We were lucky to catch up with Melis Caner recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Melis, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I studied Film in college, focusing on cinematography, editing, and sound design, but animation wasn’t even on my radar back then. I never thought I’d be capable of creating 3D animations on my own. Life had other plans, though. After graduating, I found myself drawn to the creative freedom of animation during the pandemic. With the help of YouTube tutorials and collaborating with my partner, I dove into the world of 3D animation, and what started as curiosity turned into a career path and a passion.

Learning 3D animation is a never-ending process. There’s always something new to explore or something old to relearn. I’ve discovered that patience is absolutely essential. Sometimes you need to push your creativity to find solutions, experimenting through trial and error until things work. Other times, the biggest challenges are lack of motivation, sometimes technical software crashes, system limitations, or just the complexity of what you’re trying to create. But in the end, what keeps me going is that incredible moment of seeing your work finished and realizing, “I made this.” It’s those moments that make all the challenges worthwhile.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi! I’m Melis Caner. I am an artist passionate about visual storytelling, specializing in 3D animation, and 3D cloth design. I create animations that blend my background in film with the limitless possibilities of 3D and share it under my artist name “Melniverse.” My work often integrates my personal touch, whether through character movements captured with a motion capture suit or uniquely designed costumes.

Throughout my career, I’ve had the chance to showcase my work globally, from New York to Seoul, at events like Digital Fashion Week and Artscloud. I’m most proud of completing my first animated short film, Match House, and I can’t wait to share it with the world.
Additionally, winning the Stylized Animation 2nd category in the Reallusion Character Creator Contest affirmed my ability to push creative boundaries and encouraged me to continue exploring my unique voice in 3D animation.

Beyond my passion projects, I collaborate with brands and creators, providing services in character/cloth design, animation, and cloth simulation.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I’ve always been driven by the idea of creating art that somehow connects to people. Whether through live-action films, animations, or even with songs that I write playing the ukulele. My ultimate goal is to build my own studio where I can bring these creations to life. I have a passion for stage acting, and I believe when I combine it with my animation skills it will add a unique depth to my creative process. I want to create experiences that evoke strong emotions and moments that people can relate to even for just a moment. It’s truly inspiring to realize how people, despite our unique differences, share so many common emotions. As an artist, I would feel fulfilled if I could capture and express that shared emotion, bringing it to life in a way that resonates with someone.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up and during my studies, I was often told that to excel, I needed to focus on one thing and master it. As a child, I was drawn to trying different things. I wanted to explore, experiment, and be good at many things, even if I wasn’t the best at any single one. For a long time, I saw this as a flaw, thinking that my inability to focus on just one subject held me back.

But over time, I learned that this approach doesn’t work for everyone. It’s about finding what resonates with you. What truly matters to me is being able to act, dance, direct, take photographs, or make music and use all these creative outlets to make it a whole. That’s one of the main reasons why I like animation. It’s not always about perfection, it’s about enjoying the process and weaving together the unique skills.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melniverse.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melniverse/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meliscaner/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@melniverse