Artist Spotlight w/ Rosie Phillpot
Sep 27, 2023
First, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Of course! I'm an animator and illustrator, and I currently live in Cheltenham, a town in the South-West of England, with my boyfriend and our cat and dog. I love character design and animation and enjoy studying my favourite animators and artists to learn new tricks.
Outside of work, I'd say I'm quite an outdoorsy person, which is a bit ironic when I have a desk job, but I love getting out of the house and going for long dog walks or playing tennis to clear my mind. I also play table tennis for a local team, which I have done since childhood!
Always pay it forward. When I first went freelance, I was overwhelmed by how supportive and generous the motion design community were and continue to be…
Can you tell us about your experience and the role you are primarily filling?
Before going freelance, I spent much of my career working as a Motion Designer for a marketing agency where most of our projects were creating product promotional videos, event intros, and explainer animations for some of the world's largest tech brands.
Since going freelance, I have shifted my focus to illustration and animation, often combining my two skill sets to create bold, colourful and character-based work. I think being confident in both sides of an animation project is one of my biggest strengths, and it helps me fit in well with lots of different teams at any stage of the process.
If you could speak directly to the resourcing gods and powers that be, what would be your ideal project?
Oooh, that's a tough one. Looking forward, I'd love to begin taking on more art and animation direction roles while still being hands-on with the work. I also LOVE working as part of a team and working with people more skilled than me that I can learn from. It's always motivating and rewarding.
So with all that in mind, I think my dream project would be an animation for a good cause that I'm passionate about, where I have total creative freedom and could direct an amazing bunch of talented friends I have worked with in the past.
Do you have any dream clients?
Yes! I have loads. As I mentioned in the last question, I would love to work on more projects for important causes I'm passionate about, such as women's rights, mental health awareness, and cancer research.
Other than that, anything tennis-related, like a project for Wimbledon, would be a dream! And then all the obvious ones, like Nike, Google, and Apple.
Lastly, do you have any memorable stories, life lessons, or tall tales you can share from your adventures as a freelancer?
Always pay it forward. When I first went freelance, I was overwhelmed by how supportive and generous the motion design community were and continue to be. So instead of seeing other freelancers as your competition, recommend people for jobs, offer advice when someone asks, and share and celebrate other people's work. You will find that acts of kindness often return to you :)
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