1. Animators Often Begin with Ideas, Not Art

One of the most interesting facts about animators is that many start as storytellers before becoming artists. In 2025, storytelling is still at the heart of great animation. Whether working at boutique studios or world‑class animation studios in Toronto, many animators originally train in writing, theatre, or film before immersing themselves in movement and design.


2. Tweening Is More Powerful Than Ever

Animation tweening, the process of generating intermediate frames between two keyframes, was once basic—just linear interpolation. But in 2025, it's become a sophisticated art form. Modern tools support automatic easing, follow‑through, squash and stretch, and custom tween curves. This means animators spend less time drawing every frame and more time perfecting motion dynamics—and still build that signature charactermotion that audiences love.


3. Neck “Crunchers” Are Real

Animators sometimes refer to minor details like neck or shoulder “crunchers”—small pose adjustments that make big emotional impact. One of the most interesting facts about animators is how these subtleties—tiny tugs in posture or facial micro‑expressions—can define entire characters or walking cycles. Even simple animation tweening tools enable these nuanced changes, giving life to the most minimal animations.


4. Animators Love Looping Animations

Whether it's walk cycles, idle animations, or animated GIFs, animators are obsessed with loops. This cyclical nature helps them fine‑tune precision. These endlessly replaying loops—often barefoot walking animation or idle expressions—help specialists test motion and rhythm over time. Plus, looping animations are ideal for social media posts or portfolio showcases.


5. Toronto Is a Hotbed of Talent

Some of the most respected pipelines and styles in 2025 stem from animation studios in Toronto. These studios have a reputation for excellence in both 2D and 3D animation, with diverse teams melding stylized art, technical craft, and narrative ambition. The city is home to global studios that create works for Netflix, Amazon, and indie creators alike, making Toronto a vibrant creative hub.


6. Animators Still Worship the Onion Skin

An almost nostalgic yet interesting fact about animators: the Onion Skin view—where you see faint outlines of previous and next frames—is still a beloved tool. Despite modern applications offering real‑time previews and motion capture filters, many animators prefer the precision and tactile feel of onion skinning for checking spacing, timing, and key poses.


7. Famous Animators Love Film and Print

Animations often draw inspiration from comics, books, and film. Many acclaimed animators working in 2025 cite graphic novels, art books, and old movie posters as creative influences. This crossover informs stylized art choices, camera framing, and timing of movement—even in pure animation sequences like walking animation or emotional close‑ups.


8. Multitasking Is Part of the Workflow

Today’s animators are often their own video editors, sound mixers, or voice‑over coordinators—especially in indie settings. That’s one of the more interesting facts about animators: many wear multiple hats. Animators often build complete short films or social media packages. In Toronto, even mid‑sized studios increasingly emphasize multidisciplinary skill‑sets, combining design, rigging, motion, and editorial roles.


9. Tweening Isn't Just for Digital Animation

Yes, we love modern digital tweening—but traditional animators also simulate tweening by hand. In classical, frame‑by‑frame workflows, they carefully draw transitional in‑betweens to smooth action between key poses. This manual tweening builds a deeper understanding of timing and spacing, which often carries over to digital workflows. Even animators at animation studios in Toronto practice this craft for motion‑planning and attitude, training tools or concept art before production.


10. Many Animators Teach—and Still Learn

Perhaps the most uplifting fact: animators love teaching. Many senior animators in 2025, especially those associated with animation studios in Toronto, mentor interns and give workshops. Yet they're also eternal students—continuously analyzing animated films, motion studies, and emerging tools for animation tweening, rigging, and stylization. This reflective practice ensures that even longstanding animators evolve alongside the industry.


Deep Dive: Why Tweening Matters More Than Ever

While we’ve mentioned animation tweening often, let’s explore why it’s foundational in 2025 animation production.

  • Efficient Pipeline: Tweening streamlines workflows. By defining key poses, animators allow software to interpolate—freeing them to refine timing, expression, and secondary motion.

  • Consistency: Smooth tweening keeps characters on‑model from shot to shot, especially critical in long‐form series or feature films. It ensures walk cycles, turns, and gestures match the character’s proportions and persona.

  • Stylization Control: Advanced tweening options let animators exaggerate or ease poses selectively—perfect for stylized art choices or dramatic scenes.

  • Iteration-friendly: Want to tweak a movement? Adjust keyframes and let the tweening algorithm regenerate in‑betweens instantly—ideal for feedback cycles in studios of any size.


How Walking Animation and Tweening Define Character Identity

Walking animation is one of the most expressive forms of character animation. It reveals personality—rabbit‑like bounces for energetic characters, heavy stomps for villains, or idle shuffles for introspective types.

Animators build the core walk poses (contact, passing, up, and down), and then rely on animation tweening to fill in subtle transitions. The ease or stiffness of those tweened frames defines how fluid or mechanical a walk feels. Combined with stylized posture and silhouette, these choices turn a simple walk into a memorable character introduction.

At animation studios in Toronto, walk‑cycle workflows often employ the “pose‑to‑pose” method: key poses are planned, tweened, and then polished with small corrections—especially around shoulders, hips, and feet—to create that perfect emotional timing.


Why So Many Animators Are Drawn to Toronto

Toronto has become one of the world’s leading animation cities by 2025. Key attractions include:

  • Diverse creative ecosystem: From indie studios to broadcast pipelines, Toronto blends creativity with enterprise.

  • Mixed‑reality innovation: Companies there lead in VR/AR, explainer videos, and game trailers—all of which rely on strength in tweening, modeling, and motion.

  • Stylized art leadership: Toronto studios combine cutting‑edge stylization with solid motion fundamentals—exemplified in walk‑cycle reels, expressive characters, and short animated narratives.

Many animators migrate there or collaborate remotely with animation studios in Toronto because of the city’s culture of craft and experimentation.


Final Thoughts

These interesting facts about animators highlight the creativity, discipline, and evolution of the craft in 2025. From mastering animation tweening and perfecting expressive walking animation, to thriving amid the innovative energy of animation studios Toronto, these professionals continue to shape visual storytelling.

Whether you're aspiring to become an animator, hiring one, or collaborating in a creative team, there’s no shortage of skill, artistry, and history behind every frame. And in 2025, that human touch—nuanced by both tradition and technology—is what makes animation truly captivating.