Animate! Tabriaz Waheed on the Key to Animation

Tabriaz Waheed is a motion graphics artist based in London, working for Velvet Badger. He has extensive experience in Cinema 4D, Redshift, Octane, Arnold, X-Particles, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign and Blender. 

LBB> How did you fall in love with animation?

Tabriaz> I fell in love with animation at a young age when I was introduced to an anime called Bleach and my interests developed further during my time at university. 

LBB> Tell us about the animation project that kick started your career?

Tabriaz> I would say my first big animation project which is the Christian Louboutin 2020. 

LBB> How would you describe your art style and what are your biggest inspirations that developed it? 

Tabriaz> My art style changes between different tasks. An example would be when I am sculpting, I try to be close to realism but with my animation I prefer a surrealism style. My style changes every year as I gain more experience.

LBB> From your perspective, what’s the key to animation that really lives? 

Tabriaz> Storytelling will always be the heart of animation. It is the most important element of an animation that connects with the audience.

LBB> Show us your favourite or most impactful project that you’ve worked on - tell us, what is it that makes it special and what were the memorable moments or challenges? 

Tabriaz> The most impactful work for me is Rockstar Call of Duty. The reason it's so special is because I got more responsibility to take ownership of the animation.   

LBB> How do you approach character design? What is your creative process like?

Tabriaz> In my personal projects, I always look at references and what each feature of each reference I like. Then I go in Zbrush and develop the character there. But design is always changing as time goes on during the design process.   

LBB> Tell us more about observation and movement - what is the process you go through to study movement of characters?

Tabriaz> When studying character movement or any subject that is framed in the camera, I would study the general gesture of what the subject is doing and then develop the movement further. The camera is a character as well, so its important that the subject's movement and the camera's movement do not clash.  

LBB> We all know of some ever-green adult animations, but lately they have definitely been on the rise, from Rick and Morty to Arcane. What sort of opportunities does this open for animators, both within and outside the advertising industry? 

Tabriaz> It’s a big deal in my opinion. One animation that made the biggest impact is Love, Death + Robots. Every episode is a different theme from different 3D design studios without any restriction of a typical animation and can go wild with their creativity.

LBB> What is your favourite piece of technology or software that you use and how does it help your creative process?

Tabriaz> Currently Zbrush is my favourite software. I can explore what kind of style of sculpting I want to explore and not worry about the limitation of the software. 

LBB> What sort of briefs or projects do you find more personally satisfying to work on?

Tabriaz> I would say big cinematic animations such as the Christion Loubition projects which push my skill. 

LBB> What recent projects have really stood out for you and why?

Tabriaz> I would say a recent project I liked exploring was using Unreal Engine 5. It really helped me get to grips with a real-time engine.

LBB> Who is your animation hero and what is it about their work that inspires you? What example of their work particularly stands out?

Tabriaz> There are lots of animators that inspire me but the one that sticks out the most is Taehoon Park. I keep obsessing over all his work. His work for Dreaveler to this day gives me goosebumps. 

LBB> Outside of the field of animation, what really inspires you?

Tabriaz> Reading manga and comic books.

LBB> What do you think are the misconceptions about animation throughout the industry?

Tabriaz> That animation only takes five mins to do.

LBB> What are the biggest changes to animation and challenges facing animators at the moment and what are your thoughts on them?

Tabriaz> I think creative block will always be there for any type of creative process, but that’s why teams are there to help you - you can ask fellow colleges about their viewpoint.

LBB> Any advice you would like to give to aspiring artists?

Tabriaz> Keep exploring different types of art and network with other artists.