Best Animation Studios in Austin (2026)

Introduction

Austin has 12 animation studios worth a call in 2026, ranging from a unionised series studio making Netflix shows to small motion design teams that turn out product launches and explainer films for the city's tech companies. The list covers 2D, 3D, rotoscope, stop motion and motion graphics work for brands, broadcast, episodic and games.

The scene has changed shape over the past two years. Warner Bros. Discovery closed Rooster Teeth, the Austin studio behind RWBY and Gen:Lock, in March 2024, laying off around 150 full-time staff. Six months later Powerhouse Animation ratified its first contract with The Animation Guild, making it the first Texas animation studio to join a union. Austin also has a long rotoscope tradition through Richard Linklater's films, and the studio that animated his Netflix feature Apollo 10 1/2 still works here.

Every studio below showed an active Austin base on its own site when checked in October 2026. The list is unranked, since the right studio depends on whether you need an episodic crew, a character animator for a short, or a motion team for a product campaign.

The best animation studios in Austin

1. Powerhouse Animation

Independent · Austin · powerhouseanimation.com

Powerhouse Animation was founded in Austin in 2001 and keeps its headquarters there, with a satellite studio in the Los Angeles area. It is best known for 2D action series, signed a first-look deal with Netflix in 2021, and its crew is IATSE-signatory. In September 2024, 96% of eligible Austin employees voted to ratify a contract with The Animation Guild.

Recent work includes Castlevania: Nocturne, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft and Blood of Zeus for Netflix, and Masters of the Universe: Revolution. It also makes game cinematics, such as Sonic Origins, and has a feature adaptation of Hell Followed with Us in development.

2. Minnow Mountain

Independent · Austin · minnowmountain.com

Minnow Mountain was founded in 2012 by director Craig Staggs and producer Steph Swope and specialises in performance capture rotoscope animation for adult audiences. It runs three units: a character animation workshop, a performance capture lab and Cartoonatorium One for 2D character work.

Credits include the documentary Tower, both seasons of Amazon's Undone, Richard Linklater's Apollo 10 1/2 for Netflix, and the Critical Role opening sequence. The studio also publishes rotoscoping tutorials and a book on the technique.

3. Mighty Coconut

Independent · Austin · mightycoconut.com

Mighty Coconut was founded in 2014 by Lucas and Christina Martell with a group of animators who made the short The OceanMaker on a retreat in Belize. It now has a team of around 30 and splits its time between original animation and VR games.

Its animation includes Pigeon: Impossible, Kings of Atlantis and commercial work, and the studio lists a co-creator credit on the Blue Sky feature Spies in Disguise. On the games side it makes Walkabout Mini Golf, and it retired the iOS Pocket Edition in May 2026.

4. Moontower VFX

Independent · South Austin · moontowervfx.com

Moontower is a boutique animation, VFX and VR studio on Menchaca Road, founded in 2009 by animator Ray Peña and CG director Greg Omelchuck, both from games and film backgrounds. A core team of eight covers animation, rigging, VFX and game development.

Work spans film effects, commercials, game cinematics and AR and VR experiences. Recent credits include VFX for The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, 115 shots for the feature Match Me If You Can, and work on season three of Ted Lasso.

5. Perfect Form

Independent · Austin · perfectformdesign.com

Perfect Form is a design-led 2D and 3D motion studio run by Brad Hodgson, who was a Motion Graphics and Design judge at the 2023 AICP awards. It works from the BLK MKT building on Baylor Street and keeps production in-house.

The portfolio covers commercials, title sequences, episodic packages and stadium graphics for clients including Netflix, CNN, Dell, AMD, Capital One and Southwest Airlines. Its "AI Impact" film for HPE won a Telly Gold, and recent spots include Garmin's Forerunner series.

6. Austin Visuals

Independent · Downtown · austinvisuals.com

Austin Visuals is a 3D animation and VFX studio headquartered on Congress Avenue, with further offices in Houston, Friendswood and San Antonio. It lists a team of 21 artists and writers.

Much of its work is technical: medical device, engineering, product and legal animation, plus architectural visualisation and safety training. Clients include MSI, Komatsu, Seagate and Aquasana, so it suits engineering-heavy briefs more than character work.

7. Wienot Films

Independent · Austin · wienotfilms.com

Wienot Films is a boutique explainer studio founded by Marc Strong in 2011. A small core team of animators, writers, a sound designer and a composer works in 2D, 3D, character and whiteboard styles, and the studio reports 18 Telly Awards.

Clients include Sesame Street, Google, Microsoft, Mastercard, PepsiCo and Stanford University. Recent films explain Amazon Customer Analytics and Stanford's work on AI foundation models.

8. Arts+Labor

Independent · Austin · artsandlabor.co

Arts+Labor is a visual storytelling shop that makes animation and motion graphics alongside commercials, documentaries, music videos and AR work. Animation sits in the same team as live action, which helps on mixed-media briefs.

Its animated work includes "Threadripper" for AMD, and other clients include Dell, Netflix, McDonald's, Texas Monthly and Austin City Limits, for which it made "ACL 50 Years of Music".

9. Colormatics

Independent · The Domain · colormatics.com

Colormatics is a video-led creative agency on Domain Boulevard, with a second office in Spokane. Animation, VFX and 3D sit in-house next to production, post, design and media planning.

Clients include Fiverr, Lemonade, American Express, Vanguard, The Macallan and PrizePicks, and its case studies include a national PrizePicks commercial and patient education content for Jubilant Pharma. It suits brands that want animation tied to a wider campaign.

10. Real Normal

Independent · Austin · realnormal.com

Real Normal is a video boutique founded in 2002. Its services cover explainer videos (scripting, voiceover, music and animation), motion graphics, live-action production and campaign concepts.

The portfolio includes Dell's "Every Bit", work for HGTV and Entrepreneur, and explainers for tech start-ups such as Kasita and RelateIQ.

11. Sparksight

Independent · Northwest Austin · sparksight.com

Sparksight is a video production company on Pond Springs Road that makes animated explainers alongside live action, photography and live streaming. Animation is one part of a wider corporate video offer.

Clients include DocuSign, Fortinet, BigCommerce, Blackbaud and Das Keyboard. It is a practical choice for B2B teams that want animated and filmed content from one supplier.

12. Bennett Creative

Independent · Central Austin · bennettcreative.co

Bennett Creative was founded in 2018 and is led by CEO Andrew Bennett and creative director Dorothy Bennett. It offers 2D character animation, motion graphics, illustration and stop motion, and describes itself as one of the few stop motion companies in Austin.

Most clients are software, SaaS and app companies, and the studio also makes brand and social content. It quotes about eight weeks from script to finished video.

What to look for in an Austin animation studio

Start with the type of work. Austin's studios split between episodic and entertainment crews (Powerhouse, Minnow Mountain, Mighty Coconut), technical and VFX-led 3D studios, and brand studios focused on motion graphics and explainers. A pitch for an animated series needs a very different team from a product launch film, so ask for reels close to your format and running time.

Check the pipeline. Ask which software the studio uses for 2D, 3D and compositing, whether rigging and lighting are done in-house, and how much is handed to freelancers. For rotoscope and performance capture work, ask how the live-action shoot is planned, since the footage drives everything after it.

Agree the review stages early. Most animation moves from script to storyboard, animatic, style frames and final render, and changes get more expensive at each stage. A clear sign-off at the animatic stage saves the most time and money.

Finally, look at how files and feedback are handled. Animation produces large project files, render sequences and many versions of each shot. Studios that keep one current version in a shared place, collect notes against each stage and record what was approved make the last weeks of a project much calmer.

How Fabric helps animation teams

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best animation studio in Austin?

It depends on the job. For episodic 2D series, Powerhouse Animation has the largest crew and the strongest streaming credits. For rotoscope and performance capture, Minnow Mountain is the specialist, and for brand motion work Perfect Form and Wienot Films have strong client lists.

What happened to Rooster Teeth?

Warner Bros. Discovery shut down Rooster Teeth in March 2024 after 21 years, laying off around 150 full-time staff along with freelancers and contractors. It is not included in this list.

Who does rotoscope animation in Austin?

Minnow Mountain specialises in performance capture rotoscope animation. Its credits include Tower, Amazon's Undone and Richard Linklater's Apollo 10 1/2 for Netflix.

Are any Austin animation studios unionised?

Yes. Powerhouse Animation's Austin crew ratified a contract with The Animation Guild (IATSE Local 839) in September 2024, the first for an animation studio in Texas. Its Los Angeles studio was already a signatory.

Where can I find Austin studios for visual effects?

Moontower VFX and Austin Visuals above both handle VFX alongside animation. For compositing, finishing and virtual production specialists, see the best VFX studios in Austin.

Related lists

Animation in other cities: New York · Los Angeles · London · Chicago · Toronto

More in Austin: Creative agencies · VFX · Video production · Post-production · Design agencies · Sound design

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for creative teams · Fabric for motion design teams · Best video review software for creative teams