Emma Wakley

VerifiedAvailable to hire

I’m an award-winning 2D animator who’s been creating charming, well-observed character and animal movement for film, TV, advertising, sprite and social media animation, and large-scale projection work since graduating…

About

I’m an award-winning 2D animator who’s been creating charming, well-observed character and animal movement for film, TV, advertising, sprite and social media animation, and large-scale projection work since graduating from UCA Farnham in 2010. My love of birds and my passion for expressive, frame-by-frame storytelling strongly influence both my professional work and the personal projects I keep returning to.

I enjoy taking on new 2D challenges, whether that means working in TVPaint, Toon Boom Harmony, or Adobe Animate, supporting teams through layout, timing, and model corrections, or mentoring students and interns. Across UK and international productions, I’ve contributed to everything from distinctive graphic animation styles to detailed classic hand-drawn work—always aiming for movement that feels alive, intentional, and full of personality.

  • Joined September 2026

Languages

  • EnglishFluent
  • FrenchBeginner
  • JapaneseBeginner

Industry experience

  • Media & Entertainment
  • Education
  • Consumer Goods
  • Non-Profit Organization
  • Professional Services

More experts in London, United Kingdom

Projects · 10

BNU BA Animation Motion Graphics Project Example, 2024

I taught Motion Graphics at Bucks New University in the Spring Semesters of 2025 and 2026. While preparing for this role in December 2024 I needed to come up with a professional-style Brief for the students, marking criteria and learning objectives. I settled on asking the students to create a short animation detailing at least three different facts about an animal or fictional creature of their choosing. As After Effects and Motion Graphics aren't my focus in my own professional work, I decided the best way to outline the 10 week course would be to create my own interpretation of the Brief and see what speed bumps I hit during the creation process.

  • 2D Animator
  • Animation Director
  • Animator
  • +2
'Nocci' 2020 Christmas Promo for Social Media

After the success of the first Animated Social Media Ad I produced for Nocci, I was asked to create a follow-up with a cute Christmas theme. This time, the action needed was a little simpler, and no human character was necessary.

  • 2D Animator
  • Animation Director
  • Illustrator
'Father Christmas To The Rescue!' (Barbour, 2020, Illuminated Films, London) Emma Wakley Shots

All Key and Rough Animation by me in TVPaint unless indicated on screen. Cleanup and Colour completed by other artists at Illuminated Films. I had a great time being one of a small team of animators working in this very traditional style using TVPaint. As someone who grew up with the first Father Christmas short, it was a privilege to be involved in this modern incarnation of the character.

  • 2D Animator
  • Animation Director
  • Animator
  • +2
'The Abominable Snowbaby' (Channel 4, 2020, Eagle Eye Drama, London) Emma Wakley Shot Highlights

After working on ‘Clown’ with Eagle Eye Drama in 2020, I returned as a team member for their Christmas 2021 project, an adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s short story ‘The Abominable Snowbaby’. I tackled several sequences throughout the film, but the majority of my shots were of the nervous young protagonist ‘Albert’. This project was a step up in ambition from ‘Clown’ and it was a great experience to work on this with the rest of the team, which expanded as the production went on to include more clean-up artists and colourists.

  • 2D Animator
  • Animation Director
  • Animator
  • +2
'Nocci' 2019 Rebrand for Social Media

I was approached by startup drinks brand ‘NutSip’, now ‘Nocci’, after they had seen my work for ‘Simon’s Cat’ online. They wanted a Social Media ad with a hand-drawn, black and white look to generate appeal, while also showing what makes the product unique.

  • 2D Animator
  • Animation Director
  • Illustrator
'Clown' (2020, Channel 4, Eagle Eye Drama, London) Emma Wakley Animated Shots

All Animation done by me in TVPaint, all Colour work completed by artists at Rumpus Animation, Bristol. As a lifelong fan of Quentin Blake's Illustration work, which was a huge part of my childhood, it was a real honour and incredibly fun to work on this project. Animating in Blake's style felt very comfortable for me and I would love the opportunity to work on a similar project in the future.

  • 2D Animator
Septembird 2023

Here's the story of my 'Septembird' journey from beginning to end. It's been a fun but tiring and time-consuming exercise in trying to put out short, manageable animations in a consistent style over the course of several weeks, while also working a full-time animation job. Even such simple animation loops ended up being a lot of work when I needed to make 30 of them! I'm happy with the result though and I hope you enjoy watching them all, and thank you again to those who have supported and enjoyed me posting these animations throughout the month of September, I really appreciate it and it made it a lot more fun to keep going! Thanks once more to Birdhism who shared the prompts for the original challenge. All animation completed by me in TVPaint 11.

  • 2D Animator
  • Animation Director
  • Animator
  • +2
'Pokémon' looping 2D Animation

I had a bit of downtime recently and decided to finish this little looping animation I planned back in 2020 when I was living with a friend during Lockdown here in England. Originally I was going to use it as the base for an After Effects project, but I decided to just play to my strengths when it came to getting it done and stuck with frame-by-frame in Toonboom Harmony. I'd hoped to only use sounds from Red and Blue but all of the electric-type attacks from gen 1 are way too long and loud to be used well in the animation, so I opted for the start of the SFX for 'Spark' in Gold and Silver.

  • 2D Animator
  • Animation Director
  • Animator
  • +2

Work experience· 16 roles

Layout, First and Second Key Animation on Undisclosed Anime series · Undisclosed Anime Studio, JapanAug 2026 – Present · 4 mos
Illustrator · West Dean College, West SussexMar 2026 – Present · 9 mos

After seeing the watercolour-style map I produced for Leonardslee Gardens, West Dean commissioned me for their own illustrative map of the gardens and woodland walks on the college grounds.

Animator · Simon's Cat, Banijay UK, LondonMar 2025 – Jul 2026 · 1 yr 5 mos
Associate Lecturer, Motion Graphics · Buckinghamshire New University (BNU), High WycombeJan 2025 – Mar 2026 · 1 yr 3 mos
Animator, Illustrator · 'SUS: Exploring Easter' Sons Of Graham, BristolDec 2024 – Feb 2025 · 3 mos
Mentor · RESET, GlasgowNov 2022 – Present · 4 yrs 1 mo
Animator, 2D Rotoscope Animation · 'Everything is Better Together' (B&W Whiskey) Not To Scale, LondonFeb 2022 – Apr 2022 · 3 mos
2D Animator · 'Sermon On The Mount', The Bible Project, OregonOct 2021 – Aug 2024 · 2 yrs 11 mos

Education

BA Hons Animation · University for the Creative Arts (UCA Farnham)2007 – 2010

Certifications and awards· 8

Toon Boom Harmony Character Animation (course)2024 – 2026
Manchester Animation Festival Industry Excellence Award for Character Animation ('Simon’s Cat: Fish Tank')2017 – 2026
Storyboarding Short Course (Escape Studios)2017 – 2026
Character Animation Summer School (Gobelins Ecole l’Image)2017 – 2026

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