School of Motion Podcast

Author: School of Motion: Design & Animation Training for MoGraph Artists

The #1 podcast for designers who animate, animators who design, and anyone who is 3D-curious. We interview Designers, Animators, 3D Artists, Producers, Studio Owners and other folks related to motion design and creativity. We get deep into the geeky world of Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4D, Photoshop and Illustrator. We talk about the business and art of Motion Design. Dig in.
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Language: en

Genres: Arts, Design, Education, How To

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Why Motion Designers Are Having a Moment — with Adobe's Michael Tanzillo
Wednesday, 10 September, 2025

From pouring drinks to lighting shots at Blue Sky to leading Adobe's Substance 3D team, Michael Tanzillo's professional path is anything but typical and his story is packed with lessons motion designers need to hear. Check out the corresponding blog post here: www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/adobe-michael-tanzillo In this episode of the School of Motion Podcast, EJ Hassenfratz sits down with Michael to talk about the state of 3D, why motion designers are impressing major animation studios, and how foundational skills (like lighting and storytelling) will outlast any software trend. 🗒️ SHOW NOTES Michael Tanzillo https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltanzillo/ The 3D Artist Newesletter https://3dartist.substack.com/ Jasmine Katadakarn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-katatikarn/ Alwyn Hunt https://www.therookies.co/about/team/alwyn-hunt Andrew Kramer https://www.videocopilot.net/contact/company/ Sebastian Deguy https://x.com/sebdeguy?lang=en Nick Campbell https://nickvegas.com/ Connor Henkle https://vimeo.com/996490291?fl=pl&fe=ti&pgroup=plv Connor Henkle on SOM podcast https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/connor-henkle-sports-design Patrick Foley https://www.instagram.com/patrick_4d/ Colosseum https://colosseum.co/ Winbush https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmzWP6o2cw73moEF7LO_KvA PJ Richardson https://www.pj-richardson.com/ Victoria Nece https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-nece Sora https://openai.com/sora/ Midjourney https://www.midjourney.com Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ Substance 3D stager https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d/apps/stager.html Omniverse https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/omniverse/ Structure reference tool https://www.adobe.com/learn/firefly/web/generative-ai-structure-reference-image?learnIn=1&locale=en USD (Universal Scene Description) https://3dartist.substack.com/p/demystifying-usd Blue Sky App https://bsky.app/ NAB Conference https://www.nabshow.com/ Safe Space LA https://www.safe-space-la.com/ Camp Mograph https://www.campmograph.com/ Blue Sky Studios https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Sky_Studios Pixar https://www.pixar.com/ 20th Century Studios https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/ Disney https://www.disney.com/ The Mill https://www.themill.com/ Frame Store https://www.framestore.com/ Buck http://buck.tv/ Finding Nemo https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266543/ Ice Age Three https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1080016/ Rio https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1436562/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1 Peanuts Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2452042/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1 Nimona https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19500164/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1 Spider-Verse https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_7_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_spider-man Game of Thrones https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944947/ Severance https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11280740/ Flow https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4772188/ Wild Robot https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29623480/ The Whale https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13833688/ SCAD https://www.scad.edu/ Cinema 4D https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d?srsltid=AfmBOoqj346c50q5PODG-_HTeZ017JdipbkaQRt_XDIX0NBHsGV7Mu-z Maya https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview V-ray https://www.chaos.com/vray?srsltid=AfmBOoogC_jTWraDUnBTjNhG0pkAZ9csF4CO_mtNstdVflJtvuZ4zWju Redshift https://www.maxon.net/en/redshift?srsltid=AfmBOoo_siCAT_UUp0clTp4nqupkBj5b8zl9tVbL_q_9s4rSApkihGbo ZBrush https://www.maxon.net/en/zbrush?srsltid=AfmBOoo3KatuGEWJE2rr4ztpt3_DJlV7Wbz0dxzl1sY2pzACcpzxdeMI Blender https://www.blender.org/ Lightroom https://lightroom.adobe.com/ Substance Painter https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d.html Substance Viewer https://helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-viewer.html Project Neo https://helpx.adobe.com/project-neo/help/overview.html Mixamo https://www.mixamo.com/ Firefly https://www.adobe.com/products/firefly.html Unreal Engine https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US Mega Scans https://quixel.com/megascans