Insights by the Pros with Agora Studios Character Animator Meghan Grube

Character Animator and iAnimate Alumni Meghan Grube share her stories and inspirations and how she succeeded in her animation journey.

"Two months after completing iAnimate’s Feature Animation program, I got a call for a 6-week contract at a VFX house that turned into a three-year gig, and I have been an animator ever since."

Meghan Grube is a Freelance Animator who has worked in VFX, Feature, and Games. She is one of the animators behind popular Films and Games like Hawkeye (Disney+), Ant-Man and the Wasp, Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Star Wars: Project Porg, WEB Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, and many more.

Outside the animation world, Meghan also living her life as a parent, hiker, runner, and tortilla chip enthusiast. Meghan was currently hired as an Animator for Agora Studio. She is working for Cinesite on Iwájú (Walt Disney Animation).

Alumni Interview

Animation Journey and Inspiration

iAnimate: Tell us a bit about your animation journey and throughout your time with us. Who or What inspired you to become an animator? How did you become an animator, and when did iAnimate become part of your journey?

Meghan: I had always wanted to be an animator growing up, but I lived in a small town and knew absolutely no one in the industry. I ended up going for a more general degree in college because I was kind of always fearful that animation was "unrealistic." I worked in advertising for two years post-college, and it wasn't clicking, so I decided to really try to be an animator. I got a job as a PA at DreamWorks Animation, which is where I heard about iAnimate. Two months after completing the feature animation program, I got a call for a 6-week contract at a VFX house that turned into a three-year gig, and I have been an animator ever since.

iAnimate: Walk us through a day in the life of an animator at your current work.

Meghan: Once I get assigned a shot, I watch it in the context of its sequence to get an idea of what is needed for the shot and what it is trying to get across. After that, I shoot references on my phone and then sort through all of my takes until I find a few that feel right. I show this to my lead and supervisor, and once a take is approved by the director, I move on to blocking. VFX taught me to block in more of a spline or "splocking" way, which helps speed up my process. Once I feel that it's hitting the beats correctly, I show it for feedback. From then on, it's a back of fourth of splining and addressing notes until the shot is finalized.

iAnimate: What do you do to stay inspired and motivated animator?

Meghan: I decided to make a career and lifestyle change that didn't go as well as I had hoped. Shortly after that, I became a parent, and shortly after THAT, the pandemic started. I really thought my animation dreams were over, and my career was made. I had a few tough months, but through that experience, I learned to turn failure into motivation, talked to other working parents, updated my reel, started getting remote jobs, and had some of the best years of my career. So my inspiration comes from remembering how hard it was not to be doing what I loved and how lucky I am to get the chance to do it again, and how I want my show my kid that failure is not the end of the world and can actually be quite useful!

[Meghan at her home office]

Animation Lessons and Growth

iAnimate: How did iAnimate help prepare you for the industry? What were the most important things you learned at iAnimate?

Meghan: Aside from teaching me the foundations of animation, it helped give me a view into how working animators thought for the first time in my career. Hearing an explanation for why they chose to do or not do things in their shot really changed the way I looked at things. I also felt very motivated by my classmates - it's really inspiring to be around others with similar interests and goals and to feed off their passion for the subject.

iAnimate: What is the most challenging shot you’ve ever animated, and why did you succeed at the shot?

Meghan: Honestly, the one I'm working on right now is kicking my butt, but I can't talk about that yet! But before this, I worked on a shot for Hawkeye where an owl swoops in and picks up a shrunken truck. It was difficult because it involved a lot of components - a flying creature that had to be photo-real and move in a way that worked for the CFX department, a moving CG camera that I was also responsible for, and coordination between the timing of the owl, the camera, and CG human characters so the human faces wouldn't be shown (thus not breaking the illusion), and the realities of working on a show where the direction and hookup shots are frequently changing. I succeeded at the shot because, ironically, the year before, I'd done a test shot with iAnimate's owl rig on my own just for fun, which taught me a lot. But beyond that, what I think helped out the most was that I watched a lot of references of owls in flight, and I kept an open dialogue with my supervisor (who gave excellent feedback) and showed my work frequently. I also took time on my own to study camera work and cinematography, which completely changed how I animated the camera then and now. I'd also had some experience under my belt and had confidence that the shot would get done eventually, so I shouldn't stress or doubt myself.

Meghan's Current Animation Reel

You can reach Meghan via:

iAnimate: Do you have any demo reel or interview advice you can share with animators on the job hunt?

Meghan: For interviews, I would say to be prepared to talk about yourself, your reel, and the work you did on it. Cater your reels to the type of work you're applying for, and watch the reels of people who have gotten jobs to know what standard you're being held to. And for interviews, don't be afraid to lean into what makes you unique.

iAnimate: What other advice do you have for current or future iAnimate students?

Meghan:

• Someone told me at the start of my career to "work hard and be kind," and that has never steered me wrong.
• If you don't see someone like yourself in the room, whether it's gender, race, having children, or anything - that doesn't mean you don't belong there.
• Failure is not the end or even a bad thing. It's when learning happens. Accept what happened, and continue to learn and try. There's no timeline, and success can come at any age.

Animation Career Advice & Tips

iAnimate: If there’s one animation tip or technique you’d share with someone wanting to animate in a feature film, what would it be?

Meghan: Shoot and study reference. You'd be surprised at what you do and don't do naturally.

iAnimate: Given that there’s so much to learn, how would you recommend a brand new animator start their training?

Meghan: There are SO many resources now compared to when I started, it's wonderful, but I think it can also be overwhelming. I would first decide what type of animation you're interested in (games? feature? VFX?) and look into online schools that cater to that kind of work. Also, honestly, just download a rig and just start practicing with test shots. Not every shot you do has to go on your demo reel - even just basic mechanics exercises will do wonders for your process.

iAnimate: What makes a great animator or an animator a studio would hire?

Meghan: As I mentioned earlier, someone who works hard and is kind. There's a lot of talent out there, but being reliable and helpful on top of that makes you a great person to work with.