Frame by Frame: Karolina Specht’s Path to Lead Animator

Warsaw-based creative, Karolina Specht is the lead animator and director at BluBlu Studios. Majoring in animated film and special effects from the Łódź Film School, she went on to win awards for her shorts ‘Love Story’, ‘An Incredible Elastic Man’, ‘Don’t Lose Your Head’. ‘Beside Oneself’ and ‘Squaring the Circle’. With an abstract approach, geometry is a common theme in her work which she describes as “colourful squares and circles”.

Outside of her career, she’s a fan of good coffee, cats, spending time by the sea. She’s a fan of good coffee, cats and spending time by the sea.

LBB> How did you fall in love with animation?

Karolina> It’s not a classic rom-com love story, it’s more like a: “we have known each other for ages and always liked each other, so it’s just natural we stick together” kind of romance. I just loved watching cartoons and drawing as a child, so I chose high school with an art profile.

During photo and video classes we were tasked to make a short film, and animation was an obvious choice for me.

Obviously, it was quite poorly designed and animated (and a bit sad - I suppose I was in my emo phase back then). Even so, I think it was the moment I started to think about it as my future career.

After graduating high school I started studying animation directing at Łódź Film School. I made five student shorts (and my first-year movie is actually titled ‘Love Story’), and later on, I started working in the industry. At first as a freelancer; right now as a full-time lead animator and director at BluBlu Studios. And so, the love story goes on.

LBB> Tell us about the animation project that kickstarted your career

Karolina> I think I can mention my second-year student animation, ‘An Incredibly Elastic Man’. This is a short movie about a man without his own shape. It had a really good festival run and gave me the confidence to keep going.


When it comes to commercial projects, frankly, I could not choose just one. It was more like slowly evolving than a sudden kick-off.

I started working at BluBlu Studios at a really early stage of my career, as a junior / mid 2D animator and with every project I learned something new. Step by step (or frame by frame) I got to the point where I am now.

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

Karolina> I would describe it as “colourful squares and circles". I like symmetry, geometry, thoughtful compositions, bold and colourful designs. The less realistic, the better.

I love using an abstract form to tell the story.
When it comes to influences, originally I was inspired by great masters: Picasso, Edward Munch, Paul Klee, Jerzy Nowosielski; all futurists and cubists. These days it’s more varied: I also get stimulated by modern illustration, comic books or recent animations that went big at festivals.

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

Karolina> I would say that the key lies in understanding the nature of the design and choosing the proper type of movement that fits a specific art style the best.

With some, I aim for more realistic movements; with others - I go with a more experimental approach. Sometimes I want it simple and spare, sometimes - ruffled and strange.

It’s all about what kind of story you want to tell with your animation.

LBB> Show us your favourite or most impactful project that you have worked on tell us what it is that makes it so special and what were the memorable moments or challenges

Karolina> There are several projects I can call my favourite, but I would go with my trailer for the Animator Festival 2019.
It was actually the first commercial project I made all by myself.

At this point I already had a ton of experience from working at BluBlu, but only as a 2D animator - so I couldn’t make decisions regarding directing or design.

With the Animator 2019 trailer I could do whatever I wanted. I also felt that I finally gained most of the skills to make this piece look and move exactly as I wish.

It was fun and rewarding - the project was appreciated by qualifying for the Commissioned Films Competition at Annecy Festival.

LBB> Tell us more about observation and movement. What is the process you go through to study movement of characters

Karolina> My creative process starts with very rough sketches, made without worrying about the details. At this stage I’m just trying to figure out the general flow. It’s my favourite part of animation - my little moment to be really creative. 


If I’m happy with the sequence I doodled, I proceed to unwrap this movement - I try to understand it and convert it to basic forms. I observe how every shape and line affect each other.

With this process it’s just easier to go to the tie down stage and make it really smooth and nice. Sometimes I work on projects where it’s important to actually study the real life movement to get it right.

There’s not so much room for improvisation and being creative here - for example, in some sport pieces you have to follow the actual actions of the player and make it as realistic as you can. With this kind of project I start with watching references - a lot of them, usually frame by frame.

To be honest I don’t really enjoy it and if I could, I would always go with a more creative approach, but sometimes to achieve the best results it’s just necessary to be a bit boring. ;)

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

Karolina> Toon Boom Harmony - I use it mostly for frame by frame animation and I love that it gives me the opportunity to make simple rigs and compositing as well.
It makes the whole process a lot easier, when I can combine traditional cell animation with simple rigging tools.

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

Karolina> I like projects with a very strong visual side that enhance the story, where the art style and the narratives are symbiotic. In such cases you can just tell that this particular story just wouldn’t work with a different design, wouldn’t be so impactful. Those projects are the most satisfying ones.

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

Karolina> For sure ‘Porcelain War’ - an Oscar nominated documentary with short animated parts.

It was a great honour to be part of the team working on this important and beautiful piece.


I would also mention animations for NFL team Baltimore Ravens. I’m not really a fan of American football (or any sport to be honest) but having the whole stadium watching your animation is something for sure.

LBB> Outside the field of animation what really inspires you

Karolina> Sitting by the sea, talking with people I like, reading about philosophy and psychology.
But to be honest, I’m the most creative when I have a chance to get bored, so I could say - doing nothing is what inspires me the most.