Sessions / 17 Jul 2026

Career Directing

From Animator to Director with Diana Donado

For anyone thinking about the next step past Senior. How you actually make the jump from animator to director, and why nobody explains it.

Guest
Diana Donado Guest
Alex Maniotis Guest
Harvey Newman
Recorded 17 July 2026 Runtime 1:14:08 Live in Discord
0:00 / 0:00

Notes from this session.

This one is for anyone thinking about the next step past Senior. Diana has been Animation Director on PayDay 2, the BioShock Remasters, the Ratchet and Clank reveal trailer, and more. She is also a 2026 Women in Games Ambassador.

If you have ever wondered how you actually make the jump from animator to director, and why nobody explains it, this is the one.

What we covered

  • Growing beyond Senior when the path is not obvious
  • The skills you actually need past animation: communication, vision, leadership
  • The mistakes we made along the way
  • When to stop focusing only on animation quality
  • How to build trust as a director

The next one is live in Discord

These sessions run in the open. Bring a shot, bring a question, or just listen in. Everything gets archived here afterwards.

Join the Discord

Work with a mentor

Want feedback on your own work rather than someone else's? Book a one to one with any mentor in the Collective.

Browse mentors Original thread