THE LINE works on a lot of advertising but what I know them for are their music-driven game-themed promotional/official videos – their main client is Riot Games with Valorant and League of Legends. Their work is heavily influenced by Japanese animation, and they often work on wide canvases.

I made myself a little Canva board where I explored THE LINE Animation Studio’s work:
https://www.canva.com/design/DAFU1mP5iIo/k1t-S-tbDAoNz2wGw7KXUg/edit?utm_content=DAFU1mP5iIo&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Also, the way THE LINE uses a coloured lineart to the shadows that’s a more saturated line (I talk about it in the ‘Star Walking’ window) reminds me of Mika Pikazo’s art: https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/1039353/artworks who is definitely an artist whose work I’d like to dive deeper in.

Having read the book, although it took time as I decided to take notes for future reference, I know it was full of valuable advice.

Knowing my personality type, I would definitely prefer permanent/full-time employment over freelance gigs here and there – I feel constantly needing to find a new job would give me anxiety. I’m definitely what’s described as a ‘house-cat’.

Even if the job is creative, it is important to have a different creative outlet outside of it – this way your ego doesn’t become attached to the work, and you’re better at taking feedback as it wouldn’t be as personal.

When Palmer talked about bad leadership, I was surprised at how easily I could think of examples from my day jobs of people who were reluctant, disruptive, absent or tone-deaf and that truly affected my work. It is absolutely my goal to not become one of these people as I would hate to negatively impact my team and their work – the animation industry so heavily depends on teamwork.

Another thing I picked up on was how important it is to make connections in the industry. I will definitely be looking to join a group in London and try to attend or volunteer at London Festivals. I’m not great at cold emailing or reaching out, but this is what’s called growth, I guess.

I suppose I gotta stick my neck out to get a foot in the door.

I started reading “Your Career in Animation” by Levy to gain more insight into the animation world. I especially focused on the roles I’m personally interested in, and Levy mentioned a lot of other resources which I’m hoping to look further into.

Turns out I also heavily misunderstood what a Producer does, and I would actually be really interested in looking into it the role, as I love organisation, and charts, and trackers.

Books I would like to read next:

  • “Producing Animation” by Catherine Winder and Zahra Dowlatabadi (Prod.)
  • “Delivering Happiness” by Tony Hsieh (prod.)
  • “Creating Unforgettable Characters” by Linda Seger (Anim.)
  • “Walt Disney Animation Studios the Archive Series: Layout & Background” (Background)