The Many Hats of Blue Zoo Animation's Negar Bagheri

Joining Blue Zoo 14 years ago, Negar Bagheri has steadily risen to become one of the studio's most visionary creative directors. Her profound understanding of all facets of animation production equips her not only to craft a distinct vision but also to effectively convey and execute it across the team, maximising impact. Undoubtedly, Negar's boundless enthusiasm and creativity guarantee success in any challenge she tackles.

Negar shoulders the responsibility of overseeing the complete creative process, spanning from development to production. Her role entails establishing the project's overarching tone and style, collaborating closely with clients, directors, and supervisors to mould and sustain visual and narrative consistency. 

While she adeptly directs well-established and beloved IPs like The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Negar also plays a pivotal role in cultivating new shows and features alongside our ever-expanding roster of clients and in-house development team. Her expertise and interests extend beyond the digital medium, encompassing photography, painting, textiles, and creative writing, all of which contribute to and enrich the development of each project.

Q> What is your background? Where did you train, what did you study and where?

Negar> I studied animation at Bournemouth University which at the time combined the creative and technical disciplines around animation and it was there that was first introduced to Blue Zoo when the company founders did a talk which I found really inspiring. It felt like a studio I could connect with, one that valued like minded creatives.  

Over the years I’ve also attended lots of creative workshops and courses including production design at Central Saint Martins. 

Q> How did you start working at Blue Zoo?

Negar> I came to Blue Zoo for an interview for a generalist role about 15 years ago and started on the very same day! Since then I have hopped around quite a bit at the studio and continue to be creatively engaged and feel very much aligned with the studio’s values and ambitions. 

I’m now in a senior creative position and also a member of the exec team at the studio so more than ever, I feel connected to the company and want to continue to do what I can to empower the amazing people that work here, being a part of the exciting journey ahead of us. 

As part of my involvement with the studio I was for a time the head of Look Development, pushing the aesthetic quality and innovation of our 3D visuals with a fantastically talented team. About three years ago I pitched an evolution of the department to expand it into what we have dubbed, Zoo Lab. Zoo Lab covers creative and art direction, visual development and look development. The team continues to produce mind blowing work and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for us on the horizon! 

Q> What does your job entail?

Negar> My day to day is incredibly varied but I tend to focus on setting vision for projects, usually from their earliest point. 

Q> What projects have you worked on?

Negar> I’ve continued to work on many pitch and development projects as well as long format TV series. Some of the shows I have been a part of are Big Tree City, The Adventures of Paddington Bear, Pip and Posy and most recently Hex Vet, a brand new show coming to Nickelodeon. 

Q> How has your job changed? Are you still hands on or are you managing more now?

Negar> I can be hands-on at times, often contributing to design and conceptual work in early stages but I tend to have longer periods with briefing, feeding back and setting direction, so much of my time tends to be spent on communicating visually, verbally and in writing to exchange ideas with our teams and clients. 

Q> You’ve been at Blue Zoo over 14 years, what do you like about working here?

Negar> I really love how creative, open and supportive the studio is. I’ve been able to develop and really steer where I’ve wanted to take my career with the guidance and confidence provided to me by my managers and peers. I have made such great friends at the studio, it is hard for me to imagine being anywhere else!

Q> What work do you admire/ wish you’d done?

Negar> I’d love to do more with longer formats, whether on specials or features that really allow us to explore the narrative and new techniques more fully. I admire the changes in style and the creativity in mixing mediums in recent animated films, I'd love to tap into this more.

Q> Working across long form and short form?

Negar> I tend to be more involved in long form but do sometimes cross into short form. I love to delve into the ideation and vision setting in short format as it often affords great opportunities to be experimental and the speed of projects keeps the pace fun and exciting. 

Q> Favourite project worked on and why?

Negar> My favourite project has probably been The Adventures of Paddington Bear. It was both a huge honour and a scary challenge to redesign and adapt this hugely popular heritage brand into a new series. I dove head first into a Production Design role on it and worked with a fantastic team both on the client and our studio side. I even got to put my crafty side into play by sewing tiny costumes for the characters and creating miniature set pieces to help guide the art department and asset teams in creating a show that was inspired by stop motion, a nod to the original TV series of the '60s.

Q> What skills do you think you need to do your job?

Negar> As a creative director I tend to wear many hats! Core artistic skills, knowing when to shake things up with creative ideas, leading teams to get their very best, building strong relationships with clients, assisting with project management, being highly adaptive to the ever-changing landscapes of a project, solving creative challenges, obsessing over quality, make clients happy, and wield any  tools necessary to maintain that high quality our studio is known for. I am a storyteller, quality controller, and champion collaborator, all to make the project sing!

Q> Are there more women in animation now than when you started or has it always been fairly balanced?

Negar> In the past two decades, there has been a remarkable transformation in the representation of women in the field of animation, both within academia and the industry. When I first began my journey at Blue Zoo, similar to many other UK studios, there was a glaring gender disparity. However, I'm thrilled to say that things have changed, and we are now approaching a more balanced gender distribution.

Encouraged by our brilliant HR team, I decided to participate in the Animated Women UK course, a program dedicated to empowering women in the animation industry. This experience prompted me to reflect on my professional relationships and how I navigate the workplace. It provided a supportive environment where I had the opportunity to gain insights into the experiences of women working in various roles across different studios.

Q> Has Blue Zoo pushed females in their managing roles?

Negar> There are many more women within senior roles now at Blue Zoo and I know that we’re continuing to find ways to expand opportunities. 

Q> Was it hard starting out in animation as a female?

Negar> I felt it more difficult to advance within University compared to my male peers, who tended to be more confident and technical. Navigating the animation industry as a woman can present challenges and for me it sometimes still does, particularly when working with clients or teams with different backgrounds who may present unconscious biases. My hope is to see more women, as well as individuals from diverse backgrounds, taking the lead in shaping the narrative and setting the vision for projects. By elevating a variety of voices, we can offer distinct perspectives and promote a much wider and more varied engagement both within our teams and with our audiences. I'm enthusiastic about the prospect of embracing such opportunities for the future.

Q> What do you do outside of your job? Interesting hobbies / sports / passions?

Negar> In my world, creative hobbies are my playground! I'm all about the art of making things, whether it's in my garden or kitchen or getting lost writing (but never quite finishing) the pages of a new story. I love miniatures, crafting intricate sets as well as traditional sculpting with clay which lets me shape my creative ideas into tangible form. 

If I’ve not got my hands tied up with a crafty venture, you'll find me digging into the earth, nurturing my own little green haven in my garden and my massive plot at the allotment, it is such a joy to get to cook the things I grow from ground up. I'm an explorer at heart, always on the lookout for new horizons to travel to, kayaking at our nearby canals, hiking through the woods and adore being by the beach. I feel that all of these hobbies are a vital way for me to source inspiration in what I do in and out of work. Currently, my adventures are based in the charming landscapes of Hertfordshire.

Q> Awards?

Negar> I was nominated for an Annie award in 2021 for my Production Design work on The Adventures of Paddington Bear.

Q> How is working at the company different now that it has B corp status compared to before? What are the benefits?

Negar> In all honesty I’ve always felt the company had been doing many of the things a B corp status demands before we actually qualified for it, so whilst there are of course more visible benefits now, I think we’ve always been B corp in some ways!

Q> Any negatives?

Negar> I wouldn’t really say it is a negative but I think what we are now working towards in terms of more transparency and sharing responsibilities and accountability with everyone at the studio is exciting. It can be difficult to get lost in red tape or not truly understand how it can connect with me as an individual but I look forward to educating myself more around how I can contribute to our B crop commitments.