Meet Kevin Ulrich | Freelance LEGO animator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kevin Ulrich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kevin, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I actually don’t believe in “work-life balance”. I think it’s a myth that leaves us always feeling inadequate because it can never be achieved or maintained. I believe in priorities and in seasons. For instance, one priority is to work super hard. Another is to spend quality time with my family. If I get a big freelance gig, then in that season I’m prioritizing hard work. There will be no “balance”, I’ll be working 80-90 hours a week for a month or two. But as soon as the project is done, I will be taking a few days or weeks off to spend time with my family. Very little work is going to be done in that time. It’s not “balanced”, it’s a season of family time.

I have found this to be a much healthier way to live, as it cuts back on the nagging feeling that my life is “out of balance.” So long as I allow a season for each priority, and I spend every minute on something I deem valuable (even resting) then I have a balanced “life” while never having work-life balance.

As to how that “balance” has changed over the years, we just had our first child, so I’ve had to give much more time to the “family” priority and cut back on the “work” priority. However, I am very grateful for the lack of balance that I had in my 20s. Working super hard and saving tons of money before having children has bought me the freedom and the flexibility I need to work less now and give more time to being a dad.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a freelance stop motion animator, and I’ve been in business for almost 11 years. I’ve worked for Disney, Warner Brothers, Dream Works, and Jazwares, but I most frequently work for The LEGO Group.

I started playing around with stop-motion animation as a kid, and fell in love with it. What started as a hobby quickly became an all-consuming passion. I spent over 10 years developing the skill, but had no idea how to turn my art into a job that would pay the bills. So after graduating with a film degree, I got a day job as a video editor. I would work nights and weekends creating content to upload to YouTube, until one day The LEGO Group reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in doing some freelance work. That opened up a whole new world for me, and I have been doing commissioned stop motion videos ever since.

I am proud of how much I can accomplish working out of my home. In my own small way, I get to make my own versions of the movies that inspired me as a kid (Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Marvel, etc). I am proud of the energy and attention to detail that I put into each frame, and people seem to genuinely enjoy watching the content I create.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Orange County and my favorite places are:

Activities:
Irvine Spectrum Mall (Irvine)
Whale Watching at Davy’s Locker (Newport Beach)
The Reptile Zoo (Fountain Valley)

Food:
Chicken Shawarma Fries from “H.B. Pita” (Huntington Beach)
Falafel plate from “Panini Kabob Grill” (Irvine)
Pink Lady Roll from “Sango Sushi” (Laguna Niguel)

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutout to my wife, Celina Frenn. She works as a freelance writer and has endured so much rejection and adversity in her career. It’s so exciting to see her starting to get recognized for her talent.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrotherhoodWorkshop

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6t9Bf2o-l8AEv9mv91p22g

Image Credits
These were all taken by me or my wife.