Artist Spotlight w/ Ryan Bird
Apr 12, 2023
First, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Hi, I’m Ryan, a freelance animator/illustrator living on Waiheke Island off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand. I like runs on the beach, bird watching, and tomato and mayo sandwiches. As an animator, I’m into laid-back cell/hand-drawn, candlelit motion design and a sprinkling of romantic lo-fi 3D stuff. I’m a Sagittarius.
That early feeling of fighting imposter syndrome to find my own way has proven useful over the years. Whether on the level of business decisions or creative style and vision, there is no one right way, and good weird things can happen within physical and conceptual limitations.
Can you tell us about your experience and the role you are primarily filling?
After studying 2D and 3D animation back in 2011 I started in the industry as a 3D animator on the TV versions of the Dreamworks properties Kung Fu Panda and Monster vs Aliens that were produced here in Auckland. That was an eye-opening experience, with a fast pace as part of the cogs of a huge team.
In many ways, it was a dream come true, but something was missing for me - the organic and the hand-drawn. And so I switched to 2D animation and design. After working in-house for studios and agencies I'm now a hired gun as an animator/designer/creative director on a wide range of freelance projects.
Recently that's looked like a kid's TV show, a documentary, some commercial projects, and animation for a video game. It’s awesome, it’s varied, and it's always keeping me on my toes creatively.
If you could speak directly to the resourcing gods and powers that be, what would be your ideal project?
I really like getting the opportunity to do or learn something new and apply it to the needs of the project. I recently did a job that involved mixing 2D animation and live-action footage and had the chance to direct the shoot on set which was a fun new experience.
More specifically, in a commercial sense, I’d like to do a project that is working with a team on more of a broad campaign that involves applications of design, illustration, film, and animation that live in many places. Kind of world-building. I think that could be cool.
Do you have any dream clients?
I don’t have any clients that visit me in my slumber. I think it’s more like dream jobs, doing cool things that I haven’t done before, or working for a good cause, or just working with a great team. Animation is a labor-intensive field no matter what you’re doing so whatever makes the process more enjoyable and better for everyone involved is what I dream of. After all it’s not about the destination, it’s the friends we’ve made along the way.
Lastly, do you have any memorable stories, life lessons, or tall tales you can share from your adventures as a freelancer?
When I first started studying we were taught only the old analog method of traditional 2D animation. Pencil, paper, and lots of page-flipping to achieve that sweet sweet persistence of vision nectar.
I quickly realized that this physical method was going to be a challenge for me, as I live with a form of cerebral palsy that affects the motor skills on my left side. While others were deftly flipping the pages with their non-drawing hands I had to develop my own unorthodox approach, drawing a few lines with my right hand, quickly storing the pencil in my mouth to use that same hand for page-flipping, then retrieving the pencil to draw the next lines.
That early feeling of fighting imposter syndrome to find my own way has proven useful over the years. Whether on the level of business decisions or creative style and vision, there is no one right way, and good weird things can happen within physical and conceptual limitations.
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