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Animation Happy Hour

Animation Happy Hour

Garrett Lewis, Katie Low, Ben Girmann

Animation Happy Hour is a monthly podcast hosted by three feature film animators - Garrett Lewis, Katie Low, and Ben Girmann. Our podcast mission is to provide practical advice for students, job-seekers, and animation enthusiasts on how to break into all aspects of the animation industry.

  • 2 hours 13 minutes
    #33 - Day in the Life: Lighting Artist

    CG Lighters are truly the unsung heroes of the 3D animation pipeline. In fact, often when people say “The animation looks so good,” they are really talking about the lighting! Being at the back of the pipeline, lighters face extreme crunches and work harder than anyone else to get our movies across the finish line. Today we are talking with two incredible Disney artists, Justine Codron Moulayess and Mason Khoo, about their day to day jobs. Tune in to learn how Justine and Mason first got into lighting, what softwares they use, the do’s and don’ts of a lighting demo reel, and more!

    Check out our detailed show-notes here!

    Enjoying the podcast? Consider donating to help support our show! https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    1 July 2025, 7:00 am
  • 1 hour 23 minutes
    #32 - Personal Projects

    In this episode we talk all about personal projects, whether it’s something on the side of work or your personal project is your full time job! We’ll quickly touch on drawing, podcasting, screenwriting etc., but spend the bulk of our time discussing our host Garrett’s big move into independent animation.

    Check out our detailed show-notes here!

    Enjoying the podcast? Consider donating to help support our show! https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    5 May 2025, 7:00 am
  • 2 hours 9 minutes
    #31 - Switching Careers

    Switching careers can be incredibly risky and intimidating, but potentially life changing in the long run. In this episode we chat with special guests, Allen Ostergar and Tyler Mahn, about their career pivots from animation to story and accounting to animation respectively. Our very own host Katie will also talk about her major pivots from pre-med to animation, and production assistant to CG animator.

    Check out our detailed show-notes here!

    Enjoying the podcast? Consider donating to help support our show! https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    1 April 2025, 7:00 am
  • 1 hour 22 minutes
    #30 - How To Turn an Internship Into an Offer

    Congratulations! You just scored your first internship, apprentice gig, or temp job, but now you must be wondering: how do I turn this opportunity into a long term offer? In episode 30, we go over our top do’s and don’ts that can help make or break your reputation and score you a job.

    Check out our detailed show-notes here: https://www.animationhappyhour.com/new-blog/episode-30-how-to-turn-an-internship-into-an-offer

    Enjoying the podcast? Consider donating to help support our show! https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    1 March 2025, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    #29 - Staying Inspired

    In this episode, we are talking about staying inspired! Both the importance of actively keeping yourself inspired as a member of the animation community and some specific ways each of us does this in our day to day lives.

    Check out our detailed show-notes here: https://www.animationhappyhour.com/new-blog/episode-29-what-inspires-us

    Special thanks to our first sponsor, AnimBot! Use code “animationhappyhour” for 15% off of a new Eco or Pro edition license through 2024. https://animbot.ca/home/

    Check out Garrett's Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/garrett_animates

    Enjoying the podcast? Consider donating to help support our show! https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour/e/d6c590fb/29-staying-inspired

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    21 October 2024, 7:00 am
  • 2 hours 1 minute
    #28 - What is the Animation Guild?

    In this episode, we cover the basics of unions and The Animation Guild (TAG). We interview Justin Weber, a union board member, shop steward, and Disney animator, and Allison Smartt, a professional organizer for TAG. Listen in to learn more about the history of TAG, the importance of solidarity, union perks & benefits, organizing 101, and the top myths and misconceptions about unions.

    Check out our detailed show-notes here: https://www.animationhappyhour.com/new-blog/episode-28-the-animation-guild

    Enjoying the podcast? Consider donating to help support our show! https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour/e/79751b64/27-animation-q-a-with-michael-woodside-

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    1 August 2024, 7:00 am
  • 2 hours 41 minutes
    #27 - Animation Q&A With Michael Woodside!

    Michael Woodside is an Animator who has been working in the industry for 15 years. Currently at Walt Disney Animation Studios, he has contributed as an Animator on films that include Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Moana. He was an Animation Supervisor for Frozen 2 and Encanto, helping to shepherd the musical sequences through Animation. In 2022, Michael received the VES Award for Virtual Cinematography for his participation in the construction of the “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” sequence.

    Check out our detailed show-notes here: https://www.animationhappyhour.com/new-blog/episode-27-day-in-the-life-cg-animator-part-two

    Enjoying the podcast? Consider donating to help support our show! https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour/e/79751b64/27-animation-q-a-with-michael-woodside-

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    1 July 2024, 7:00 am
  • 1 hour 56 minutes
    #26 - Day In The Life: CG Feature Film Animator

    In this episode we finally tackle our own jobs! Listen to find out what a typical day is like for a CG character animator for feature film. We ran out of time for listener Q&A so make sure to subscribe and keep an eye out for part 2 coming soon!

    Check out our detailed show-notes here: https://www.animationhappyhour.com/new-blog/day-in-the-life-of-an-animator-part-1

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    6 May 2024, 7:00 am
  • 1 hour 50 minutes
    #25 - Things We Can't Live Without!

    We all know it’s not the tools that make an artist successful, what’s more important is how an artist uses their tools…But, let’s just admit that we’re all still curious to know what pencil, tablet, mouse, etc. everyone else is using. In this episode, Garrett, Katie, and Ben discuss their favorite and least favorite animation tools and accessories. This is a lighthearted and fully unsponsored episode, all recommendations are made from the heart!

    Check out our detailed show-notes here: https://www.animationhappyhour.com/new-blog/episode-25-top-accesories-we-cant-live-without

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    1 April 2024, 7:00 am
  • 2 hours 5 minutes
    #24 - Burnout & Mental Health

    Burnout impacts many people in the animation industry, and can happen to anyone regardless of their age or position. In this episode, we discuss burnout symptoms, prevention, and treatment, and share some of our own personal journeys with mental health.

    Check out our detailed show-notes here: https://www.animationhappyhour.com/new-blog/episode-24-burnout

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    1 February 2024, 8:00 am
  • 1 hour 4 minutes
    #23 - Where Have We Been?

    Good news! After a much needed hiatus, the Animation Happy Hour is back with a brand new episode in 2024. Listen in as we discuss what we’ve been up to, the current state of the animation industry, and future episodes coming your way. A huge thanks to all who expressed their support while we were on our break! The band is back together!

    Episode Outline:

    10:04 State of the Industry 18:38 Artificial Intelligence 29:11 New Animation That’s Inspiring Us

    • Scavengers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWQH8cMpWTU
    • TMNT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHvzw4Ibuho
    • Marcel the Shell with Shoes On https://a24films.com/films/marcel-the-shell-with-shoes-on
    • South of Midnight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2Z-8Y8r5ss
    • Arcane https://www.netflix.com/title/81435684
    • Prehistoric Planet https://tv.apple.com/us/show/prehistoric-planet/umc.cmc.4lh4bmztauvkooqz400akxav?mttn3pid=Google%20AdWords&mttnagencyid=a5e&mttncc=US&mttnsiteid=143238&mttnsubad=OUS2019950_1-658971681729-c&mttnsubkw=144248666108__J1lRfctc_&mttnsubplmnt=adext

    44:08 Acquisition Rumors 48:44 Possible Future Podcast Episodes 55:24 Tip jar - X Keys https://xkeys.com/

    Tip Jar Online: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    Support Animation Happy Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/animation-happy-hour

    1 January 2024, 8:00 am
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