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

I think the theme of my chat with Anne is BALANCE: the balance between creative desires; improvisation and planning; nature and opportunity; perfection and imperfection; Alice in Wonderland and Scar; the artist and the critic. The deep sea angler fish serves as a sublime enactment of this search for harmony.

Anne Beal is an award-winning animation filmmaker and multimedia artist whose work merges experimental animation, painting, and sound. Informed by her musical training, she embraces the intuitive elements of cinematic language.

Links to points of discussion:

• Anne's Patreon
• The Animator's Friend on Instagram
• The Animator's Playlist
• Oliver Burkeman's 70% Rule
• Girls Night Out by Joanna Quinn
• Rocks In My Pockets by Signe Baumane
• Consuming Spirits by Chris Sullivan

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
• Interstitial music from guitarmaster on freesound.org
• Design and branding by Sawyer Rippon
• Special thanks to Vinay Nandargi, Lisa Labracio, Michael Dondero, Kristie Kish, Darren Santa Maria, Rebecca Huang, my mom and dad Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello, Nikolas Fortune Hagen, and Ro and Scott Hornak

This month, I made a new friend! John Morena joined me to talk all the most taboo topics: religion, and the tristate pizza wars.

Morena is a Bronx-born animator and art director, currently living in Brooklyn. His films have been selected by such prestigious festivals Annecy, Ottawa, Hiroshima, Anima Mundi, Animafest Zagreb, and the International Children's Festival. He is currently working on an anthology piece Films for No One which you can keep stay up-to-date with on Instagram.

Links to points of discussion:

• Di Fara Pizza
• Creepshow 2
• Animation Speak/Easy
• Alphabet by David Lynch
• I'm Okay by Elizabeth Hobbs
• Martina Scarpelli
• Area 52 by John Morena
• 25 Ways to Quit Smoking by Bill Plympton
• Your Face by Bill Plympton
• Beauty in the Grime: An Interview with Independent Animator John Morena by ASIFA-East

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 Lisa LaBracio for recommending John Morena, Jose Vargas, Michael Dondero, and Nikolas Fortune Hagen