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Meet 2D Designer Kasia Brzezinska! #Interview





Meet our awesome 2D Designer Kasia Brzezinska! She started out studying architecture but her passion for 2D shone through and she worked her way into animation! We managed to catch her for a few minutes to chat about her role and why she loves animation.

How did you get into animation?
Sounds silly, but by mistake… I was on an evening architecture course, when I was in high school, and my teacher there mentioned the drawings I was doing on the side, mainly caricatures, and said that he knew a girl who was studying Animation Production in the UK. I got in touch with her, put a portfolio together, got a place on the course, and it all kind of went from there! But I have always loved drawing and animation, like many people I grew up watching Disney films and cartoons.

How long have you worked in the animation industry?
Uhm… Since October 2016. So I'm a newbie! But don't tell anyone.

What's your current role and what does it involve?
2D designer (junior) on a 3D series. It involves designing characters, environments, props, doing revisions, working closely with the art director and other designers, and drinking lots of tea.

A lot of the time is spent on drawing design breakdowns and turnarounds to provide the modellers with additional information about a certain asset.

What are your biggest influences/inspirations?
I find new inspirations and influences every day, but my biggest inspiration for quite a while now would be the 2D series 'The Last Airbender' and 'The Legend of Korra' by Bryan Konietzko and Mike DiMartino. It involves great storytelling and amazing, original characters. But there is so much creative talent out there, it's hard to name only one! Following people on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest gives me an overload of varied artwork everyday, and you discover more and more amazing artists.

What’s your favorite tool to use and why?
Gotta be Photoshop. And Kyle T Webster brushes! Gives you traditional feel to the paint tool, but at the same time you have the flexibility of changing things however you want that is kindly provided to you by Photoshop.

What advice would you give someone considering getting into animation?
Work a lot, and then a bit more.

Talk to people, put your work out there even if you think it's not great. Don't give up, ask for feedback and listen to it!

Be kind to people in the industry, and respect their time.

Don't settle down with one thing that you like to draw - make yourself 'uncomfortable' by experimenting and pushing yourself to try something new.

The internet is overflowing with the amount of amazing tutorials, artist, tips and tricks, you could even try asking someone to mentor you! There are a few people who would do that for less than the cost of an academic course in the UK, and you'd learn just as much.

What do you like most about working in animation?
Teamwork and the challenges it brings every day. And the people I get to work with, it's hard to find someone who's not at least a little 'geeky' and 'nerdy', everyone is into animation, so we all get along pretty well!

Also, the fact that you get to work with people from so many different backgrounds, countries and cultures!

What’s been the most challenging thing about working in animation?
Practically, it's the things that I haven't drawn before, as well as sitting in front of the computer for a whole day, 5 days a week… It's actually tiring!

Also, keeping up the creativity and commitment to the project. On the other hand, it's hard to relax, like a few of my friends I go back home and work on my own projects, spending another 4-5 hours before my neck and head give me a clear painful indication that it's time to stop. It's important to exercise and relax, but also very hard to do.

Outside of animation what are you most passionate about?
Not much, but… baking! And eating food.

Reading books, binge watching Netflix series. Travelling near and far. And I'm not a huge gamer, but The Witcher: The Wild Hunt is currently taking up most of my time, so it's safe to say I'm pretty passionate about it.

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


Anahita Tabarsi

Anahita is Brown Bag Films' Marketing Director, Digital & Social and drinks more than five coffees a day...

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