Alphafriends - HMH

Alphafriends is one of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s flagship educational IPs for Into Reading.

As Animation Director and Storyboard Artist on the project, I led pre-production across 52 dual-language episodes. I took existing character designs and developed full pre-production packs alongside pose-heavy animatics that defined the acting, timing, and visual comedy of the series.

Partnering closely with renowned animation studio Tonic DNA (formerly Pascal Blais), I provided direct creative oversight to maintain high-fidelity visual execution across the entire franchise rollout.

Role

Animation Director & Lead Storyboard Artist

Scope: 52 Episodes (English & Spanish)

Full Pre-Production & Pose-Heavy Animatics

Production Partner: Tonic DNA (formerly Pascal Blais)

Vision

The core vision was to transform a heritage early-literacy IP into an engaging, high-energy animated series for a modern generation of young learners. By pairing expressive character animation and tight comedic timing with clear phonetic gestures, the goal was to create content that felt like a premium studio broadcast while seamlessly reinforcing foundational reading skills across English and Spanish releases.

Pre-Production Pipeline & Vendor Delivery

To streamline production with animation partner Tonic DNA, I directed full pre-production packs centered around pose-heavy animatics. Establishing definitive key posing, acting beats, and timing early minimized back-and-forth review cycles, ensuring seamless translation from animatic to final render across all 52 episodes.