GOOD NEWS: Everything is coming up COYOTE 😍
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👋🏻 APRIL ALREADY?
It’s been a minute or two, and oh-my-goodness – spring has sprung! Anything happen over the last month or two? 🤣
A slight change of the career arc over here (more on that later), and some massive moments in the world of animation that got us pumping our fists and scratching our heads at the same time.
📃 What’s inside this edition of KEYS & CURVES?
Animation: A Coyote finds new life, FLOW wins big, and more good news.
Motion Design: A behind the scenes look at the SEVERANCE opening titles
Tools + Training: Learn Blender Geometry Nodes by building… a city?!?
Spotlight: Justin Harder
ANIMATION STATION
All Aboard ACME!
The year long Warner Bros. misery train is coming to an end as Ketchup Entertainment, those fine folks that saved the day and brought THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP to theaters (you saw it, right – RIGHT?!?) has swooped in and pulled COYOTE vs ACME from the clutches of a WB-induced tax write off hell.
Other good news? MIKROS Animation has been saved from the Technicolor disaster by Rodeo FX, Common Side Effects has been renewed for a second season, and we’ve got a release date for that final SPIDER-VERSE movie!
Also?
FLOW WINS THE OSCAR! The little movie that could took the Oscars by surprise, winning over the Academy voters and convincing them to vote for the Blender-made indie over studio favorites Inside Out 2 and Wild Robot.
Here’s some of the best videos we found about all aspects of FLOW:Why Flow's Oscar Win Matters for the Future of Animation
In more good news, COMMON SIDE EFFECTS is renewed for a second season – as sad as we still are that Scavenger’s Reign didn’t get more episodes, it’s awesome to see this show live on.
The Goofy Movie documentary, NOT JUST A GOOF dropped on Disney+ and it’s worth your time just for all the great BTS stories that have been hand-animated by VENTURIA Studios in Colombia
Some beautiful 2D animation tests from KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS by David Vandervoort
Super fun MOHO animated breakdown by David Probst
FrameByFrame maps out the differences in posing, timing, and spacing between two characters doing the exact same action in THE BOY AND THE HERON – we love this kind of action analysis!
MOTION MADNESS
Explaining Motion
What’s the one big challenge in the 2025 for Keys & Curves readers?
My favorite title sequence of the decade got a sequel with this year’s opener for S2 of SEVERANCE; Oliver Latta shows how it was made.
Itay Tevel shows off a simple but powerful technique used in some animations for Intuit
Kingdom of Something BTS on a project for Adidas
Super poppy flex on the whole collage animation style by Ento Incognito
Guillaume Scoffié, founder of YUZU Studios, has an excellent breakdown of a visual identity he recently made.
Juan Pablo Jimenez crushes this photo-mation for the Toronto Blue Jays
ILLO makes talking about crypto visually exciting (not an easy feat!)
There’s still life left in explainer videos, especially when Pacôme Pertant
gets a little psychedlic in their explaining
TOOL TIME
Blender Nodes and a City Grows
Learn Geometry Nodes by building a Procedural City with CG Cookie
Speaking of Blender, multiplayer inside a 3D app?!?
Lots of updates in the new release of After Effects, including something called “High Performance Preview Playback” that promises some much-needed speed – but we’re most excited about this little QoL improvement:
“Maintain workspaces when opening projects from another user.” 👀
SPOTLIGHT
Justin Harder | CLAUS Studios
Perhaps the most prolific styleframe designer in the business – who has also donned the official DEADPOOL suit several times, Justin is a shining light in the motion design industry when it comes to sharing his work whether it wins or fails.
His site is worth digging deep into as his range of styles are as mind-boggling as the definitive work he’s been involved with. On top of his distinctive color choices and mark making, he’s an amazing illustrator that’s been the driving force behind Marvel title sequences, Taco Bell commercials, and SNL’s Weekend Update.
Make sure to follow him on all the socials as he’s sharing stuff at lightspeed and a constant inspiration to anyone that loves comic books, bright colors, and squinting movie stars.
Know someone that should spend some time in our Spotlight? Let us know who!
That’s a wrap for this week. We’re getting back to a regular posting schedule, releasing Monday mornings to get you going for the week.
Until then, keep on slinging the keys and riding those curves! 🤩