Meet Zoë | Storyboard Artist & 2D Animator

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

Hi Zoë, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I think the necessity of risk is familiar to anyone in the entertainment industry. Choosing this career path is a risk in itself and therefore it is intrinsic to everything else that comes with it. Personally the biggest risk that I have taken in my life/career is moving from my hometown in New Jersey to LA after graduating college on a wing and a prayer. I had previously done some industry work in NYC, but that job had wrapped and to me it was now or never for making the big jump to LA. I had no work lined up, just my savings and determination. And while it wasn’t immediate, I did end up landing my first union job in the animation industry a little over a month after my move – and the rest is history! It was still scary then, and it’s still scary now as no position in this career path is ever guaranteed, but once you understand what risk means you learn to live with and grow from it. And I am never done learning.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a storyboard artist and animator, I think I have a very unique perspective that benefits the productions I work on as I have had the pleasure of working consistently in both pre and post production. When I’m working as a storyboard artist or revisionist I have the foresight of understanding what an animator will need from my boards to make the pipeline as efficient and effective as possible – what works in boards does not always work in animation. This ranges from understanding key poses, backgrounds, layout etc. in a way that if I was the animator the boards were being handed off to I’d breathe a sigh of relief instead of having to work harder to fill in the missing pieces. And I actually have been the animator my own storyboard revisions have been handed off to! On Royal Crackers I was both a storyboard revisionist and retake animator, so in this case when people on pre production would say “we’ll fix it in post”, post is also me!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Nothing in this life is done alone, and I always dedicate everything I have done to the people who have helped me along the way. My high school art teacher, my college professors, my friends, my coworkers, and most importantly my family.

Website: https://zoepanageas.myportfolio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zonchzone/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zoë-panageas-aaa7b1199/

Twitter: https://x.com/zonchzone

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12558036/