Ever wondered how motion design studios become known worldwide for their work? In today’s episode Jay Grandin explains how he built Giant Ant from the ground up and why he feels the studio has been so successful. About Jay Grandin Jay is Co-Founder of Giant Ant, an animation studio in Vancouver. As Creative Director, Jay oversees nearly every project in the studio—leading the concept development and script writing processes, as well as being actively involved in design and animation. In 2006, after unexpectedly creating a series of viral videos with his wife Leah, the married couple found themselves quitting their full-time jobs and working on a freelance basis for MySpace. Slowly Jay and Leah’s videos evolved from low budget live-action content to videos starring other people. Over time, the pair found themselves hiring team members and expanding into animation too.  Eventually (after the arrival of twins!) Jay and Leah split the business into two: one for live-action and the other is the Giant Ant we know and love today. Jay’s story shows how even the top motion design studios have humble beginnings. Apply for our Accelerator Programme Read the full shownotes

Motion Hatch: Helping Motion Designers Do Better Business

98: How Giant Ant became a leading motion design studio w/ Jay Grandin

Looking to make six figures as a motion designer, but not sure where to start? Motion designer John Filipkowski discusses how he hit this financial goal and how other freelance motion designers can achieve six figures too. About John Filipkowski John Filipkowski is a freelance motion designer based in Chicagoland, USA. He specialises in both 2D and 3D motion design and has worked with some amazing clients - from Sony, to Paypal and Samsung! After already achieving a six-figure salary through full-time employment, John wanted to make the move to freelancing and gain more working freedom, but he also wanted to be sure he could match his salary. Through extensive outreach, building a large network of fellow motion designers and potential clients, and most of all, keeping a level-headed approach, John has achieved this goal. He hopes he can inspire other freelance creatives through his story, helping them to make six figures as a motion designer and find a more rewarding way of working. Read the full shownotes

097: How to make six figures as a motion designer w/ John Filipkowski

Do you ever feel like you’ve hit the ceiling in your motion design freelance business in terms of how much money you can make? Web designer, online educator and digital marketing consultant, Brad Hussey, presents a whole new way of thinking about how motion designers can do business and productize their services.  About Brad Hussey  Brad Hussey started his career as a freelance web designer and spent time working at an agency, where he worked as a front-end developer collaborating with motion designers and other creatives to develop everything from apps through to mini games. Disenchanted by the fluctuation of freelance income, he decided to explore ways to add another income stream to his web design business. He started to run his own online courses, leveraging his expertise and helping creatives build their own websites, learn to code and design their own websites. Over time he had unlocked a new way of working – productizing – something that Brad has turned into a career both as a web designer and a coach. Now, he has taught more than 600,000 indie designers, developers and professionals how to get better at their craft and make a living doing work they love.  Read the full shownotes

096: How to scale your income through productized services w/ Brad Hussey

Many motion designers dream of making passive income. But how do you actually go about doing it? Justin Archer is a freelance motion designer who also makes passive income selling templates for final cut pro editors. He has almost 22k sales from Envato alone! In this episode, we explore how he started making money through After Effects templates and how you can still be successful even if a market is saturated.  About Justin Archer Justin Archer has been a professional motion designer for the past nine years. For half of this time he worked for companies and for the other half, he’s been freelance whilst also pursuing different personal projects. He started building templates for Final Cut Pro more as a way for him to start commissioning his own personal projects. He wasn’t getting enough work for 3D projects at the time and so he started using Envato as a way to make his portfolio more diverse - if he sold anything, that was simply a bonus. He did some research and noticed that it was more multi-purpose motion graphics that seemed to sell well, so he started creating these - things like titles and lower thirds. Before he knew it, he had a thriving side hustle that was generating him passive income. Here’s how he did it. Read the full shownotes.

095: How to make passive income as a motion designer w/ Justin Archer

For some people, the idea of working with an agent who helps you to find work seems like a dream come true. But how do you even go about getting signed by a motion graphic design agent?  Join Hayley and Drew Melton, Founder of artist representation agency Closer and Closer as he shares his tips on how to find the perfect agent and foster an amazing partnership with them. About Drew Melton Drew Melton started out his career as a graphic designer. He dropped out of college and started freelancing full-time. He started a blog called The Phraseology Project. People could submit their work and he used this to practice his typography and grow his following at the same time. He started Closer and Closer out of an attempt to get out there and meet people - he felt like he lived in a beautiful, extroverted city but he spent all his time indoors in front of a computer screen. He decided to leverage his natural people skills and his experience to bring people together to accomplish more than they could on their own. Read the full shownotes.

094: How to get signed by a motion graphic design agent w/ Drew Melton

Ryan Koral has spent the past 13 years telling brand stories through video storytelling. In that time, he’s learned a thing or two about working with all different kinds of clients. Join us as he shares his top takeaways on how to build a great working relationship, no matter the brief or project. About Ryan Koral Ryan Koral has always loved shooting video. He started his business 17 years ago and what started as a $300 one-off shoot for his first client quickly lead to him and his team flying all around the world shooting beautiful weddings. But as time went on and he started a family, he wanted to grow his business without the need to travel so frequently. A friend of his said “Ryan, you can tell peoples’ stories through video - it doesn’t have to be the story of their wedding.” and this opened his eyes to the possibilities in front of him. He then rebranded his business, which is now called Tell Studios and 5 years ago he started another business called Studio Sherpas, where he talks about the business side of growing a video business. He also has a weekly podcast called Grow Your Video Business. Read the full shownotes here.

093: How to work effectively with difficult clients w/ Ryan Koral

When you price your motion design projects, do you think about the value that you’ll bring to your client? How about asking them what success would look like? These two things in combination will allow you to create your best work and get paid well for it. Join Brand Strategist Melinda Livsey as she teaches you how. About Melinda Livsey Melinda Livsey started her career as a graphic designer before turning to brand strategy and education. She teaches other designers how to make the switch from designing to becoming a brand strategist.  She really wanted to work on bigger projects so she made the move from graphic design to brand identity. From there, she learned she could solve even bigger problems and help businesses to make their brands more profitable and memorable. Read the full shownotes here. 

092: How to use brand strategy to grow your motion design business w/ Melinda Livsey

Katie Menzies and Abel Reverter started their motion design studio Cabeza Patata in 2018. Their signature style and playful character designs have won them work with brands like Google, Spotify and The New York Times in just three years. Recently, they’ve been working with more and more fashion brands too. But how did they go about setting up their studio and being hired for their signature style? Find out in our latest episode. About Cabeza Patata Katie and Abel were both freelance motion designers and they’re also a couple. Their individual styles of work are very different so they didn’t at first think of joining forces.  They worked together on creative projects in their spare time and things grew organically from there. Before long, they started to think of themselves as a studio and the name, Cabeza Patata came along, as did their website. Abel says that working freelance allowed them both to differentiate between the kinds of work they would do for clients on a freelance basis, compared to the kind of work they wanted to create as a studio. Read the full shownotes here.

091: How to grow a motion design studio and become known for your signature style w/ Cabeza Patata

We’re all getting older - it’s something we can’t avoid. But what does it mean for your career in animation?  In our latest episode, we explore some of the key areas around ageing in animation and how you can feel confident and happy in your career, no matter your age. About Hannah and Helen Hannah Lau Walker is a freelance animator and the organiser of ‘She Drew That’, an organisation that runs workshops for women in the animation industry. Helen Piercy is a lecturer for the animation and visual effects course at Norwich University of the Arts. She’s also the Education Advisor for Animated Women UK, an organisation that supports women working in the creative industries.  Read the full shownotes here.

090: Ageing in animation w/ Hannah Lau Walker and Helen Piercy

Do you constantly find yourself wishing you had more hours in the day? With multiple clients, deadlines and projects looming, life as a freelance motion designer can be stressful and overwhelming. But what if you could find a way to structure your days so that stress became a thing of the past instead of a regular occurrence? It might sound too good to be true, but this week’s guest will teach you how. About Matt Ragland Matt had tried blogging and podcasting before he settled on YouTube as a final creative project. What he realised through his prior experiments with blogging and podcasting is that the reason he hadn’t hit the goals he set himself was because he hadn’t been consistent enough. YouTube was really his last attempt at growing an audience on a platform. He started out by posting one video a day for the entire month of February, then one new video a week for the rest of the year. Matt says that consistency truly is key when it comes to creating any form of content. You also have to let go of your perfectionism - just focus on creating something and sharing it consistently. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Read the full shownotes here.

089: Time management tips for motion designers w/ Matt Ragland

Everybody’s talking about Clubhouse! This audio-only platform is taking our industry by storm. But what exactly is Clubhouse? Is it worth joining? Can you get more clients through the app if you’re a motion designer? Join Hayley as she answers all of these questions and more. So what exactly is Clubhouse? Clubhouse is an audio-only platform where you can attend “rooms” which is essentially an event to hear someone speak. Within the event, you are given the opportunity (if you want it) to take the floor and speak. One of the key benefits of Clubhouse for motion designers is that it gives you an opportunity to join discussions with industry experts and learn from and connect with them. Read the full shownotes here.  

088: How to use Clubhouse effectively as a motion designer

Our Mastermind Mentors have a wealth of experience behind them. So when we gave our students the opportunity to hop onto Clubhouse and ask for their advice about something they’re struggling with in their careers, they jumped at the chance. About the Mograph Mastermind Mentors  Hayley Akins is the Founder of Motion Hatch. Jess Peterson leads business, operations, and concept development at Mighty Oak, an award-winning creative studio specializing in hand-made animation and design.  Monique is a San Francisco-based, Miami-born, animator, illustrator, and director. Christopher Bernal is a Bay Area Motion Designer with over a decade of experience in the animation industry. And Jason Mallet is an award-winning freelance motion designer and video editor. About the Mograph Mastermind students Gabrielle is a motion designer and illustrator from Philadelphia. She’s a serial Mastermind student who has enjoyed the program so much, she’s returned more than once! She’s joined by student Brent, a freelance motion designer and animator and Ivan, a motion designer from California. In today’s episode, they asked the Mograph Mastermind Mentors to help them to tackle the biggest issue they’re currently facing in their careers.  Read the full shownotes here. Apply for a place on the Mograph Mastermind before registration closes. Download our free Social Media Guide for Motion Designers.

087: How to get hired by big motion design studios

As a freelance motion designer, sometimes you find yourself taking on work that you’re not particularly passionate about just to pay the bills. But what if there was a way that you could exclusively work with brands who align with your personal values AND make a good living in doing so? Today’s podcast guest will show you how she created a successful niche studio that supports veganism and plant-based living. About Roxy Vélez Roxy Vélez grew up in Ecuador but moved to the US to study a master's degree after she finished her studies in graphic design. After she finished she moved to New York to become a freelance designer. She then moved across the world to Berlin and gradually made the transition from freelance motion designer to becoming a studio owner in 2018.  Here’s how she did it. How Vexquisit Studio was born Vexquisit Studio works exclusively with vegan products, brands and organisations.  The studio was born from Roxy’s desire to work exclusively with brands that aligned with her personal values. She worried that being freelance and working for agencies would mean that she would be assigned to projects for companies that went against her personal beliefs. It was also difficult for her to say to colleagues that she didn’t want to work on certain projects because of her beliefs because she loved working for the agencies and the people that she worked with. She felt conflicted because as much as she believes in veganism, she also had to pay her bills.  Meanwhile, in her personal life, she had started to become more involved in vegan events. This allowed her to build more connections in the vegan community which, in time, helped her to start her studio. How to find clients who align with your values Roxy found clients who are aligned with her values primarily through going to vegan events and conferences.  Of course, the emergence of Covid-19 has put a stop to these in-person events, however, Roxy says there is still ample opportunity to connect with the kinds of clients you’d like to work with online. In fact, online events mean that you can easily find international clients, too. She also credits LinkedIn as a great way to find new clients. She follows lots of vegan companies on LinkedIn and makes sure she spends some time actively engaging with them - liking and commenting on their posts. She also says that content is key. It’s important that you spend some time creating content for social media to promote yourself. Creating work that has meaning beyond just making money Many freelancers will get to a stage where, beyond just making money, they want their work to have impact and meaning. Roxy says that when she worked for agencies, if an ad went viral she would feel nothing - it wouldn’t make a difference to her work. Whereas now, if she works on an advertisement for a client that goes viral, or even if it just becomes popular on social media, it has the potential to contribute to less animal consumption, which is a cause that she feels incredibly passionate about. Roxy also updated her portfolio to reflect projects that she knew her ideal clients would find appealing to help her to win more clients. How to raise your freelance rate to give you space to breath Whilst Roxy was setting up her studio, she decided to raise her freelance rate to give her more financial freedom to work on her passion project. She decided that if she was going to spend her time doing work that wasn’t ideally what she wanted to be doing, it made sense to charge more for that work.  The best way to raise your rate is to just communicate the changes with your clients - some will say no, but make it clear that you can still work together if you have availability, but that you’ll have to prioritise clients who are willing to pay your new rate. How to find people to support your mission Roxy found her first freelancers through animation community groups on Facebook. From there, her first hire recommended a friend of hers and from there, the studio has grown to a consistent team who are all personally invested in their work.  Roxy isn’t in a huge rush to grow the studio into a huge business - she has a great working relationship with her clients and the people who work for her, and as long as they continue to work with brilliant clients on projects that excite her, she is happy to continue that way. Most of all, it’s important to hire people who genuinely care about what you’re doing because when people care, the quality of work speaks for itself. What are the kinds of clients that you’d really like to work with? Would you like to start a niche studio one day? Leave a comment on the episode page and let us know! Read the full shownotes.

086: How to start a niche motion design studio w/ Roxy Vélez

Nowadays it’s common for people to have more than one job or income stream. Having a side-hustle allows you to have more freedom and control in your career as it’s not your only source of income - but how do you go about choosing one? And how do you get started? Today’s guest has a popular Etsy store selling stationery as well as a successful career in motion design. In fact, having a side-hustle allows her to be pickier over the kinds of clients she works with. Find out how you too can start your own side-hustle to complement your motion design career. About Mary Hawkins Mary Hawkins is a freelance motion designer, animator and art director. She joined our Mograph Mastermind last year to help her to get clarity on the kinds of clients she wanted to work with and because she was suffering from a massive case of burnout. As a result, she has gone from being an in-house freelancer to an independent freelancer and she now gets to work with clients such as charities as well as broadcast designer clients. How to start a side-hustle as a motion designer Mary has built up an extremely successful Etsy shop selling voting-themed stationery - she’s made 12,000 sales in the past 4 years. She credits her success to having such a niche store. Mary makes products for volunteers to write postcards to voters. Writing postcards to voters was a new idea back in 2017 that has become increasingly popular, which is how Mary Likes Postcards was born. She paid $300 to get lots of printing done back in 2017 and has been running the business ever since. She’s never had to take out a business loan, or invest more money into it and even during a bad year like 2020, it still manages to pay for her family’s health insurance. How to choose a side-hustle if you don't know where to begin Although Mary was happy in her career, the really interesting jobs would often get sent to a big agency in NYC rather than be kept in-house. As a result, she wasn’t spending much of her time at work actually designing, but she’d always find herself doodling designs at her desk. Therefore it came as no surprise to Mary that her side-hustle incorporated something that was a pain-point in her career. However she’s a designer, not an artist, and she knew she needed to create something with direction that people wanted. When she designs for her store, she is always thinking “who’s going to like/buy this?” “What is the emotional response going to be?” As a motion designer, you have a very specific set of skills so when choosing a side-hustle you should stick to things that you’ll enjoy doing and one that makes use of your skillset.  Some of the best ways to make money through a side-hustle as a motion designer would be teaching based content - 1:1 coaching for other designers or teaching YouTube tutorials. You could also make money digitally, such as creating and selling an online course or make and sell templates, printables or fonts. You could also create a print on demand business, where you print designs on tote bags, cards, pins or other physical products but you only create the product once the order comes in.  The key benefit of this is that you don’t want to have an inventory of stock. However, Mary’s business requires an inventory of stock, which of course takes up space and costs money to buy upfront but she says allows her business to be more profitable. The difference between a hobby and a side-hustle Mary sees her side-hustle as a micro-business. A side-hustle is not something that you do full-time, or for anyone but yourself.  It’s also a business that doesn’t require your attention on a full-time basis. There’s also a difference between a side-hustle and a hobby. For example, if you are a designer who is making a short film, you’re an artist rather than someone with a side-hustle - as your primary goal is not to make money. Having a side-hustle will make you a better motion designer Mary says that having a side-hustle has allowed her to be a better organiser, a better planner, and a better marketer Each of these skills, in turn, has allowed her to be a much better motion designer.  The pitfalls of having a side-hustle  One of the key downsides of having a side-hustle is the pressure it puts on you when it comes to time-keeping and organisation. Having a side-hustle, even a small one, will undoubtedly take up a lot of your time. When you’re a “yes person” like Mary, who loves to say yes to many projects at once, you can find yourself stressed and overwhelmed with a never-ending to-do list. There are also copyright issues when it comes to designing and selling work online. Running two different kinds of businesses also means that tax and accounting can become more complicated. Should you sell products on Etsy, Amazon or Faire? Amazon requires sellers to jump through a lot more hoops than other platforms. They also take a large chunk out of your earnings, however, everyone is on Amazon as it’s such a well-used company. Etsy is a smaller marketplace but people seem to respond to the handmade element of businesses better due to the nature of the product.  Faire is a similar platform to Etsy but for wholesale buyers.  It might be better for you to have your own website rather than sell with a platform - it depends on the product you are selling. There are all sorts of marketplaces out there, you just have to search for them. But ultimately, your side-hustle has to be something you’ll genuinely enjoy doing and something that people want and will pay for.

085: How to start a side-hustle as a motion designer w/ Mary Hawkins

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general guidance only and discusses the legal position in the UK at the time of publication unless stated otherwise. You must take legal advice and not rely on the information provided in this podcast before taking action. We do not update our podcasts and therefore, past podcasts may not reflect the current legal position. There are 5 million self-employed people in the UK and if you’re listening to this episode, it’s likely you’re one of them. If you’re a freelance motion designer you’ve probably heard about the IR35 tax law - but what does it mean for you and the way you do business? In today’s episode, you’re going to find out. About Andy Chamberlain Andy Chamberlain is the Director of Policy for The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE).  IPSE is the only non-profit organisation in the UK providing support to independent professionals and self-employed people in the UK. What is IR35 and does it affect me as a freelance motion designer in the UK? IR35 is a term used to describe two sets of tax laws that stop what is known as “disguised employment”.  This is when an individual acts like an employee and is treated like an employee but they disguise that employment by portraying themself as a limited company rather than an individual. By doing this, both the individual and the employer who is hiring them essentially pay less tax - however, it’s illegal and a form of tax evasion. IR35 will only affect you if you’re an individual operating as a limited company. If you are a sole trader, it does not apply. So what is changing with IR35?  As it stands, the government is changing the way that IR35 works in the private sector - moving the responsibility from the individual receiving the payment to the end client. The issue with this is that now many individuals are having to pay tax like an employee even though the company they work for gives them no employee benefits. As an employee, when you get paid, the amount you receive has already had the tax and national insurance deductions taken out of it. Under new IR35 rules, the same will now happen for self-employed people. This is making companies less likely to hire self-employed people because they don’t want to spend time putting them on their “books” and making tax deductions if they won’t be with the company for very long. Therefore they are now advising self-employed people to work under an umbrella company that will make those tax deductions for them instead. This is because if they pay someone through their payroll, they have to make employers national insurance contributions which is an additional 13.8%. Umbrella companies also don’t want to have to pay the 13.8% so they say to the individual “we need you to reduce your day rate so that we can afford to pay your employers national insurance contributions.” So who benefits from this new system? The only person who is really benefiting from this new system is neither self-employed people nor the end client - it’s the government. Rather than waiting a year for a self-employed person to submit their tax return, they are now able to gather a lot more tax from self-employed people more quickly. End clients are now worried - because if they say that IR35 doesn’t apply to a contractor they are working with and carry on paying them their gross pay as before, HMRC can approach them at a later date and they will be held liable. Because IR35 is so complicated, many end clients are choosing to put all self-employed workers under the IR35 rules rather than risk being penalised later on down the line. Does IR35 apply if I am a sole trader? IR35 only applies if you are a self-employed person working as a limited company and not if you’re a sole trader. Historically end clients have preferred to work with people who operate under a limited company because it mitigates their risk. For example, there are some laws that apply whereby if a sole trader didn’t pay the correct tax, the person who paid them could be liable.  If you currently have a limited company and are concerned over the implications of IR35 on you and your freelance business, you could consider dissolving your limited company and become a sole trader, provided your clients were still happy to work with and pay you on that basis. There are benefits and drawbacks to being a sole trader or a limited company. Ultimately, only you can decide what is best for you.  Am I inside or outside IR35? Andy explains that for employment to exist, you need to have each of the following: Personal service - one individual required to do the work themselves, they cannot send a substitute. If you feel you can send a substitute to do your work, this is one of the key ways in which you could dispute an IR35 claim. Mutuality of obligation - is the end client obliged to provide the contractor with work and is the worker obliged to accept that work and do it? Contractors are able to turn down work, whereas employees are obliged to carry out any work they are given. Control - how much control does the individual have over the work they are doing? If you are an employee, the employer has the right to control your work. However, if you’re a freelancer, you are largely able to dictate your own work and the way in which you produce it. If you can prove that any one of these three elements does not exist in the end client relationship, then IR35 does not apply to you. What should I do as a freelance motion designer to prepare for this? Andy advises freelance motion designers to consider what factors distinguish them from paid employed inside the companies that they are currently working with. If you are unsure whether IR35 applies to you or not, you can use the Check Employment Status for Tax tool (CEST) on the Government website, print out the results and show them to your client. Small company exemption rules The rules we have covered so far in regard to IR35 tax rules only apply to end-clients who are medium or large in size. Small companies don’t have to make these considerations under the small company exemption rules. A small company has to meet two of the following three criteria: The company has less than or equal to 50 employees The company has less than or equal to £10.2 mil turnover Less than or equal to 5.1 million on their balance sheet Protecting yourself with a Statement of Work Contract A statement of work is a type of contract that sets out the set deliverables and milestones required for you as the contractor to carry out the work. Payment is then on delivery of those milestones. If you have a contract like that then it makes it very hard for anyone to claim IR35 applies to that written contract, so long as the work carried out matches what was in the contract. A Statement of Work Contract could be a great way to carry on working as you have been with no IR35 implications. If you’re unsure about your existing contracts, consider paying to get them independently reviewed. Andy finishes off the episode by answering some frequently asked questions that have been submitted by Motion Hatchlings, so make sure you listen to the end to see if your questions have been answered. Ultimately, the best advice around IR35 is to make sure you have researched the topic and are aware of your rights should your clients try to claim you are within IR35 when you know you are not. Do you have any other questions about IR35? Do you think it’s going to affect the way you work? Leave a comment on the episode page and let us know! Read the full shownotes. Find more guidance on IR35 on the IPSE website. Follow Andy on Twitter and LinkedIn.

084: What does IR35 mean for UK motion design freelancers? w/ Andy Chamberlain

Motion Hatch is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by veteran motion designer Hayley Akins, discussing the business side of animation and motion design that so many creatives struggle with. Offering quality practical advice and insight for freelance, full-time or aspiring animators, illustrators and motion designers, hear from a wide range of voices within the industry, including how leading animators started out, tips on managing your business and career advice. For more info on how to take control of your motion graphics career and to join our community of amazing, talented designers, head over to http://motionhatch.com.

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Motion Hatch: Helping Motion Designers Do Better Business

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