In this episode of FrameOne, I sit down with Alex Parker, owner of Ladybird Animation and a contract animator with Disney Parks. Alex started Ladybird in 2020 not out of ambition, but necessity — a move, a marriage, and the pandemic collided at once, leaving remote freelance as her only real option to keep working as an animator.

Alex walks through the early days of building Ladybird from scratch, including how she pulled her starting rate from Joey Korman's Freelance Manifesto and adjusted it based on how studios reacted, and a costly early lesson in why every project needs a contract — including one client who tried to claim ownership of finished work she'd shared publicly. She also talks candidly about how a vague LinkedIn recruiter message turned, in about a week and a half, into a long-sought contract position with Disney Parks, and what it was like to work on projects like the Epcot Food & Wine Festival's giant Mickey Pretzel.

The conversation covers finding your creative style, learning when to say yes with confidence instead of hedging every answer, and Alex's advice for new freelancers: stay small and lean for as long as possible before investing in branding or overhead you don't yet need.

This is a candid, detail-rich conversation for anyone considering the leap into freelance or wondering what it actually takes to land dream clients.

Hosted by Drysen, a freelance 2D/3D animator and motion designer with experience across live-action broadcast TV and commercials. FrameOne features conversations with studio owners and industry veterans navigating the career questions every working creative