10 Animators to Watch on AI, Animation’s Future and Why the Human Hand Still Matters: ‘Nobody Else Has Your Point of View’

By Clayton Davis

Clayton Davis

Chief Awards Editor

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On the final day of the 10th annual SCAD AnimationFest in Atlanta, 10 animators and an Oscar-nominated director took the stage to talk about the future of their craft and why the human hand still matters.

The 2026 class of 10 Animators to Watch, profiled in Variety’s New York issue, represents a broad cross-section of the medium. The group includes artists from Ireland, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and the U.S., working across hand-drawn, stop-motion and CG animation at studios ranging from Hollywood’s biggest houses to independent productions. Each honoree also created a self-portrait for the issue. Variety moderated this conversation in partnership with SCAD Film Festival.

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