Ed Sargeant

ABOUT ED

Ed Sargeant is an animator and studio owner based in North Dakota. He is Co-Owner and Director of Animation at Birdtree Studio, where he works primarily in 3D.

He got his start in VFX through a network of mentors and peers, and credits that support with landing his first job in the industry. Having people to turn to for advice or an introduction made the difference early on, and he is now at a point in his career where he wants to give that back.

He works in Blender, Toon Boom Harmony, Creative Cloud, and Clip Studio, on a production pipeline built with Deadline and self-hosted tools including OpenProject, Nextcloud, and Flamenco.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR TOOLS

Comfort with the fundamentals of at least one industry-standard program. 3D is my specialty, so a mentee already finding their way around Blender, Maya, or Max is where I can help the most, but a solid foundation in any core tool works. I care more about dedication than technical mastery.

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

No formal experience required. This is aimed at students and people early in their journey, so I’m not looking for professional credits. What matters is genuine commitment to animation and some work you can show and talk through, even if it’s class projects or personal pieces that are still rough.

WHAT I CAN HELP WITH

Someone committed to the craft usually has the basics down already, so the more valuable work is figuring out which market you’re moving into and the specific skills that path calls for. I can offer perspective on the animation industry here in North Dakota and how expectations differ from larger studios in heavier markets. Beyond that, portfolio, career paths, or soft skills, depending on what you need most.

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