I think the theme of my chat with Anne is BALANCE: the balance between creative desires; improvisation and planning; nature and opportunity; perfection and imperfection; Alice in Wonderland and Scar; the artist and the critic. The deep sea angler fish serves as a sublime enactment of this search for harmony.

Anne Beal is an award-winning animation filmmaker and multimedia artist whose work merges experimental animation, painting, and sound. Informed by her musical training, she embraces the intuitive elements of cinematic language.

Links to points of discussion:

• Anne's Patreon
• The Animator's Friend on Instagram
• The Animator's Playlist
• Oliver Burkeman's 70% Rule
• Girls Night Out by Joanna Quinn
• Rocks In My Pockets by Signe Baumane
• Consuming Spirits by Chris Sullivan

The Animator's Friend is hosted by India Lombardi-Bello, an animation educator at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. In this new series, India creates a platform where animators get to talk about themselves outside the context of their work. A questionnaire format, inspired by the 24 frames per second of animation, allows for lighthearted and unexpected conversation.

Credits:

• Recorded and edited by India Lombardi-Bello
• Produced in part with facilities provided by SVA MFA Computer Arts
• Music by Crankin' Cloutmeyer Evans
• Interstitial music from guitarmaster on freesound.org
• Design and branding by Sawyer Rippon
• Special thanks to Vinay Nandargi, Lisa Labracio, Michael Dondero, Kristie Kish, Darren Santa Maria, Rebecca Huang, my mom and dad Lisa Lombardi-Bello and Mick Bello, Nikolas Fortune Hagen, and Ro and Scott Hornak