From Games to Film: 30 Years in Animation and What It Takes to Compete Today | Andrey Evdokimov

ABOUT Andrey:

Andrey Yevdokimov is a veteran animation professional and Facility Animation Supervisor at CG Factory. With nearly 30 years of experience spanning games, television, feature animation, visual effects, cinematics, and commercial productions, Andrey has built a career that bridges both artistic and technical leadership. His credits include work on major productions such as Pokémon Detective Pikachu, Aquaman, Destiny 2, and numerous animated films, television series, and VFX projects. He is also an educator, mentor, and frequent contributor to Epic Games' Unreal Fellowship program, helping shape the next generation of animation talent.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• How Toy Story inspired Andrey's journey into animation

• What it was like learning 3D animation in Russia during the late 1990s

• The challenges of being a completely self-taught animator

• Why modern animation education is dramatically different from the early days of CG

• Lessons learned working across games, television, films, music videos, and VFX

• The biggest changes in animation production pipelines over the last 30 years

• Why younger artists today are entering the industry at higher skill levels than ever before

• Managing imposter syndrome while leading teams on major Hollywood productions

• The role of mentorship in developing creative talent

• Why self-taught artists often spend years reinventing solutions that already exist

• How animation education accelerates growth and skill development

• The importance of mastering animation fundamentals before chasing advanced work

• Why a bouncing ball exercise remains one of animation's most valuable lessons

• How music, acting, observation, and storytelling contribute to great animation

• The difference between technical proficiency and artistic expression

• Why communication skills matter as much as artistic talent

• Hiring lessons from leading animation teams across multiple industries

• How soft skills can outweigh technical skills during the hiring process

• Balancing artistic quality against deadlines, budgets, and production realities

• Finding the sweet spot between perfectionism and project completion

• Advice for aspiring animators entering today's competitive market

In This Episode…

Carl sits down with Andrey Yevdokimov, Facility Animation Supervisor at CG Factory, whose remarkable career spans nearly three decades and some of the world's most recognized entertainment projects. From teaching himself animation in post-Soviet Russia with virtually no resources to working on blockbuster films and major game franchises, Andrey shares a candid look at the realities of building a career in animation, leadership, and creative production.

Inspired by Toy Story and driven by relentless curiosity, Andrey navigated an industry that barely existed in Russia during the late 1990s. Without schools, mentors, tutorials, or even English-language resources, he taught himself 3D animation through experimentation, persistence, and countless hours of trial and error. That determination eventually led him to projects including Detective Pikachu, Aquaman, Destiny 2, major VFX productions, animated series, music videos, and game cinematics.

Throughout the conversation, Andrey breaks down the evolution of animation pipelines, the growing accessibility of education, the importance of mentorship, and why technical skill alone is not enough to succeed. He also shares hard-earned lessons about leadership, imposter syndrome, communication, creative constraints, and the delicate balance between artistic excellence and production realities.

Whether you're an aspiring animator, creative leader, game developer, filmmaker, or artist trying to level up your craft, this episode is packed with practical wisdom from someone who has successfully navigated nearly every corner of the animation industry.

Resources Mentioned in this episode:

💼 LinkedIn: (Insert Andrey's LinkedIn URL)

🎬 IMDb: https://www.imdb.com

📸 Instagram: @_lazy__boi

🏢 CG Factory: https://cgf.ru

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by Epic Made.

Epic Made creates entertainment-quality animation, digital art, and graphic design to elevate brands and build fandom.

We are a collective of senior-level artists across multiple disciplines, producing trailers, key art, social campaigns, branded storytelling, and motion systems for entertainment, gaming, and pop culture brands. Our work has supported major networks and studios, including SYFY and Nickelodeon.

To learn more, visit www.epicmade.net or email hey@getepicmade.com.

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