20 top animators to follow on Twitter
In need of some animation-related insight and inspiration? Head to Twitter and follow these top animators.
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If you're looking to master the art of animation, or simply in need of some animated inspiration, Twitter is brilliant place to find it. However, the social network is a maze of millions accounts, so it can be difficult to know where to look. To help you out, we've rounded up this list of some top animators to follow, all of which will point you in the direction of useful and inspirational animation-related content.
01. Aaron Blaise (@AaronBlaiseArt)
Artist Aaron Blaise spent over 20 years at Walt Disney Animations helping to create some of the world's best known animated films, including The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast. Nowadays, Blaise shares his infinite animation wisdom via his informative and engaging Twitter feed.
02. AnimationMentor (@AnimationMentor)
Ok, so technically a group of animators rather than just one, but the team behind Animation Mentor are definitely worth a follow if you're looking to develop your animation skills. These guys tweet mutliple times a day, sharing everything from inspirational work to help animation-related tips and tricks.
03. Daniel Gonzalez (@dannyanimator)
If it's animated-related insight and inspiration you're after, the Twitter feed of Walt Disney animator Daniel Gonzalez is a great place to start. Here, you'll find useful tips, beautiful sketches and links to various, brilliantly animated content.
04. Catherine Hicks (@cathicks)
Catherine Hicks is an animator at Pixar and avid Twitter user. Her account is full of links to inspirational, animation and VFX-related content, created by herself and other talented artists. Her quirky personality and sense of humour are reflected in this engaging and interesting Twitter feed.
05. Omar Momani (@omomani)
If you're already suffering with World Cup withdrawal symptoms, give cartoonist and animator Omar Momani a follow. A self-taught artist, Momani depicts world football incidents into editorial cartoons for Goal.com. And his brilliant Twitter feed is full of them.
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06. Floyd Norman (@floydnorman)
American animator, writer and comic book artist, Floyd Norman has worked for a number of leading studios over the course of his career, including Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. He currently spends time sharing his extensive animation knowledge via his blog and this informative Twitter account.
07. Scott Wright (@SideKickBoy)
Having worked at Dreamworks for 15 years, animator and cartoonist Scott Wright has a number of incredible animated film credits under his belt, including Monsters vs Aliens and How To Train Your Dragon. Wright tweets multiple times a day, with many of them being helpful tips and advice for animators.
08. Disney Animators (@DisneyAnimators)
The unofficial feed of the Walt Disney Animation Studios animation department is a brilliant source of inspiration for any budding artist. The team here interview a different artist each week and share it via Twitter, as well as various other brilliant animation-related content.
09. Patrick Smith (@scribblejunkie)
New York-based animation artist Patrick Smith is best known for his work on MTV series Daria. But he's also directed and animated six award-winning films in the last decade, so he's clearly a man in the know when it comes to animation. Follow him on Twitter for regular updates on his new work and other animation-related news.
10. Paul Clements (@@paulclementstv)
Motion designer and animator Paul Clements has an awe-inspiring portfolio of animations, created for various leading brands. He shares much of his work, as well as links to useful tutorials and training, via his active Twitter feed.
11. Mike & Tim Rauch (@RauchBros)
Specialising in hand-drawn animation for TV, film and the web, Rauch brothers Mike and Tim also find the time to run an interesting and informative Twitter feed, the large majority of which is dedicated to the art of animation.
12. Richard Swarbrick (@RikkiLeaks)
The undenyably talented Richard Swarbrick is a master of illustration and animation. His latest ventures have included a series of pieces to accompany the World Cup 2014, all of which fills his Twitter feed, making it a wall of vibrant colour and inspiration. Definitely one to follow.
13. Robert Kohr
The Twitter feed of associate animation director at Nickelodeon Robert Kohr certainly isn't the most active on this list, but is still definitely worth a follow. When Kohr does use the social media site, you'll almost certainly want to read, or in the case of his incredible drawings, see them.
14. Sundeep Toor (@SundeepToor)
Independent animation director Sundeep Toor is a creative with ambition, which is clearly evident from her active Twitter account. Toor's tweets are not only motivational, she also a great source for animation roles, regularly sharing any opportunities that she may come across.
15. Adam M. Watts (@FMAnimation)
Stop motion animator Adam M. Watts is currently busy at Aardman Animations bringing beloved character Morph back to life. So, if you're into learning the art of stop motion, Watts is definitely worth a follow. He also regularly shares animation-related opportunties tweeted by the people he follows.
16. Pendleton Ward (@bunothebear)
As you might imagine, the Twitter feed of Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward is anything but dull. We're not going to lie, there's a whole lot of crazy and entertaining tweets, including the most random vines. But hidden amongst them are some seriously brilliant animated gems, like this one. A must-follow.
17. Lev Polyakov (@LevPo)
Artist Lev Polyakov makes animated films and, when he's not busy doing that, he draws people on the subway with his phone, all of which he shares on Twitter. His timeline is a feast for the eyes, filled with beautiful sketches and illustrations, as well as some useful tips along the way.
18. Kirsten Lepore (@kirstenlepore)
Kirsten Lepore describes herself on Twitter as a tiny director and animator. But her feed displays bundles of personality. This talented lady's account is full of her's and her other animator friends inspirational work - all wrapped with a brilliantly healthy dose of humour.
19. Nina Paley (@ninapaley)
Filmmaker, animator and comic-strip artist Nina Paley's Twitter feed is an animator's dream. There's links to brilliant animations, animated gifs, links to interesting animation-related conference talks and Paley's brilliantly informative blog posts. Oh, and there's also a few cat pictures thrown in for good measure. What more could you possibly want?
20. Jamie Karrot (@jamiekarrot)
Creative director at Karrot Animations, Jamie Karrot regularly updates his Twitter feed with the inspirational content coming out of the studio. Not only that, Karrot's feed is also filled with links to inspirational animation news and work - his passion for the subject clear in each tweet.
Have we missed your favourite animation-related Twitter account? Let us know in the comments.
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Kerrie Hughes is a frequent contributor to Creative Bloq, and was once its editor. One of the original CB crew, Kerrie joined the team back in 2013 after moving from her role as staff writer on 3D World. Since then she's written regularly for other creative publications such as ImagineFX, Computer Arts and Digital Camera World. After a stint working for the police, Kerrie is back reviewing creative tech for creative professionals.