As a follow-up to this year’s Animation Matchmaking series, DEGANZ’s Izzi Hoskyn sat down with Ryan Cooper and Alex Leighton, two-thirds of the team leading Mukpuddy Ltd.

Mukpuddy originated from humble beginnings in 2002, starting in a basement before evolving into Aotearoa’s leading 2D animation studio. The team has created original shows, such as The Barefoot Bandits, Jandal Burn, and Night Eyes, as well as adapted Spike Milligan’s iconic Badjelly the Witch to the screen. Mukpuddy has solidified itself as a cornerstone of local animation, crafting worlds with a distinct style and humour appealing to audiences both locally and internationally.

In this kōrero, Ryan and Alex discuss the animation process, the secret actor living inside every animator, and some tips for local creatives to step into the world of animation themselves.

Izzi: So the first question is a biggie, but in fairly simple terms, what does the animation workflow look like?

Ryan: It all starts with us coming up with an idea we want to make. From the script, it goes into a combination of the voice recordings and storyboarding. Our storyboarders will jump into dissecting the script and start asking us for direction on how we see things. Then, background artists can start to get a sense of what environments we’ll need. The riggers can also start seeing what characters we need to begin building.

Alex: Character design also usually starts around the brainstorming and writing stage, depending on the project.

Ryan: And that’s quite nice for writing because you can picture the character in your head. Sometimes, we also know the voice actor you want, so you can write the character based on that as well.

Once we have the storyboards and the voices recorded, they are then sent to an animatic editor. They’ll compile all the storyboards and voices into a rough assembly so that we can see whether the episode is working before we begin animating. That’s where we’ll sometimes throw in temporary music, sound effects, and play with the vocal performances.

That’s the upside to animation: we can see whether the finished thing is going to be successful from early on.

Alex: Animation is very heavily loaded at the front end of production before animators even touch anything, especially if you’re building a new concept from scratch.

Stages of the animation workflow from character rigging, to voice recording, to compositing / Photos provided

Ryan: From there, it’s basically divvied out. An episode gets chopped up into its scenes and handed out to the animators. An animator can animate anywhere between 5 to 15 seconds a day, depending on the complexity of a shot.

Once the animation’s done, it goes to compositing. Compositors take the backgrounds, character animation, and any effects animation and put them all together to make it look extra pretty. You can add far more cinematic depth to something with techniques like focus pulls, lighting, or particle effects, which make it stand out from the average animated cartoon.

At that stage, we start looking at the final music, whether it’s production library music or a custom score. Then it’s all mixed, and that’s it.

Izzi: It’s interesting that you’re basically doing the edit before the project is even made.

Alex: That’s so important because then you’re not wasting an animator’s time and energy on something that might end up getting cut. We’ve probably cut one or two scenes from any of our projects after it’s been animated, but the hope is to avoid that.

Because our entire career hinges on storyboarding and animatics, it’s wild to think that live action doesn’t always do that. It’s a crucial part of the process for us.

Izzi: It’s a very different medium, and I think it’s reflective of the pace at which live action can be made versus animation.

Alex: Exactly, a film shoot can be six weeks, but Badjelly was over 70 weeks of work in total. Different departments were on for various lengths, but it’s a long production. That’s why we advocate for support in the animation sector because it creates jobs for longer.

From the making of ‘Badjelly’ / Photos provided

Izzi: Could you also talk a bit more about how an individual animator will step into the process?

Ryan: We’re really big on animators bringing a piece of themselves to their scenes and taking creative liberties. Sometimes, we get a different vocal performance than we expected, so the storyboards don’t quite match. For instance, if we have a comedian in and they’re ad-libbing, we want the animators to match that.

Animators are actors in a way. They have to know how a person is going to react, how they look with certain emotions, comedic timing, and all that. It’s always exciting to see what can come out of a really talented animator who has a secret actor living inside them.

Alex: For Badjelly, we suggested that the animators film themselves acting out scenes. It gives them the chance to embody the character. That’s the moment the show comes to life in a lot of ways. You know, the characters are moving, blinking, and talking. We have a big emphasis on acting and reminding people that you don’t just act with your whole body. Sometimes it’s a subtle eye dart or a little hand gesture.

We also keep an open-door policy if animators want to come and talk to us as the directors. They have their team leaders whom they report to on a day-to-day basis, but if they want to speak to us as directors, we’re always open to a chat because we love getting into the nitty-gritty of it. Often, animators will come to us and ask, “What’s the emotion?”

Ryan: Or “What do you think the character is really meaning when they’re saying this?” It’s fun to talk about, you know, it’s a silly cartoon, but there’s real depth there.

Izzi: I was going to ask about where creativity comes into the technical aspects of animation, but it sounds like it’s just acting through drawing?

Alex: It is very technical, but the performance art of it all is what so many animators love about it.

Izzi: How do you maintain consistency in a character’s ‘performance’ if you have multiple animators working on them across various scenes or episodes?

Ryan: As the directors, we’ll try to set those boundaries up front. We might say, “This is a cartoon, but the physics are real.”

For a show like The Barefoot Bandits, the idea was that fantastical things are happening in this world, but the three main kids are grounded in reality. They can’t stretch and do things that SpongeBob could do, or magically pull things from behind their back. It’s quite fun when you set those rules because the boundaries can make for really interesting animation choices.

The Barefoot Bandits / Stills provided

But it’s also just a matter of all the animators being able to see what the others are doing. Sometimes one person sets the tone, and everyone agrees that’s what it should be. It may require a bit of looking back and forth, but people often check to see who has tackled a character first. It happens naturally, and vocal performance also helps.

Alex: If an actor’s performance is very low-key, then there’s no need to go big with their animation.

Izzi: Who else in the production does an animator work closely with?

Ryan: They often work closely with background designers because if a character is interacting with the background, the animator will need to have the final version of it before animating the actions. They also work closely with compositors. They may have a set of expectations of what needs to be delivered, whether it’s just a technical file or if they have some other ideas of what could make it look extra good in the final product. And riggers, who make the characters. They can get feedback from the animators, asking for tweaks to the way a character is built.

Izzi: Mukpuddy is both creating your own IP and working with other studios or companies. Is there something that you wish collaborators knew before approaching you for a project?

Alex: If it’s a service gig where someone comes to us with an idea and we animate it, it’s important to know what your budget is, be honest about it, and have some kind of knowledge of what we do and what our studio makes. Also, having an understanding of how a budget dictates the scope of an animated project. We don’t just point and shoot a camera. Everything on screen is designed, drawn, rigged, and then integrated into the animation pipeline. It’s time-consuming and a tricky medium to come into naively.

Also, having as many reference materials and resources as possible is really helpful, so we’re not taking a stab in the dark when we come on board.

Ryan: I think a good thing for people to know before they get into this stuff is to put ego aside. The thing you’re making is important, but it’s always nice to take the path of least resistance. Obviously, you want to stand your ground on things you believe in, but it’s good to check whether that’s just pride getting in the way.

Alex: It’s a collaboration all the way through. Which is true for the entire screen industry, but in animation, it just feels like there’s an extra layer. Everybody needs to communicate in a healthy way to get the job done.

Ryan: Consideration for people next in line is a big one. So, when I’m writing, I ask myself, “Do I need to include this prop in this scene? Is this important?” And if the answer is no, I just get rid of it straight away because someone will be spending a lot of time on that one prop.

Alex: Or you’ll ask, “Have we seen this prop in a previous series? Was there a mug or a cup, or a pen?” I’ll check, and if yes, then sweet, we can reuse it.

Ryan: Or if not, is there something else I could use for this gag that would have the same impact? Knowing that someone is next in line to do their part of the job and trying to hand it off as kindly as possible is great.

Character and Location Concept Designs for ‘Night Eyes’ / Photos provided

Izzi: What would you recommend to people who want to get into animation in Aotearoa, whether they are animators or those who want to write or direct for animation?

Ryan: Keep absorbing what’s out there. Have your finger on the pulse because inspiration can come from anywhere. The people who do best are those who know what’s happening in the industry. They know what cartoons kids are watching these days, who’s making those shows, who’s directing them, and who’s designing the characters.

Alex: The people who have longevity in the industry are the people with the ambition and the love of it. You know, meet with your peers and make a little animation gang to create stuff together.

Also, upskill where you can. If you know how to animate in Flash, maybe you can get some work animating in Toon Boom. So learn a few different softwares.

Ryan: As Ross Geller famously said: pivot. The road can get a little bit windy, but as long as you’re related to the thing you want to do, I think that’s pretty good.

We’ve had crew members who have jumped from animation to rigging and from storyboarding to background art and vice versa. Being a jack of all trades is useful. At the very least, having an understanding of who the other roles are in the industry is great because you might find yourself being in one of those roles from time to time.

And the last thing is just talk to the studios that are out there. The more you pick the brains of the people who’ve been in it for a long time, the more skills you’re going to pick up. So here in New Zealand, talk to us, Flux, Yuk Fu, speak to any of these people.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.