This content was submitted by Lois Cockerill
My name is Lois Cockerill. I grew up in Melton Mowbray and I'm now living in Northern Ireland. I studied animation in Leicester, where I graduated from the De Montfort University with a First Class Honours and Masters degree both in Animation. In 2019 I set up my own animation studio alongside my partner Darrell Wright. Our studio is called Lead Balloon Studios. My job role is animation director and I oversee the animation processes and everything else in-between. We've created animated content for audiences online and businesses across the UK and someday we hope to work with some of the UK's largest broadcasters, such as the BBC.
Have you benefited from any ScreenSkills support so far?
I applied for a ScreenSkills bursary back in 2019 to improve my skills in 3D sculpting. The support greatly helped and I have found my confidence also improved. I have also completed a ScreenSkills course Addressing unconscious bias: basic awareness in the workplace. The course was very informative and I'll definitely be on the look out for more ScreenSkills courses in the future.
What effect has this support had on your career so far?
I felt my 3D sculpting skills weren't to the standard I wanted, but with the ScreenSkills bursary I was able to learn from some of the masters in the field, learning from their lessons and gaining knowledge from their methods. Now my 3D sculpting skills have improved I feel this has made my animated content look more professional.
What is the most remarkable moment or achievement of your career so far?
For me the proudest moment of my animation career would be landing our first job as a business. It felt amazing to secure work on our own and now every time we work with a new company, I feel a sense of pride.
If you could give advice to someone interested in pursuing your job role or a career in the screen industries more generally, what would you say?
Firstly, I would always recommend you find what you most enjoy and seek opportunities with that. You can be an animator but love to create concept artwork, you might be looking for experience in one area or multiple... as long as you enjoy it it doesn't matter what you pursue. I suggest using social media and a website to display your work, update it when you can and make it fun. Lastly, talk and engage with people, join communities with other like-minded individuals and consume as much information as you can. Good luck!