Animation Student Spotlight - Tim Harwell

Discover Tim Harwell’s journey in our Animation Student Spotlight, showcasing his creative process and passion for character animation.

“iAnimate has taught me far more than just how to set a keyframe.”

Tim Harwell: Motion Designer & Character Animator

MeetTim Harwell a freelance motion designer and character animator based in the Nashville area. With a passion for exploring design and motion, Tim has developed a strong skill set across industry staples like After Effects, Cinema 4D, and a wide range of tools, including Octane, Redshift, xParticles, Duik, Joysticks and Sliders, and Rubber Hose. His journey into character animation began in an unexpected way—by bringing life to idle animations. What started as a simple task quickly became a source of creative joy, leading Tim to dive deeper into the art of animation. Today, his work includes projects for clients like the streaming service Minno Kids, where he continues to grow and refine his craft.

“I discovered that I really enjoy doing character animation when doing some idle animations for a project. It was shockingly satisfying to animate someone standing in place, biding time waiting for the next thing to happen. I decided I should probably enhance the skill to do more than just animate people standing around.”

Student Animation Journey

Tim took the Feature Animation Workshop at iAnimate:

Feature Animation Workshop

• Feature Animation Workshop 2
• Feature Animation Workshop 3
• Feature Animation Workshop 4
• Feature Animation Workshop 5

with Animation instructors:

• Alexis Wanneroy - Fortiche Productions
• Mike Walling - Bungie

"Alexis Wanneroy has been incredible. He’s honest and generous, meeting each student at their level, while never compromising on the highest standards.”

Bringing Characters to Life: Tim’s Process

When approaching his iAnimate assignments, Tim takes a thoughtful and performance-driven approach. Tim’s animation workflow:

1.  I start by analyzing the audio to get into the character's mind in order to convey clear intentions in the acting.
2. I spend time filming myself acting out the shot in order to get a compelling performance that I can use as a reference.
3. From there, it's important to me to get the 8 to 10 best poses out of the reference in order to convey the clear intention of the shot to communicate what the shot is intended to communicate.
4. After getting the key poses perfected, I spend time getting the rest of the shot on 2s, extracting all of the relevant subtleties of the reference. For a grounded shot, this is more detailed than a cartoony shot.
5. After going to 2s, it's time to apply the animation principles to get a shot that is entertaining and pushed in just the right ways to tell a fun and visually appealing story.

“iAnimate has taught me far more than just how to set a keyframe. I have learned proper workflow along with the technical skill to take a shot from a concept to a beautiful, entertaining performance that helps the director tell their story and carries audiences to another time and place. I’ve also learned how to take feedback and apply it so my animations are the best they can be.” 

You can reach Tim via:

Student Spotlight Q&A with Animator Tim Harwell

iAnimate: What do you think of your Online Animation Instructor(s), and how do they help you?

Tim: Alexis Wanneroy has been incredible. He’s honest and generous, meeting each student at their level, while never compromising on the highest standards. It’s nice to be able to see your shot from his perspective getting direct feedback on how to make the posing, acting, and entertainment value better.

iAnimate: How did iAnimate help you to evolve your animation skills as a character animator?

Tim: I feel like I went from someone with some talent for animation, to a capable character animator with the knowledge and skill to elevate any production. I'm excited to see what the future holds.

iAnimate: What kind of animator do you consider after taking your student workshop's?

Tim: I have much more confidence to call myself a character animator with feature level skills. I think everyone struggles with impostor syndrome at some point in their career. The iAnimate experience has given me the tools to back up the claim that I can deliver at the highest levels in both body mechanics and acting.

iAnimate: What kind of project do you want to work on?

Tim: I'm excited to take on projects that need someone who can deliver final frames, whether that's in a small studio or for an ad agency.