The Animation Pen is a collection of essays complete with original illustrations documenting the author’s journey to dissect and comprehend the language of Animation. The author re-positions Animation as a complex dialect capable of deep intellectual and artistic expression. This work exists at the intersection of various creative fields, blending insights and philosophies from multiple, seemingly unrelated disciplines. It looks to Contemporary Dance to explore safe and respectful ways of engaging the body and the psyche with the demands of the art form. It draws lessons from Design for Play, integrating its principles into modern Animation production cycles. And finally, it delves into questions of auteurship, examining Animation as an independent medium with its unique storytelling potential—Estonian Academy of Arts, 2024.