Sit poolside with me and Nicole Otaola as we discuss pauses, pivots, persistence, politics, and Jurassic Park.

Nicole is an artist and filmmaker currently based in Miami, FL. She is a recent graduate of the BFA Animation Program at the School of Visual Arts. She is an animation generalist, previously at Augenblick Studios - clients including PBS, Netflix, Irony Point, G-Fuel, Toei Animation, and Expensify. More recently, she worked on City Island PBS Kids as a Production Coordinator. In addition to animating, illustrating, storyboarding, and compositing, she also likes to make tunes.

Links to points of discussion:

• Nicole's Instagram
• City Island
• Miami-Dade Public Library System
• Josh Pilch on the Animator's Friend
• The Animator's Favorites
• The Animator's Animations
• My Neighbor Totoro Fox Dub
• The Animator's Playlist
• The Animator's Friend on Instagram

The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.

Credits:

• Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
• Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
• Music by Crankin' Cloutmeyer Evans
• Design and branding by Sawyer Rippon
• Special thanks to Sam Lee for introducing me to Nicole, Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello, Ro and Scott Hornak, and Kylie Mitchell