Animation
Folk
Feature 3D & Game Animation for the new wave
Crafting something beautiful
Building partnerships
Our team have experience working on animated productions such as Space Chicken and Bacon the Cat as well as on complex creative challenges at the Financial Times and much more in between.
Got a project brewing?
Whether you’re a game studio, indie director, or Web3 team, we’d love to hear from you. Share a link to your script, build, or deck and we’ll come back with ideas and scope.
Showreel
Selected Works 2026
Our current reel showcases Joe’s recent 3D character work from the Animation Mentor program — the first wave of Animation Folk’s craft-focused output.
These shots reflect our focus on expressive character performance and cinematic storytelling.
About Us
We build animated IP by running disciplined, audience-led experiments — without ever compromising character craft or collective artistic integrity.
We partner with animation directors, game studios, and indie creators to deliver feature-quality animation for character-driven stories, in-engine cinematics, and living worlds. We build characters and IP that move across communities and games, staying directly in the hands of your audience.
Animation Folk is a brand new venture in its early stages, led by Joe Dollar‑Smirnov. Joe is a classically trained animator with over 20 years’ experience in tech, designing and making digital work including some of the early wave of web games. Clients include, Space Chicken & Bacon the Cat, Financial Times, Nike, Unilever and more. Alongside that, he’s been part of the startup world: coaching lean, experiment‑driven design and getting involved with early‑stage projects in blockchain and the circular economy.
In this period of experimentation, we are playing with IP development as well as being open to client partnerships.
We bring digital experiences to life through innovative animation techniques, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the Web 3.0 ecosystem.
Got a project brewing?
Whether you’re a game studio, indie director, or Web3 team, we’d love to hear from you. Share a link to your script, build, or deck and we’ll come back with ideas and scope.
Our Team
Meet the creative mind(s) behind Animation Folk
Joe Dollar-Smirnov
Founder, Tea Maker, Producer
Leading vision and strategy at Animation Folk.
Join Us
We're looking for visionary 3D artists. You are excited by how the animation industry is changing and want to contribute to the new way our art form conducts itself! You are also just a jolly nice person.
Testimonials
Working with Joe is always a pleasure. He brings enthusiasm and belief to every project allowing creative concepts to flow into first class productive output... his marketing insight combined with artistic & animation talents were critical to our success.
Robert Fell
CEO Hypersurge, Canada (Game Studio)
Joe is someone I have no hesitation in recommending. He is an excellent leader who is always enthusiastic and focused... He has a great ability to bring the best out in his team and is also is a very likeable person who is easy to get along with.
Munjeet M
Director & Head of Program Management, Method, EMEA (Innovation Consultancy)
Concept & Character Artist
Animator (3D/Game Focus)
Social Media Executive
Concept & Character Artist
What we are looking for
A visionary artist defining the visual soul of projects through anatomy, color theory, and digital painting.
Key Responsibilities
- Translate scripts into detailed character concept sheets.
- Create mood paintings and environment sketches.
- Collaborate with 3D modelers to ensure design feasibility.
Animator (3D/Game Focus)
What we are looking for
A technician of motion who understands the 12 principles. Proficient in Blender/Maya and real-time engines like Unity/Unreal.
Key Responsibilities
- Create high-quality keyframe character animations.
- Implement and test animations within game engines.
- Character lip-sync and expressive facial acting.