Meet Siobhan Doyle, our super 3D Lead Modeller, currently working on Henry Hugglemonster! Outside of her daily animation tasks, Siobhan is also part of the Brown Bag Films Charity Committee and she is currently organising the art contributions to this year's Animation Art Show from the Brown Bag Films staff! We caught her for a few minutes to discuss what she loves about animation.

How did you get into animation?

I played a lot of video games growing up and the glorious era of FMVs was booming when I was choosing what to do in college.

Final Fantasy VIII is probably the game that convinced me that 3D could be beautiful, and a friend of my older brother was studying 3D animation at the time. I knew I wanted to work with computers, so it all came together and I went straight into animation college without a real longterm plan.

How long have you worked in the animation industry?

I’ve been working for 7 years. It began quite broad and got more specialised over time. My first job was on Olivia.

I did a lot of unwrapping models and gradually got into modelling and texturing sets and background characters as well as the costume variants of the main character.

At some stage, I remember being asked if I preferred modelling or texturing, and while I miss colour, modelling was the easy answer for me.

I naturally gravitated towards characters as opposed to sets, and that’s what I’ve spent most of my career doing. But as a lead modeller, I have to be up to speed on both.

Every project is different, and my favourites have been when I worked right from preproduction stage, like on Doc McStuffins and Bing, because it gives me more control and allows me to get more involved in the development of the look of the show.

At the moment, my work is weighted more towards the lead than the modeller, which involves critiquing other people’s work and making sure we have a consistent standard throughout a show.

What are your biggest influences/inspirations?

I mentioned Final Fantasy VIII already, a flawed game and very dated now, but it blew me away at the time. Now I have more influences than I could possibly mention, most of whom are co-workers or peers.

Aside from that, I’ve felt inspired recently by the work of Britney Lee and by this incredibly charming short film, Nebula.

What’s your favourite tool to use and why?

The first thing that comes to mind is colouring pencils, because they’re versatile and not too messy. Obviously that’s not related to modelling, so I guess I should also mention box modelling in Maya. That is a bit vague, but ZBrush is becoming more and more popular, and while it’s an amazing tool, I like the calm, precision you get from box modelling, probably because I prefer form over detail.

What advice would you give someone considering getting into animation?

Everyone takes a different journey, so it’s hard to give advice that applies to everyone. For my part, I always focus on what I’m doing now and try to do my best at that. I didn’t think of work until after I finished college, for example, but that goes for whatever job I happen to be on too. It’s not that you shouldn’t ever think of the future, but it’s important not to lock yourself into one plan, because it can feel like a failure if things change, and things always change.

What do you like most about working in animation?

Working with artists and creatives is always rewarding, but the best thing about it is that you get to see a tangible result at the end. Knowing children who love our shows is an amazing feeling!

What’s been the most challenging thing about working in animation?

Comparing myself to other artists. There’s a part of me that always feels like competing, and I work with such a talented crowd that it’s basically impossible. At the end of the day, when I spend 8 or more hours modelling stuff, it’s the last thing I want to do in my spare time. And anyway, animation is about collaboration, that’s what makes it such a great thing to be a part of!

Are you interested in getting into animation? Keep an eye on our Behind-the-Scenes and Tutorials pages for more interviews, #TopTips and #AMAs!