10 Animators to Watch: ‘Inside Out 2,’ ‘Transformers One’ Artists Among 2024 Honorees
By Nick Clement, Murtada Elfadl, Todd Gilchrist, Paula Hendrickson, Stuart Miller, Rafael Motamayor, Brent Simon
Animation is frequently misunderstood as a genre (it’s a medium) or dismissed as children’s entertainment (it’s made, and watched, by people of all ages). Yet there’s more of it now to disprove those reductive assessments than ever before — not just the accumulation of decades of trailblazing and diverse work, but new narratives being told in different ways to a multitude of audiences. Variety’s 2024 Animators to Watch are at the forefront of that eclectic and fruitful wave of creators, combining their life experiences and knowledge of the art form to craft characters and stories that are captivating, thought-provoking and moving.
As has become an annual tradition, Variety asked each honoree to create a self-portrait to run in this feature. This year’s animators come from the world of film (“Inside Out 2,” “Ultraman: Rising”), television (“Sex Is Weird,” “Jentry Chau vs. The Underworld”), music videos (Ty Dolla $ign, Kanye West, FKA twigs and Skrillex’s “Ego Death,” Dua Lipa’s “Hallucinate”) and more. These animators all drew upon their upbringings, inspirations and life experiences to earn a spot among the most promising voices in the next generation of their industry. Variety is proud to recognize and honor the 2024 class of Animators to Watch as they give vivid life on screen to their imaginations — and as a result, to those of their viewers as well. — Todd Gilchrist
“Hallucinate”
Tan’s interest in animation, character and design started when she was a kid and a “huge gamer.” Though she agreed to study painting at the College of Fine Arts in Sydney to please her parents, she quickly transferred into the design and animation program, where she was drawn to projects involving game cinematics and high-profile music videos.
Working at Mill+ for the last decade, Tan has fulfilled many aspirations befitting her skill set: across a variety of cell and stop motion animation styles, she’s directed eight campaigns for Respawn Entertainment’s “Apex Legends” hero shooter game and helmed music videos for Jay-Z (“The Story of OJ”) and Dua Lipa (“Hallucinate”). “I like to bounce around,” she says.
“Cute and colorful” are the cornerstones of her work, so much so that when she’s not animating, she’s building her ceramics brand, Lil’Chotchke. “I found a new outlet in a different medium, which was really fun,” she says. Though down the line she envisions a kid’s book or an animated show inspired by her ceramic characters, Tan has put work projects on hold since last year, when she became a mother. “I’m a person who does everything a thousand percent, so I wanted to do the same thing as a mom,” she says.
After working with Edgar Wright on the music video for Beck’s 2018 single “Colors,” Tan says she’d relish the opportunity to direct one of the artist’s clips herself. “I’d love to do more game trailers and more music videos,” she says. “I’m good at telling stories in bite-size pieces.” — Stuart Miller