Brought to you by Fable–Ideas in Motion is a series streaming live on select Friday afternoons on YouTube. It's a space for real conversations with seasoned creators about motion, design, life, learnings, and more.

In this episode, join Adrian and Senior Animator Mark Phillips as they discuss the animation industry, its cyclical nature, and how best to navigate the turning of the tides as creators. From the golden era of animation to commercial saturation, to the death of cel, the pivot to “motion design,” then back to cel, and the now once again “offing” of animation as streaming platforms shift formats, they dare to broach the hottest topic, the talk of the town, the latest introduction to the cycle: AI. What could it mean for the breaking of the cycle?

Watch Mark complete a live-drawn animation of a butt and find out why he has a soft spot in his heart for the weird, the hairy, and the taboo.

Stream the episode here.

Where to find Mark Phillips:

• Website: https://alsofun.tv/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alsofun.tv/

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/alsofuntv

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markedanimation

Referenced:

MEDIA

• The Ren & Stimpy Show

• Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

• Stranger than Fiction

• Maya and the Three

• Voltron: Legendary Defender

• “Sober” by Demi Lovato

ARTISTS

• Enya

• Kid Cudi

• Pan Amsterdam a.k.a Leron Thomas

• Locksley

ANIMATORS & CREATIVES

• Masayoshi Nakamura a.k.a Good General - Watch him on Ideas in Motion here.

• Kaori Sohma - Watch her on Ideas in Motion here.

• Emily Hubley

• Tex Avery

• Ralph Bakshi

• Charlie Bonifacio

• Charlie Sato

• Jorge Gutierrez

AI

• Midjourney

• DALL·E

• ChatGPT

PLATFORMS

• Dribbble

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Live

(00:10) Intro

(01:58) Mark’s reel

(02:59) Welcome to the show

(03:17) Saturday morning cartoons

(06:49) Filling the margins

(08:19) Where to work & Myspace receipts

(12:30) Animating in Chicago

(15:30) Moving to New York and the Lifelong Friendship Society

(16:14) Seeking projects for the people and working with legends

(19:44) What makes an animation stand out?

(22:35) Cycles of animation

(28:59) Animation with the pandemic

(30:52) What’s killing animation?

(33:05) Out-of-date reels and what they really mean

(34:39) NDAs and non-competes

(36:21) Future of the animation industry

(39:25) AI–let's get into it

(46:08) Stranger than Fiction and that one scene

(47:20) Midjourney

(50:21) Keeping up with the times and staying positive

(55:24) More AI with a sprinkle of environmental lamentation

(56:20) Drawing demo

(58:41) Listening to music while working and process

(1:04:37) Music videos

(1:07:43) Instagram and social media

(1:12:33) The drawing becomes a butt

(1:13:47) Deciding when an animation is done

(1:14:52) Community and working with others

(1:18:44) Freelancer tips

(1:19:50) The big reveal

Don’t miss a beat–more incredible guests with ideas to boot coming soon.

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Let us know what topics you’d like to see covered, your thoughts on the episode, or anything else!