Meet Alex: The 16-year-old animator crafting an entire movie with Linearity Move

Since its debut in 2023, Linearity Move has quickly become the go-to choice for designers and marketers wanting to make eye-catching motion graphics. We designed it with simplicity in mind, so even people new to animation can dive right in and bring their static assets to life.

Yet, to our surprise, one particularly innovative application has emerged. Alexander Ross—a 16-year-old animator—has harnessed Linearity Move to meticulously craft an entire animated feature film—titled Scratch Revolutions— showcasing the boundless creativity and versatility of the software.

We recently interviewed Alex to delve into his inspirations, creative process, and future aspirations. Keep reading to discover his insights.

Can you please introduce yourself and tell us how you first got into animation? 

Why certainly! My name is Alexander Ross, and I’m an American vector artist and graphic designer, an animator, and of course a very huge optimist in storytelling. Pretty much the entire course of my life has been devoted to storytelling ever since I was six, so apparently a full decade!

I started my storytelling career by making homemade comics centered around the stories that I imagined (most of them were Minecraft-inspired). But then in 2018, a friend of mine from elementary school introduced me to a website that would change my life forever and set me on the path that I am on now. It was a website called “Scratch,” a block-based coding platform that enables people to create stunning projects with blocks of code, like creating games or animations.

But what set this apart was that this was the very thing that introduced me to vector design and animation as a whole, since Scratch heavily works on both Vector and Bitmap  designs. Of course, I wasn’t able to make a complete masterpiece in one go, but I think it was a good and easy way to learn about the basics of Vector, and also to tinker around with the shaping tools that Scratch’s built-in editor came with.

For six years, I’ve been making vector animations using the frame-by-frame technique that was essentially the norm for Scratch animation, but there was a point where I did decide that it was time to put all my eggs into one basket and move on to a more professional landscape where I can push my boundaries of vector design and animation to the limits, but *whew* it wasn’t easy.

There was a minimal list of animation software that specialized in what I was looking for, and despite trying them, they were very hard  to learn and were very expensive. It was then in January of 2024, that I was introduced to the all in-one vector design and animation suite that could change my life again, all in one word: Linearity.

I was introduced to the all in-one vector design and animation suite that could change my life again, all in one word: Linearity.

What animation software do you use?  

When it came to vector animation, I only had to use two animation apps. Both of these are Blender and Linearity Move. Linearity Move is the one I use the most because it is my one-stop destination for pretty much everything I need to get done, in terms of character animation, trailers, or pretty much anything.

While I don’t tend to use Blender as often, I do use it occasionally for projects that specialize in 3D environments, or just for experimental projects. But overall, I mainly use Linearity Move for all of that. Just recently, I started using Linearity  Curve to carry my vector design skills and to work seamlessly with Move to save much more time.  

Linearity Move is the one I use the most because it is my one-stop destination for pretty much everything I need to get done, in terms of character animation, trailers, or pretty much anything.

What do you like about Linearity Move?  

Well, it was certainly (and shockingly) easy to say the least! As simple as opening up a project, everything you need is provided in a very user-friendly way without all the confusion and an abundance of features you wouldn’t even use from other animation software.

The keyframe animation that’s used in Linearity Move was a huge breath of freshair for me as that is something I specialized with back when I was tinkering with Blender. Once I  saw this, I knew that was the perfect thing for me to adapt my skills to something much easier to use, while delivering even better animations than before. I love Linearity Move because it is the  most capable animation software I ever tried, while also being the most user-friendly and easy to learn.  

The keyframe animation that’s used in Linearity Move was a huge breath of fresh air for me.

How do you start planning for an animated scene?

Ironically enough, I don’t do storyboards or sketching at all! As a person who is autistic and with hyperphantasia, I just tend to picture everything in my mind, when comes to organizing how the scene will go, to how it should be executed. I do occasionally carry a project script with me so I can narrow down what I’m working with, and I simply take care of the rest.

The script also helps  me remember my storyboards whenever I need them. The only times I would have to sketch up  storyboards would be for other vector artists who are helping me on projects so they can have a reference on camera angles and scenery.  

Can you tell us a bit about your process in Linearity Move? What features do you use the most?  

Sometimes it can be pretty simple on smaller projects, but my process can turn very complex whenever I work on projects on a much bigger scale. When I start working on scenes for a big project via Linearity Move, I usually have Davinci Resolve and Pages open with me so I can work fluidly between them. I start by designing the backgrounds with Linearity Curve and animating those in Move first, then introduce the characters into the scene and the process repeats.

For characters, I tend to animate each segment of a character using motion and rotation keyframes, and maybe adding another batch in the middle of the animation so they don’t do a complete 360. Sometimes I animate the characters separately on an empty scene so it wouldn’t have to lag too much with the added backgrounds, and then I add the animated character into the final scene.

The key features that I used the most and even shocked me as I was using them were the masking feature and pinning mode. Working with masks for characters allows me to make  the characters much more expressive in their faces, and pinning allows me to save more time on when I want each segment to animate in the timeline. 

We would love to learn more about the storyline and characters in Scratch Revolutions.  Care to reveal any details?  

I’d love to share! So essentially, Scratch Revolutions is one of the biggest projects I’ve ever worked on, and (while trying not to be biased) one of the biggest things that could be made with Linearity software by far! Before I dive into what Scratch Revolutions is about, I would like to dive into what led to this very pinnacle. It all started out in 2019 with one of the first few Scratch stories to surface on the web, called “The Scratch Saga.” Since then, more stories centered around Scratch have been popping up more frequently, with the most famous of these stories being “The Unfamous” and “Scratch’s  Elites” which you can view here.

I think these stories are what drove the inspiration for my overall interest in storytelling for the Scratch genre. With that said, Scratch Revolutions is the culmination of what has come before and would prepare for what is to come as the future of all Scratch and vector animated stories.

It all starts with a veteran hero named  Alex, who tries to establish a firewall barrier to ensure the safety of their home from any other villains. However, the firewall project goes wrong, which ensues chaos in the entirety of Scratch and the universe. It's up to Alex, along with some old and new friends, to save their home universe once and for all, and determine the fate of their future as we know it.  

When will Scratch Revolutions be released and where can people watch it?  

As of saying this, Scratch Revolutions could probably be eying a date between Fall 2025 to  Spring 2026, but it may change at any time. One key thing that I am certain about though is that this could potentially become the world’s first true Scratch movie to be getting a theatrical release, a first for any related Scratch story. It will also be available to watch on Youtube, and if possible, some select streaming services.  

Are you planning any other future animation projects you would like to share?  

Well, I am always brainstorming some new ideas I can bring out to the world, and most of them are still on the drawing board. There is one other project though that I could tease a little about. It’s an animated series that will be a 2D-3D hybrid, combining the use of Linearity Move and Blender animation, and separate from Scratch Revolutions and any related media to it. It is slated for a summer 2025 release, but it is still in the pre-production phase as of saying this, so be sure to look out for that.  

What advice would you give to aspiring animators who don’t know how to get started?  

Coming from experience, I would like to say that practice will take you to many places. Try to experiment with all the bells and whistles that Linearity Move provides, and try to seek  inspiration and motivation from other artists out there. Experience is always the best teacher, and eventually, you will find a style that works best for you, and you can use it to your advantage to create stunning works of art.