.

If you would like more information, please feel free to let me know, I would be happy to share additional details.

Best regards,

Mason Ewing