Animation

That's incredible, Amanda Toney! I've thought about turning some of my script ideas and scripts into comics and graphic novels either to sell them or use them to help pitch my projects. I probably won't be able to make the MIFA and Annecy International Animation Film Festival, but I'll look into local and North Carolina animation festivals and comic events. Thanks for sharing the article.

Oh wow, this is nice.

Oh, GREAT find!

You’re exactly right, Kevin Jackson, this kind of support and validation is huge for animators who already put in the time to learn the tool when it wasn’t always taken seriously. Open-source skills used to be framed as “alternative,” and now they’re becoming strategic. What’s exciting to me is that this doesn’t just benefit big studios, it empowers independents. For animators who invested early, that knowledge suddenly carries a lot more weight.

Langley Coleman Out of curiosity, what’s been the biggest shift you’ve noticed in how Blender is perceived over the years, from when you started to now?

Sam Rivera, I’m right there with you. That validation piece really matters.

Netflix stepping in at this level doesn’t just support Blender financially; it sends a clear signal to studios, schools, and emerging creators that open-source tools are viable.

Ashley Renee Smith Blender's always been the little engine that could, just not big enough to play on the studio level, but blender has always been studio quality under the hood and just held back by a lack of manpower on the backend. Recently big companies have started investing into blenders development, like Netflix and Nvidia, (I think they see is as a cheap method of R&D mostly) and that's allowed Blender to start reorganizing things in a more standard and user friendly way that has really expanded the userbase. I definitely see Blender taking over as more and more digital art business turns to indie creators or distributed studios over traditional animation studios and vfx houses.

Ashley Renee Smith Great post and perfect timing, especially with Adobe recently announcing the discontinuation of Adobe Animate. Our studio currently uses Adobe Animate, but following the announcement, we’ve started exploring Blender and preparing to make the shift.

If I remember correctly, Blender is currently free. That said, with Netflix now having its hands in the pot, I can’t help but wonder how long that will remain the case. Seeing their investment has definitely opened my eyes to what’s coming next and where the industry may be headed.

Bob Harper Thanks, I really appreciate you sharing this.

That’s actually been my experience so far too. The coverage helps start conversations and gives the project a bit more weight, even if it doesn’t directly lead to sales. For an independent film, that kind of visibility still matters a lot.

Thanks again for the encouragement, it means a lot.

Congratulations Serhan Yorganci on the release and the industry coverage — a major milestone for an independent animated feature.

From a production perspective, this kind of visibility can be very effective when paired with strong visual materials for follow-up conversations and future projects.

I work in 3D production, supporting film and animated projects with characters, assets, VFX, and visual development for POCs and teasers.

Portfolio: https://bento.me/pj-arts

Demo Reel: https://vimeo.com/1061099584

Serhan Yorganci huge congrats on the AWN coverage and the Apple TV release! That’s a massive milestone and definitely something worth celebrating.

Pablo Oliveira Thanks Pablo, really appreciate the message and your interest. Always good to hear thoughts from a production point of view.

Cyrus Sales Thanks Cyrus, really appreciate the kind words. It means a lot.

Hey, Alex Olguin. Incredible job on the film! I really like it! It's fun and funny! I could follow what happened emotionally, I understood what was going on, and the movie is well-paced.

Maurice Vaughan Thanks, this is part of the pitch package I preppared for Armstrong-D.U. Hopefully this will go somewhere, that wat's shown is clear visualy and emotionally is the point of this animatic, basically I'm trying to save a agent or producer to read the script, you can watch it in motion.

You're welcome, Alex Olguin. I think this movie is going to really help when you pitch Armstrong-D.U!

Reach out to the Success Team at success@stage32.com. Geoff and his team can help you connect with reps, producers, and more.

And you could search for producers in the Browse Members section (www.stage32.com/people?name=&location=&roles=Producer).

Alex Olguin The audio added so much life to the animatic; it made the emotional beats and pacing really pop, even at this rough stage. I think you’ve done a great job communicating the heart of the story so far. Excited to see where this goes as you refine it!

Cyrus Sales Thank you. This was a lot of work, I literally had to teach myself to do all this, haha.

I would love is Animate became Open Source so it could develop more. I think what Adobe does REALLY well is After Effects.

Well that was quick. Adobe is backpedaling, saying people can still use it, but no new updates are planned.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/adobe-reverses-decision-to-shut-down-animate-after-backlash

To me, that’s better than taking it away, but they can change their mind at any time (and probably will eventually).

I remember when they stopped updating Encore, then made it difficult to get, then shut off access completely. This is their playbook. Although in that case, they were in dispute with Dolby over licensing for audio compression coding.

I think the main problem with Flash was the public perception that it was out of date because mobile phones wouldn’t display SWF files and websites based in Flash. If I told someone I was animating in Flash, they’d say, “Isn’t Flash dead?”

Of course, the program Flash, used to make SWF files, could also export image sequences suitable for movies and TV editing. But perception is a problem, so Adobe changed the name to Animate.

(At the time, I rolled my eyes at the new name because Toon Boom previously had a program called Animate. But Toon Boom killed that program in favor of Harmony, so the name was available.)

Adobe Animate added better brushes and “bones” to better animate characters — they’re used like a puppet armature — but I think I only used bones once. Moho has similar tools.

I’m conflicted, because I don’t use the program anymore, but I think it’s important to have access so I can open old projects if necessary.

Mike Boas That public perception was due to the fact that Flash was not being updated to keep up with the times. Had Adobe Animate been keeping pace and even merge with After Effects, Toon Boom would never have taken over. I think Adobe just figured Animate would never be a huge cash earner, so they never pushed a lot of investment into it.

It's always tough to say goodbye to a foundational creative tool, especially one with such a unique history and feel. So many animations have been so devastated by this news, and I've only ever got to play around with it but the elimination of such a program is disheartening

Hi! I liked your logline, the first-person narration and the creation of the world, a bold move. Michele Sandretto you can also view the logline and the script of my pilot in my profile, I would appreciate your feedback.

This sounds like a wonderful and atmospheric concept—the logline paints a vivid picture of a rich, secret world. The idea of uniting different forest factions is a great engine for ongoing adventure. We have a ton of animation execs on our roster, I highly recommend seeking out someone like Evan Anglin! (https://www.stage32.com/scriptservices/coverage/buy?id=57&exec=2724)

Congratulations on being one of the ten finalists, Pamela Winfrey! Reach out to the Success Team at success@stage32.com. Geoff and his team can help you connect with managers.

Pamela Winfrey congratulations on being one of the ten finalists! That's huge, I wish you the best of luck on your quest to find a manager.

Thanks Cyrus! Appreciate you!

Hi, Mirac Yenici! Welcome to the community. Stage 32 has a blog that'll help you navigate the platform and connect with creatives and industry professionals all over the world. www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-platform-...

And Stage 32 had its monthly Community Open House last Wednesday. It'll also help you navigate the platform and connect with creatives and industry pros. You can watch the free recording here: www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32s-january-2026-community-open...

I suggest adding a profile picture of yourself. People will feel more comfortable networking and collaborating with you if they know what you look like. And if you have a picture, your profile will show up when someone searches for you. You can upload a picture by clicking the gear symbol in the top right-hand corner and selecting “Edit profile” in the drop-down menu, then clicking the red button underneath your location and choosing "Update profile picture."

Reach out to Stage 32’s Success Team at success@stage32.com. Geoff and his team can help you connect with executives, producers, and more.

Do you and your partner have a pilot script written?

Thanks Maurice Vaughan and no we don't have a pilot script written yet but we look forward to write it or develop our script with the studio that we want to collabrate. I will try to reach out the success team that you told.

You're welcome, Mirac Yenici. It'll probably be easier to get a studio/producer interested if you two have a pilot script.

Thanks for sharing the article, B.A Sins. I don't know a lot about anime, but it sounds big for the industry! "Together with MAPPA, Netflix aims to bring more original anime from Japan to the world1, broaden opportunities for creative collaboration, and pioneer new frontiers in anime expression." I hope that'll be true!

You’re very welcome, Maurice. I shared it because it feels like an important moment for anime as a global storytelling medium. It’s much bigger than people sometimes realize today, especially online and it’s become a major influence across the industry, reaching both younger and older audiences.

Yes I did my first last month and it was pretty useful, just have two things in mind that I was told and really helped: 1- have clear stakes, not abstract or simbolical, something that will literally destroy not only the status quo but the life of the main characters and 2- Make the producer feel the movie in their head, if they can read it and see the movie or series in their minds, like imagining scenarios and all of that, you've got it. I will try a second time soon, but for now that's what I learned from my last interaction, though I'm not sure yet if the producer or agent taking the pitch will actually do something with it, it's a good experience to enhace your creative intents with a story. Good luck!

Hi, Jerome Shaw. Stage 32 has two written pitch examples (one for a show and the other for a movie). Stage 32 also has a verbal TV pitch beat sheet and a verbal feature pitch beat sheet. You can get them by emailing success@stage32.com.

Here's three Lounge posts with pitch advice:

www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Pitch-Advice

www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Pitching-44

www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Why-Pitching-Matters-And-How-to-Mak...

The Pitch Practice in the Writers’ Room is the best pitching resource in my opinion. Pitch Practice is every Thursday night at 5:30 P.M. PST/8:30 P.M. EST. You can sit in and listen to members practice their projects and give them feedback. You can pitch your project too, but you have to sign up. The hosts, Noel Thompson and John Mezes, take names during Pitch Practice for people to pitch the following week. You have to sit in and listen at the practice one or two times before you can pitch. You can sign up for your first month free here: www.stage32.com/writers-room/plans-vip

The Pitch Tank in the Writers’ Room is an incredible pitching resource too. The Pitch Tank is where you pitch your script to an executive and get feedback. The Pitch Tank is once a month.

Stage 32 has a free webinar called "How to Write a 2 Page Pitch for Your Television Series" (www.stage32.com/education/products/free-stage-32-webinar-how-to-write-at...).

Stage 32 has a free webinar called "How to Create a 2 Page Pitch For Your Feature Film" (www.stage32.com/education/products/how-to-create-a-2-page-pitch-for-your...).

Stage 32 also has a free pitch webinar: www.stage32.com/education/products/pitching-tips-from-the-pros-your-blue...

Send it on!

Laurie, beautifully said. Animation really is where writing becomes a living, breathing collaboration — the page evolving through boards, performance, rhythm, and emotion.

Roger Allers’ ability to pitch story as energy and joy is such an enduring lesson for writers — not just in animation, but in how we communicate story at every stage. Thank you for sharing both the craft insight and the human story behind it.

Thanks for sharing the info and video, Laurie Ashbourne! "In fact, the screenwriter often has to REWRITE the pages based on what the story artist creates- dialogue and all." I didn't know that. That's great to know as an animation screenwriter!

I think this is my first time seeing a story meeting for an animated film. Roger made the meeting feel so alive and fun! That's perfect for pitching some animation projects and live-action projects too.

Thank you for sharing this. I am writing two animated features, so this article is very timely.

Indeed it is Maurice Vaughan, I might rewatch it soon. It aged incredibly well.

I just added Paranoia Agent to my watch list, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. Thanks. I'm looking forward to checking it out!

Good stuff Maurice Vaughan, I think you'll enjoy it. Let me know what you think!

Ok, I will, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh.

That was pretty surreal. I like surrealism it has this odd aura.