Working in the creative field is one of the most rewarding things in my life, yet at times it can be the most taxing. Staying up to date on current trends and styles is hard enough, but making sure that your work is unique and fresh without copying other projects is even harder. When starting a new project in the creative field, or even just starting your day, finding inspiration is probably the single most important factor. There are a ton of resources out there that provide creative inspiration, and my personal favorite is Vimeo.
I’ve known about Vimeo for years but didn’t really utilize it until I started working at Sparksight. The amount of quality work to be found on the website is outrageous, and the ability to create a custom feed of videos from users you choose to follow makes it easy to find and consume certain types of content. I follow a number of individuals and agencies on Vimeo and start each day looking at what they’ve posted-from recent projects to other videos they have favorited. Below are a few of my personal favorite motion graphic artists that I recommend checking out, whether it be for inspiration or just to watch something awesome for a few minutes.
Giant Ant Studios
Giant Ant is a studio based out of Vancouver that does some of the most incredible animation I have ever seen. They focus on telling engaging stories, and some of their projects are absolutely amazing. These are the guys I strive to be like in my work most. I highly recommend the projects they have done for TOMS and Costa Sunglasses.
Michael Jones
Michael Jones is a freelance motion graphics artist from Atlanta. I found him years ago after watching an awesome video and discovering that he had done a tutorial series about some of the more impressive shots in the video. I’ve been following his work ever since and I love his style. He recently started a project called MoGraph Mentor that pairs students up with talented professionals who can mentor them through a project cycle. It seems like a really awesome project and Michael is certainly very passionate about it.
Seth Eckert
I’m not sure where I found Seth Eckert, but he is without a doubt one of the more talented animators I follow. He does projects for a wide variety of clients and makes use of an even wider variety of styles. No two videos look the same, but they are all great. He has been a huge inspiration to me as I have become more comfortable in my animation. He also seems to turn out new projects at a pretty rapid pace, so there is usually something new and interesting for me to watch.
Phong Luong
Phong Luong has to be a joke. Our lead animator, Ryan Austin, introduced me to his work and I have been hooked ever since. This guy is 20 years old and has been animating for just over a year. He doesn’t have a large amount of projects, but each project he does have is very high in quality. Of the artists I’ve included in this post, he is without a doubt the most obscure, but that doesn’t mean he is any less talented.
So there you have it, 4 Vimeo accounts every animator should follow! I personally use these artists to stay inspired and up to date with my skills. There are countless others for you to find on your own, but this is a great place to start!