We were lucky to catch up with Tony Kim recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tony, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I started pursuing animation right after I watched Frozen. Before that, I had no idea about the CG industry. I didn’t even know it existed, and I hadn’t watched much 3D animation at the time. But Frozen was a massive hit in South Korea, and I had the chance to see it. I wasn’t into Disney princesses or even animation in general, but I immediately fell in love with the movie. Everything from the animation to the backgrounds was so creative and beautifully designed to serve the story.

Before this, I had studied and worked in the fashion industry. However, I didn’t realize how much paperwork was involved as a fashion designer, and I found it wasn’t for me. When I started to worry about my career because of this, watching Frozen inspired me to pursue a more creative path specifically, in the animation industry.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

After watching Frozen, I decided to move to the USA to study animation, as the animation industry in South Korea is not very stable. I enrolled at the Academy of Art University in California. I didn’t know anything about animating, but I was fortunate to have amazing friends there. I was a graduate student, and so were my friends—many of whom were already talented animators. They were generous in teaching me, and I learned a lot from them in the school lab.

The courses were great for me, too, as they intensely focused on one subject, like animating, over a short period. There were even classes taught by Pixar animators. I gained so much from those classes, and I could feel myself gradually improving. When I uploaded some of my work from a Pixar class, the CEO of a commercial company reached out and offered me an internship. This was my first animation-related achievement after two years in school.

During the internship, I learned the importance of communication skills. I had focused mostly on animation skills in school, so this was the perfect experience before graduation. Dreams really do come true: after graduating, I landed an internship at Pixar! It was a class-based program, where interns received 12 weeks of training. I worked the hardest I ever had in my life, and I eventually got hired at Pixar as a Fix/Crowd Animator. I’ve worked on many projects, including Elemental, Inside Out 2, Win or Lose, and Dream Productions.

Every moment at Pixar was incredible, but the most remarkable part was the supportive culture—everyone was willing to help, and I always felt comfortable asking for guidance. Unfortunately, after two years at Pixar, I was affected by a wave of layoffs. While searching for a new job, I found that Director Bong, known for Parasite, was looking for animators for his first animated feature film. I applied and was offered the position. Leaving the USA would make it challenging to return, so I had a tough decision to make. But, this felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So, I moved back to South Korea, and I’m currently working as an animator on this exciting project.

I am so proud of myself because I keep challenging myself and am not afraid to move for new opportunities.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I use LinkedIn solely for my career. When I first started, I focused on building as many connections as possible to get my work seen. After gaining some connections, I began uploading my best works. Personally, I think of my LinkedIn feed as my portfolio—quality over quantity. Once I shared my top work, I received many likes, and more people began reaching out to connect with me first. My LinkedIn account grew through showcasing my best work.

I believe LinkedIn works very well. Aside from the role at Pixar, I’ve had three jobs, all of which I landed through LinkedIn. For the first two jobs, the CEO reached out to me after seeing my work on LinkedIn. I even reached out directly to a supervisor through LinkedIn, which led to an interview and a job offer.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

Even though my job is creative, I wish I had known sooner how crucial it is to work collaboratively. Being someone others enjoy working with is essential because every project involves close cooperation with multiple departments. Building good relationships and staying close with coworkers really makes a difference.

I often need to produce creative work within tight deadlines while coordinating with people from other departments. If I’d realized this sooner, I would have focused on building skills to work more efficiently as part of a team.

For instance, I’ve learned it’s better to share my work early, even if it’s not perfect. Building trust is essential; when people trust you, you can present rough drafts sooner and get clearer direction earlier. I recently realized that soft skills like these are just as important as technical skills for creating great work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tonyanim.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonykim94/