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We believe the most rewarding work stems from a strong sense of teamwork, collaboration with our clients, and a desire to make something fresh and compelling. Here at MAKE we have a true passion for this work and enjoy all aspects of the creative process from start to finish.

11/21/2025

Peel back the layers with us on how we brought King Oscar to life.

Character design was our first big swing. We explored a wide range of styles but always circled back to the historical source. The goal: honor the legacy, preserve the charm, and create a King Oscar that feels both familiar and new.

Then we brought in real actors for pacing, timing, and physicality. To make every nod, glance, and gesture the backbone of the animation. We combined their performance with artist illustrations through a custom AI restyle process that fused realism with hand-drawn character work.

With the base performance locked, our 2D and 3D teams refined expressions, tuned silhouettes, and tightened movement. Hero props like the sardine fork were built in 3D for accuracy, then rendered back into the 2D style to blend seamlessly.

Everything came together. Live action, illustration, AI style transfer, 2D animation, 3D animation, and compositing all became more than the sum of their parts. The final result feels rich, tactile, and unmistakably King Oscar.

11/19/2025

Episode 2 IS OUT!! The Sunny Side Down diner has its trapped inhabitants questioning reality... per usual. Two pills. Two truths. Freedom, or greasy diner food till the end of their days. Which will our heroes choose?

Watch here & now: https://youtu.be/b7K3FnTbl2Q

11/17/2025

Ever wondered how MAKE Originals got started? We sat down with Natalia Poteryakhin to understand just how the heck we go about developing an indie series at MAKE and the vision behind our new show, Sunny Side Down. Plus plenty of fun BTS moments.

Watch every MAKE Originals series on our YouTube, AND stay tuned for Sunny Side Down Episode 2 premiering this Wednesday!

https://www.youtube.com/

11/12/2025

These mischievous gnomes took “MAKE it or break it” quite literally! In this round of MAKE Telephone, five artists each had three hours to animate a scene featuring characters from our upcoming series Mythic Co.

The theme for November was “Gnome Antics,” and antics they certainly delivered. If this isn’t what your average day at the office looks like, it might be time to step up your game!

Each artist’s process was captured in one continuous timelapse, so you can watch the creative chaos come to life from start to finish.

What wild shenanigans will our team dream up next? You’ll just have to stick around and find out next month!

11/11/2025

Think you’ve got what it takes to design a character for Sunny Side Down? Well, our Character Design Lead, Mayuko Watson, thinks you just might!

There’s only TWO WEEKS LEFT to submit your alien designs for a chance to have them featured in an upcoming episode!

📝 Here’s how to enter:
Design an original character
Submit a 3/4 view of your design

📅 Deadline: November 24, 2025

🔗 Full contest details and submission form are available on the MAKE website & link in our bio:
https://makevisual.com/ssd-character-contest

Don’t forget: Be unique and, most importantly, have fun!

11/05/2025

Drifting through the galaxy hits differently with a little Dead Moon Walking LoFi... calm, quiet, and totally relaxing. 🌙

Watch the full 30-minute LoFi video on MAKE Originals YouTube:
https://youtu.be/ExIEX2o4kk4

11/04/2025

When you’ve been in the driver’s seat with a brand like Corporation for years, the shorthand starts to click. You skip the warm-up laps and get straight to the fine-tuning. As Technical Director Dabelow put it, “we get to really focus on the polish, the small stuff that makes it magical, because we are already starting on the same page.”

That polish kicked into high gear for this one. This was our first full production inside our new 25,000 sq ft stage, and the space opened up everything. We could bring live action and CG together under one roof in a big way, lighting every inch exactly how we wanted.

Machine learning gave us a fun cheat code for color tweaks, letting us switch up the actors’ uniforms on the fly without a single wardrobe change. Every 3D light lived on its own channel so we could sculpt the look later, frame by frame, like painters with pixels. And our mocap crowd system? That’s where the magic kicked in. Movement, wardrobe, and timing all mixed together to make the stands feel alive and buzzing.

The stadium itself was a mash-up of practical builds, 3D architecture, and FX layers stacked with snow and depth, creating a winter world that felt so real you could see your breath.

The result is pure Hess. Fast, bright, and full of heart. A tradition built on precision and play that keeps challenging us to raise the bar each year, always coming back better than ever.

10/31/2025

A Halloweeenie MAKE it or break it. Five 3D artists. One canvas. Two hours each, all playing off each other in one long game of MAKE telephone.

The prompt was “Autumn,” back in September, and naturally everyone went straight for ghosts, pumpkins, and a haunted house. That checks out.

The whole thing was captured start to finish in one oddly satisfying time-lapse of human hands brewing magic with a pen.

This is our second time doing this, and we’re already thinking about what’s next. Should we take it outside and do a giant telephone wall doodle, or turn it into an exquisite co**se animation? What do you think?

10/30/2025

We got spooky with Butterfinger, and yes, we’re still brushing off the crumbs. Making these bite-sized social treats came with a sweet surprise: the launch of Marshmallow Covered Butterfinger. Unreal.

Not only did we get a mouthful of crunch, but we got to play with tons of variety in each spot, all wrapped up with the kind of satisfaction only a candy classic delivers.

10/28/2025

It's backkkk and better than ever!! This holiday tradition is always the highlight of our year!

For us, this partnership has never just been about showcasing a toy. It’s about bottling the feeling of nostalgia and the thrill of putting the pedal to the metal, that split second before takeoff, that spark of wonder that makes kids and adults hit the floor on Christmas morning to see what’s waiting in the box.

After nearly a decade working with Hess Toy Truck, each spot reminds us what keeps the tradition alive... Every year, we find a new way to make it faster, brighter, and unforgettable.

10/23/2025

Dadadadaaah! We’re excited to announce that Andrew Chesworth, Lead Character Designer at Netflix, is our celebrity guest judge for this year’s MAKE Thesis Grant.

If you haven’t already, now’s the time to APPLY! Don't let this free funding opportunity slip away!

Find all the details and application steps here: https://makevisual.com/thesis-grant-info

10/22/2025

Be ready to boldly go nowhere with us, as Birk, Spork, and that-one-guy-who-they-totally-remember-the-name-of do their best to ingratiate themselves with the locals without violating their subprime directive to escape. How will they fail? Catch the new episode while it’s still hot... and wriggling.

Episode 1 of Sunny Side Down is dished up and ready on our YouTube channel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FrOovt5QvU

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We believe the most rewarding work stems from a strong sense of teamwork, collaboration with our clients, and a desire to make something fresh and compelling. Here at MAKE we have a true passion for this work and enjoy all aspects of the creative process from start to finish.