The C&W Animation Toolkit

Start your animation journey here.

Four free programs. Plus the people skills that matter even more.

This is the toolkit we’d hand anyone who asked us, “How do I get into animation?” Learn the same software we use every day, see how a real studio works, and find out which skills make someone brilliant to work with.

Pick a tool ↓ The skills we value ↓
iMe holding a signpost

The toolkit

Four tools. All free.

Each guide takes you from downloading the software to making your first piece of work, one animated step at a time.

3D

Blender

Model, animate, light and render in 3D. The program behind an Oscar-winning film.

  • Characters
  • Props
  • 3D scenes
Emily’s favourite Start the Blender guide → 2D

Krita

Draw, paint and animate frame by frame. Made by artists, for artists.

  • Illustration
  • Comics
  • 2D animation
Ash’s favourite Start the Krita guide → Film

DaVinci Resolve

Edit, colour grade, add effects and mix sound. Where shots become a story.

  • Editing
  • Colour
  • VFX & sound
Gary’s favourite Start the Resolve guide → Real time

Unreal Engine

Build 3D worlds you can walk around, for games, virtual sets and films.

  • Games
  • Virtual worlds
  • Cinematics
Richard’s favourite Start the Unreal guide →

Not sure where to start?

What do you most want to make?

Tap one and we’ll point you to the right guide.

Not ready to install anything? Try our Cartoon Maker in your browser. Same idea of keyframes and timing, no download needed. Open the Cartoon Maker →

Here’s the secret

The software is the easy bit.

We can teach anyone which buttons to press. What makes someone brilliant in a studio is how they listen, share ideas, take feedback and look after the people around them. Animation is a team sport.

How we work

From challenge to impact.

Every project at Carse & Waterman goes through three stages. Here’s what happens in each one, and the skills you’d use.

  1. 1

    Understand the audience

    We meet the client, ask a lot of questions and find out who needs to understand this, what matters to them and what we need them to think, feel or do.

    In the room: the client, a producer, a director

    ListeningCuriosityEmpathyAsking good questions
  2. 2

    Shape the message

    We simplify the idea, find the story and plan it: a script, a storyboard and designs. The client sees it at every step, so there are no surprises later.

    In the room: writers, designers, storyboard artists

    Explaining simplySharing ideasTeamworkTaking feedback
  3. 3

    Make it land

    We animate, add sound, review, polish and deliver. Work is checked by the team and the client in rounds of feedback until it’s right.

    In the room: animators, editors, sound, the whole team

    ReliabilityProblem-solvingGiving kind feedbackResilience

Skills we value

Twelve skills that make a great teammate.

Tap a card to see what it looks like in our studio, and one way to practise it this week.

Try it

What would you do?

Four real studio moments. There’s no trick: pick what feels right and see what we’d suggest.

The humans

Meet some of the team.

Every guide comes with a word from someone who uses that tool for real.

Meet everyone →

Teachers, youth groups, careers leads: let’s talk.

We love showing young people what a creative career really looks like. Get in touch about talks, visits and hands-on sessions.

Let’s talk →