Peer Review: Chris Welsby

What has your career journey been like so far?  

I have worked as an Animator in the advertising sector for about 18 years, starting at Passion Animation Studios where I predominantly worked on quite stylised animation. Since then I have worked at Framestore Advertising, MPC Advertising and The Mill, where I worked on a broad range of projects and gained a lot of experience in photo-real creature and character work. 

I love the blend between creative and technical challenges, the variety and the people I get to work with. 

I have now joined Coffee & TV and I am excited to continue working on high-end animation projects, be that photo-real creatures or more design-led, stylised work.  

Who are three contemporary animators that you admire?

I have been lucky enough to work along side some amazing animators during my career. 

I would start with Robert Valley, he is an incredible 2D animator and director. He has worked on The Gorillaz, directed and animated the Oscar nominated short film Pear Cider and Cigarettes and recently directed the episode 400 Boys in the Love Death and Robots Series for Netflix. He has a bold and incredibly strong style to his work and approach to storytelling.  

I would say the Tiger in Life of Pi is still one of the most stand out examples of animation and character work in VFX.

I would also like to mention the animation team at Fortiche, their work on Arcane really pushed the boundaries of what CG animation can be. I love how expressive and stylised the characters are. Arcane shows the potential animation has as a medium and how enthralling it can be.  

During my time at MPC Advertising and The Mill I spent 8 years working alongside David Bryan, I am a huge admirer of his animation, attention to detail and focus on delivering the highest quality work. He is an expert creature animator, and I learned a lot working alongside him.  

Please share 3-4 pieces of work that exemplify great animation direction and explain why.  

I'll start with Toy Story; Pixar married a technological breakthrough with some amazing animation, characters and storytelling. Watching this film at the cinema at 14 years old was my inspiration to become an animator.  

For me, Disney's first truly successful CG animated film was Tangled, the animation was guided by Glen Keane and the final film is stunning. I love how the classic Disney style was adapted into 3D, it looked amazing and the animation throughout is so expressive and characterful.

The best animators are not driven by the aim of getting a shot approved by their supervisor or client. They are instead driven by a passion to produce great work. 

I would say the Tiger in Life of Pi is still one of the most stand out examples of animation and character work in VFX. As well as the tiger performance feeling completely authentic and real it was also a character in the film that created such emotion for the viewer. This is an incredibly difficult thing to achieve, and this film delivers this perfectly.

What do you like most about the work that you do?  

I love the blend between creative and technical challenges, the variety and the people I get to work with. Working as part of a team who are all pushing to create something great is a really satisfying experience.  

I love the process of being creative and I hope and believe that there will always be a desire for hand crafted creative work.

What is one thing every animator needs?  

I think all Animators need passion for the medium, the best animators are not driven by the aim of getting a shot approved by their supervisor or client. They are instead driven by a passion to produce great work. This is what I look for in young Animators as they break into the industry.  

If you could meet an animator from the past, who would you choose and why?  

I would love to meet the former Disney Animator and Director Glen Keane, he is one of the reasons I fell in love with animation as an art form.