Animation Ch 9: The Vaibhav Studios Days

Where loving your job transforms work into play and holiday animations get progressively unhinged

When Work Feels Like Home

This is what happens when you love your job and the people you work with—animation becomes less about deadlines and more about finding excuses to create something ridiculous between assignments.

nd animated by me.

My time at Vaibhav Studios was that rare period when professional animation aligned with personal joy. The projects were challenging but fulfilling, and somehow work became the place where creative energy flourished rather than died.

Behind the Scenes: Animation Casualties

This is exclusive behind-the-scenes footage the animation industry doesn't want you to see. This is how one of our animated characters died during production of "Adopt a Dog," and the irony is he was killed by a dog—like Paul Walker was killed by a car.

The film itself, directed by Vaibhav Kumaresh and animated by yours truly, turned out significantly less tragic than its behind-the-scenes casualties.

The best studios are where you can create a dramatic death scene for a character between assignments and everyone just nods appreciatively.

Weaponized Holiday Cheer

For all those friends who are far away, nothing says "I care about you from a distance" quite like Santa's Gift Gun shooting presents at your face.

In 2020, I used this video loop to project outside my house—because nothing captures the true spirit of Christmas like weaponized gift delivery. The neighbors were either impressed or concerned; it was difficult to tell through their closed curtains.

The snowglobe projection took things further—transforming exterior walls into animated holiday displays. There's something deeply satisfying about turning your home into a canvas, even if passersby quicken their pace slightly.

The Party That Never Was

This New Year's greeting featuring a drunk woman puking "HAPPY NEW YEAR" was a concept I couldn't complete due to personal reasons. Maybe next year I'll come up with something equally festive and mildly disturbing.

The unfinished animation perfectly captures that New Year's Eve dichotomy—expectations of joy against the reality of regrettable decisions and bodily fluids. Some might call it tasteless; I prefer "honest holiday representation."

Burying Myself in Work

I'm regretting my habit of always keeping busy with something. If not for a client, then for myself. Looking ahead, I can't imagine putting my feet in the sand and basking in the sun—not for at least 8-9 months.

This self-burial animation captures the paradox of the dedicated animator: we love what we do so much that we willingly entomb ourselves in work, then wonder why we never see daylight.

After-Hours Experimentation

"Walking on a Thin Line" emerged during late nights at Vaibhav Studios—that magical time when the office officially closes but the most interesting creative work begins.

This abstract sequence wasn't for any client—just visual exploration that happens when you have animation tools, a comfortable environment, and the freedom to play without purpose. Sometimes the most honest animation comes from these moments of unstructured creation.

The thin line refers not just to the visual element but to that balance between professional work and personal expression—finding the space where both can coexist without one suffocating the other.

What made Vaibhav Studios different was its function as both workplace and creative playground. Unlike other environments where personal projects are discouraged, here the line between official and unofficial animation blurred productively.

These projects weren't just creative outlets—they were the invisible infrastructure that made the official work better. The humor and experimentation of after-hours animation fed directly into client projects, creating a cycle where work improved play and play improved work.