This week’s Leveling Up features art director and motion designer Natz Blank, who’s breaking down how to create mixed media animation by blending digital tools with hands-on, analog techniques.

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Natz walks through the process from start to finish: lowering your video’s frame rate and exporting it as individual images, printing those frames out, then getting creative with whatever materials you can get your hands on. Think pens, paint, fabric, tin foil, tree bark — seriously, anything goes. Once the frames are transformed by hand, she scans them back in and uses After Effects to bring everything to life again.

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The coolest part? There’s no one “right” way to do it. Mixed media gives you permission to experiment, get a little weird, and turn everyday materials into something completely original. Your next animation might be sitting in your craft drawer, recycling bin, or backyard.

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Loved this tutorial? Keep up with Natz and explore more of her mixed media experiments on Instagram.