Orca The Little Animation Studio Thats Having A Whale Of A Time

Creative Boom: Inspiration Motion Orca: the little animation studio that's having a whale of a time Partners Nelly Michenaud and Ed Bulmer have moved their animation outfit from London to Nantes, leaving them aglow with positivity and creativity. Written By: Garrick Webster 11 June 2026 Fish House There are so many things to love about the animation studio Orca, but let's start with its name. Killer whales are cool, for sure, but this wasn't a moniker founders Ed Bulmer and Nelly Michenaud pulled out of thin air on that basis. They've got a black and white cat called Orca, and that's where the studio's name comes from.

This is just a tiny example of how their imaginative, poetic, associative thinking fed the well of ideas that poured out as we chatted by email. The big news for Orca is that the studio has relocated from London to Nantes in France, Nelly's hometown. While there's been a lot of talk about a creative exodus from the UK – including here on Creative Boom – the rising costs, difficulty doing business and Brexit-y attitudes in Britain weren't key reasons behind the move.

The Three Little Pigs - a studio favourite for Exel Pendulum Watch Nelly's Nantes video "We wanted to deepen our connection to Nantes by living here for a few years and for me to learn le français... but mostly to eat croissants, cheese and drink excellent wine," says Ed. "The business is still UK-based, and all our regular collaborators are based in London, so our activities are across the two cities.

France also offers a lot more opportunities for the funding of narrative, non-commercial projects – we're already in the process of applying for funds and creating co-productions with companies here." As an exclamation point marking Orca's arrival in Nantes, Nelly has made a short animation – a moving, visual ode – that straight away captures the unusual vibe to be experienced there. It began as a single shot, just a few frames, but then a giant heron sidled into view… It's still quite short, but there was a little more to it by the time Nelly reached full expression mode.

Anniversary Pond "There is literally a massive mechanical elephant taking a stroll on l’Île de Nantes, gigantic flowerpots and a moon play area, sculptures and installations all across the town, acting as little winks or jokes in your daily experience of its specific urbanism," she explains. "I wanted to translate that into animation with my own additions to convey this dream-like, beautiful randomness, floating feeling that artists and designers have created here." Partners in and outside the business, Ed and Nelly have complementary professional skills.

Ed is the more technically minded, an expert with applications like Adobe After Effects and Blender. Nelly is the one who draws, creating 2D animations and the storyboards that drive their projects. However, their aesthetic sensibilities are similar, and they can usually tell whether a brief leans more towards Nelly or Ed's directorial approach, backed up by freelancers who come on board whenever they need to scale up for a project. While the studio takes on projects for big brands such as Netflix, Disney, the BBC, and Sony, the Play section of their website is just as interesting as the Work section.

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While the relocation of a small animation studio may not have a significant impact on the broader brand/design industry, it presents a unique case of strategic brand identity development that could be relevant to professionals in the creative sector.