Feb 2026: Motion North 54
An inspiring two days at Manchester’s Freight Island
Spoilt for choice
It’s always great to see the breadth of creativity and innovation that studios and individuals from around the world are bringing to the industry. It reminds us why we got into this field in the first place, and that we’re actually really lucky to be able to do what we do full time. The team enjoyed both days of Motion North, packed with speakers from big-name studios to popular artists and freelancers as well as fun workshops & events to join in with.
Each of the team took something different away from what was on offer, so we’ve put their highlights from the two days together here.
“The very first talk of the event from Buck opened my eyes to the importance of animation being woven into the design process throughout, rather than just part of the end result. Although no one really sees motion as an afterthought anymore, it was interesting to see the impact of including motion designers right at the start of a project, guiding and improving initial ideas, and bouncing off & working alongside graphic designers. As someone who started off as a graphic designer, it was really refreshing to see both sides of the industry developing in this way.”
James' Best Bits
“Next, TimTim taught me about the art of evolution, how sometimes it’s time to build upon and evolve your current styles and processes. Not an entire reinvention, but also more than just small tweaks. Keeping what works, and adapting and changing the areas that may begin to feel stale or boring. Through this, she has taken her work from strength to strength and kept it feeling fresh and relevant.
Animade showed me the joy of being able to play, mess around, and let all those silly ideas run free, while Form Play brought me back to studying Smile in the Mind at university, and reminded me that sometimes the best ideas are the simplest – the ones that bring a little smile to your day.”
“Alice Isaac highlighted what can happen when you stay true to your creative perspective. Coming from a makeup artist background, Alice embraced her taste for high fashion while mixing her skills in analogue collage. She spoke deeply about the importance of craft and about explaining to clients the need to invest in her time to create the incredible results she achieves. I have a soft spot for collage work so being able to sit down and watch her work after a day of vibrant, modern, digital designs, was very refreshing. I especially liked her mantra of ‘Old ideas – New Energy’.”
“Huge credit to Jonathan Ashworth and the whole Motion North team for pulling together two packed days of talks, workshops and general motion-nerd mingling. It’s rare to spend that much time surrounded by people who are genuinely obsessed with the craft, and I left feeling properly recharged and inspired for the months ahead.”
Mike's Top Moments
“There were loads of highlights. A brilliantly bonkers dive into the mind of YouTube original Cyriak Harris. Filipe Carvalho sharing his journey to working with some of the biggest studios in Hollywood on incredible title sequences. The team at Art&Graft lifting the lid on their process and showing their stunning new short film. A delightfully hands-on Procreate Dreams frame-by-frame workshop from Form Play Studio. Some wonderfully squishy, gradient-filled 3D goodness from Timea Balo.”
“And then to finish, a brilliant career-spanning talk from Jay Grandin of Giant Ant. Watching a reel that covered 20 years of work, set to music from Oppenheimer, was one of those moments that reminds you why you got into this industry in the first place. I’m not saying there was a tear in my eye… but it was close.
Also great to bump into so many familiar faces from across the community – one of the best parts of events like this. Already looking forward to the next one.”
“For me, it was Snask and Cyriak! Both had completely different presentation styles. Freddie from the creative studio Snask was unapologetically confident in his ability and the work his creative studio produces, which is a rare sight in our industry when we can be guilty of being a little bit introverted and irreverent. Cyriak was much more humble but hilarious in presenting his mashup of motion collage work. Both creatives inspiring us to embrace the fun and the weird, which I love.
All the speakers I went to inspired me in some way, whether they were big-name studios or creative freelancers. It was a fun couple of days catching up with old friends and making a few new ones along the way, chatting about all things motion, how the industry has changed and how it’s not all doom and gloom out there. There’s still hope for us creatives!”
Winston's Favourites
“One of my favourite parts was Filipe Carvalho’s talk – it was humorous and inspiring, about pushing his way into an industry that had no path for people like him, and creating his own way through hard work, passion, and being brave enough to ask. The Women in Animation panel explored the challenges of being a small studio in the current climate, the pros & cons vs freelancing alone, and what we might need to prepare for as an industry in the coming years.”
Alex's Highlights
“Watching FormPlay’s workshop on digital hand-drawn animation in ProCreate took me right back to my days learning 2D on a light-box and peg-bar, way back when! And TimTim’s talk really struck me – all around finding that unique thing that you just can’t stop thinking about, turning it into what you do on a daily basis, and enjoying the journey for what it is.”
“The main joy of the two days was the team getting treated to some delicious breakfast by Mike, and us all being able to hang out at Motion North together, getting some of that creative spark back as a team!”
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