Originally from Faro, Portugal, Inês Margarida is currently working as a Motion Designer at Flow Creative in Manchester. Thanks to her incredible energy and determination, she has successfully carved her own career path in the competitive field of animation. After finishing high school, she completed an intensive course in the arts, followed by an exam that allowed her to enrol for a degree in Animation at Algarve University where she was introduced to a wide variety of skills such as frame-by-frame animation, After Effects and 3D character animation.
Inês continued her studies after university, signing up for two online courses which she cites as changing her life: ‘Character Animation’ with School of Motion and ‘Mograph Mastermind’ with Motion Hatch. This experience allowed her to develop both hard and soft motion skills, creative confidence and a solid understanding of the industry and potential career paths. Through one of her tutors, Hayley Akins, Inês learnt about an internship opportunity at Flow; she successfully applied, and this internship turned into a full-time position as junior designer and has led to her current role as motion designer.
Now happily working at Flow on a wide range of animation projects, Inês cites the importance of being determined, dedicated and ambitious. She believes that, in most cases, women can be inclined to think of the word ‘ambition’ with a negative connotation, rather than something to aspire to. She is proud to define herself as ambitious – while at the same time reminding herself of the importance of constantly learning, improving, and practicing her skills.
The possibility of creating connections with people who see her work and making them feel emotion is important to Inês’s current work. Character animation is at the core of her practice and the thing she’s most passionate about. It allows her to feel like an actress, as she tells us when describing a standout project for ‘Children in Need’ that she’s worked on with the Flow team: ‘I felt the pain and sorrow of my character’.
Inês has become confident in her technical skills when creating motion graphics but is still working on refining her voice and illustrative style; something she wants to develop over time without the pressure of showing her progress online. Disagreeing with the pressure that creatives can be put under, which often comes with feeling a need to ‘over-share’ – especially on social media – she prefers to post less, and to show only things she is proud of. She is currently developing a style that is bold, colourful and unexpected, at the same time as learning new illustration skills and techniques. We look forward to seeing where the future takes her!
We talked to Inês about landing her dream job as motion designer at Flow Creative, dealing with self-doubt and women role models who have shaped her career.
Sofa – I’m always trying to push myself and this one was very technical and such a challenge that I learned a lot. Illustrated by Alexandra Francis.
Why did you decide to become a motion designer and how has that ambition evolved over time?
Animation was always present in my life, I grew up watching Looney Tunes & Disney films soI guess it was always there. As a child, I used to get lost in the endless possibilities of worlds and dreams. I was supposed to take a degree in Economics but got held up by Mathematics, so I changed my course I- didn’t even know that you could be an Animator or a Motion Designer! When I started studying animation I wanted to become a 3D Animator, but guess what? I wasn’t strong enough at that time.I was okay at Motion Design and I remember someone saying “your style is not defined by what you know how to do, it is about what you don’t know how to do.” In my case, it applied to life. I haven’t given up on 3D animation yet, I will make it! Some skills can just take longer than others and that’s okay. Over time, I felt more comfortable being a motion designer, as I understand that in terms of personality it suits me. I like different things, and I am always eager to learn more. But now I understand that my core skills are in Animation, Character Animation more precisely.
Where did you study and what do you know now that you wish you’d known when you started your design course?
I studied for a degree in Animation at Algarve University in Faro, Portugal 🇵🇹: the main focus at that time was more traditional animation, but it was there that I was introduced to After Effects. As I mentioned before, I had studied economics, so I didn’t have formal training in Arts. I had to do three years of arts in one and pass an exam to get to my course. This being said, I wish someone had told me that I would be learning animation for life so stop killing yourself, as it is not a sprint in a marathon! The second piece of advice would be: you are going to suck for a while and that’s okay, no one is perfect at the beginning so don’t be so hard on yourself.
“I wish someone had told me that I would be learning animation for life so stop killing yourself, as it’s not a sprint it’s a marathon!”
Door and Vase: Usually, I say that I prefer animating scenes with characters, but it was a blast animating this, so cartoony so different from anything I have done. Illustrated by Alexandra Francis.
How did your job as Junior Motion Designer at WeAreFlow come about?
I was working as a junior designer, but I wanted to do animation, and so I continued pushing myself and using my wages to learn more. I enrolled in two courses that changed my life: ‘Character Animation’ in School of Motion and Motion Hatch, in ‘Mograph Mastermind’ with Hayley. In School of Motion, I was learning the hard skill and in the Mastermind group I was learning soft skills, such as how to approach studios, learning from more experienced motion designers, getting my website done.
I was looking for an internship and Hayley told me about the summer internship at Flow Creative; I applied and the rest is history (I always wanted to say that)!
Can you tell us a bit about how you’ve grown and developed throughout your education and career so far?
When I was in university, I studied hard and worked on what I could to accrue more knowledge. I knew that was the way to go. I had to have information to improve. At this time, I think I went through phases where I studied more and others where I practiced more. I looked at storyboards and shots to find the shot that would push me furthest from my comfort zone. This may sound a little risky, but I have learned that personally this is the way to grow. Half the time if you ask me do I know how to do it? No, I don’t but I’ll figure it out, and learn in the process. As I feel more comfortable in animation I can expand into illustration and do my best to learn as much as I can.
A lot of people in the creative industries struggle with imposter syndrome and self-doubt. Have you experienced this and how do you deal with it?
I have dealt with self-doubt most of my life and only in more recent years have I’ve been learning to be more confidence, I see it as a “life learning” type of thing, I have tried to understand what is the root of my self-doubt and be forgiving with myself; most of the time we are our own worst enemy. I have a routine of saying certain phrases to myself – something I learned in coaching, I say what I want to become and visualise the outcomes. One of the phrases that I say to myself every day is definitely “I’m confident”: by repeating this over time I’ve started to see the results.
“Another thing that has brought me confidence was doing the same thing over and over. It seems so simple, but as Aristotle said, ‘We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit’.”
Tell us about a standout project that you’ve worked on and why it’s important to you.
The project I worked on at Flow Creative for a Children in Need commercial. The story is about three children dealing with difficulties in these not so easy times. This was the most challenging project, the one I got most adrenaline off. There were so many poses, keyframes, and feelings. As I was animating it, I felt like an actress, I felt the pain and sorrow of my character. I felt like a real Character Animator and that was everything for me.
Do you have any female role models or mentors who have shaped your career?
I feel very lucky as I have met some incredible people along the way. The way that I see it, everyone is my mentor. I try to see what it is they do best and try to learn from them, (They don’t have to know and this takes the pressure off). I learn from observation and seeing how people deal with situations. I also ask for feedback from the people who are closer to me. The legends Alexandra Francis, Sarah Brewster, Vicky Campbell, Emma Reynolds and Hayley Akins were a major inspiration for me this year: strong, fierce, kind and driven women. I can’t leave behind the amazing guys: Karl Doran, Jordan Painter, Winston Tsang, Gray Young were as important. I am very lucky to have such beautiful people surrounding me.
Christmas: For this shot it was important for me to apply weight in the animation and, at the same time, still be funny and have personality. I was responsible also for the character design. Environment design Illustrated by Alexandra Francis.
How would you describe yourself as a designer and your design work?
I don’t have a clear idea of what my style is as yet, but I will say how I want it to be. I want it to be bold, big, in your face, with bright punchy colours, cartoony type animation and always unexpected.
Who are your top three women design crushes currently working in the industry?
My top three are Nuria Boj, Joyce Liu and Bee Grandinetti, they are amazing, an absolute inspiration: “when I grow up, I want to be like them”.
All projects mentioned were created at Flow Creative.