Meet Lianne Maritzer: Senior Animator by day (currently working on the Netflix series, Daniel Spellbound) and painter/ninja/explorer by night!
Check out a few pieces of her work above, and learn more about her below.
What inspired you to work in animation?
It was tough finding out what I wanted to do as a career… ? I was passionate about too many disciplines – I loved art, I loved computers, I loved science, I enjoyed building things! Therefore, as many people do, I took a variety of courses in University to learn as much as I could and discover my passion. That was until I came across one course for 3D animation and instantly fell in love. This field encompassed my love for everything, my love of art, creativity, and technology. From then on that is all I wanted to do and that’s all I ever talked about.
What is your favorite thing about what you do?
My favorite thing about what I do are the fans… I love overhearing conversations of little kids chatting enthusiastically about how much they love something I’ve worked on or talking about an upcoming project with a friend and how excited they are to see it released. Just knowing how much people love watching what I create is truly inspiring and keeps me wanting to work on new and exciting projects. I even collect little figurines and mementos from every project I’ve worked on.
Are there any other creative disciplines you do in your spare time?
Since I spend most of my day on the computer working on 3D animation, in my spare time I love to get away from the screen. I enjoy painting?, spending time outdoors?️ and exploring the beautiful city?️. I grew up in Montreal and I am still finding new things to love about Toronto. I enjoy learning new recipes to cook, spending time with my fur-babies. But when I am ready to be back in front of a screen I spend plenty of time watching movies and tv shows both for fun and for animation research of course!
Is there any accomplishment you’re particularly proud of?
As my career in the industry is still rather new compared to many, a big accomplishment I am proud of is just how far I have advanced in my skill set and worked my way up the hierarchy in a few short years. From finding my passion in University, to landing my first job in the industry to where I am now, I have put a lot of time and effort into developing my skill set, learning from both my mistakes and from my peers to advance in my career and I will continue to learn and grow until I reach all of my goals.
What is a ‘fun fact’ about you that most people don’t know?
Something that a lot of people don’t know about me is that after 12 years of studying and practising, I have a black belt in Karate?. It was a tough journey, but it has taught me that anything worth doing, is worth doing to completion.
Do you have a tip or piece of advice for aspiring animators/artists?
As big as the film and television industry is, it’s a very small and tight knit community. Everyone is passionate about what they do and working on a production is not a solo project. My advice is to share your own knowledge and take advantage of people willing to help you and learn from their expertise. There is no wrong answer in the creative world and there are a million ways to do the same thing. You might learn a trick to make you work more efficiently or see something amazing and ask that person how it was done. You can then take that knowledge into your own practise and teach it to others down the road. The learning is never over.
Thank you for the work you do, Lianne!
You’re awesome and we love having you on team IB.
Follow @lianimator on Instagram, and check out her website to see more of her work!