AI Is No Longer Optional For Creatives - Set Your Ethics Before You Touch the Tools
AI is now non-optional for creative teams. That was the clear message at the Manchester Animation Festival, where leaders from dock10, Aardman, and Blue Zoo urged studios to decide their ethics and boundaries before plugging AI into any workflow.
Put simply: ignoring AI puts you behind. Blind adoption puts your craft and reputation at risk.
What the panel actually said
Dr Florian Block, R&D Lead for AI and Immersive at dock10, was direct: "Whether you're a sceptic or you're someone who's excited, you really need to use it. There's no way you can compete without it."
Daniel Efergan, consultant and former Executive Creative Director at Aardman, called AI in animation a morally and legally complex topic-from training data to copyright and IP. His warning cut both ways: "If you do nothing, that's a really bad idea. If you throw yourself in blindly without an anchor of what's really important to you, it's also quite dangerous."
Efergan's stance: define your studio values first, then write AI policies around them. And absolutely reject the idea that "prompt equals animation." He argued for many inputs producing many useful bits-with human storytellers still at the centre.
Blue Zoo's Lead R&D Engineer, Vasil Shotarov, drew a "very clear divide" between production and experimentation. The studio is not using AI in production right now, and he was explicit that artists must not be forced onto AI tools. Unlike core software like Maya, AI is one option in the toolkit-not a mandatory step in the pipeline.
Shotarov also flagged a common trap: the illusion of efficiency. High-end AI work can require "an insane amount of cherry-picking," which often turns into cleanup instead of decisive creative choices.
Block framed the core issue as control and granularity. Today's systems jump from zero to 100 in one go. Directors need dials-clear points in the branching tree where AI can help, without taking the wheel. All three aligned: AI should be a co-pilot. Artists tell the story.
What this means for your studio
- Write down your values. Decide what you will and will not do with AI before you test tools.
- Set red lines: data consent, training sources, attribution, and how you handle third-party IP.
- Split "sandbox" from "production." Experiment freely, but keep shipping workflow clean until standards are proven.
- Adopt a voluntary policy. Never force artists to use AI. Offer choices and clear creative ownership.
- Define the "dials." List where AI can assist (boards, references, cleanup, versioning), and where it can't.
- Measure like a producer: cost, time, quality, and revision count-compare AI vs. non-AI on real shots.
- Document sources. Keep an audit trail for datasets, prompts, and outputs to reduce legal exposure.
- Guard creative control. Directors and leads make the final calls-not the model's default output.
Legal and ethical guardrails
If your questions start with copyright, you're asking the right questions. For UK teams, this is a useful primer from the Intellectual Property Office: AI and IP: copyright.
Internally, require disclosure of AI use on every shot that touches a client deliverable. Externally, be clear with clients about what AI you use, why you use it, and what controls are in place.
A simple AI policy starter (use and adapt)
- Purpose: Improve speed on low-impact tasks without compromising creative intent or rights.
- Acceptable Use: Previz, ideation boards, temp VO, cleanup, documentation. No final character or style decisions without human sign-off.
- Data Sourcing: Use licensed, consented, or in-house datasets only. No scraping from unknown sources.
- Human in the Loop: A named creative lead approves all AI-assisted outputs.
- Attribution & Credit: Disclose AI assistance internally; follow client disclosure rules externally.
- Opt-Out for Artists: No one is required to use AI tools. Provide alternatives.
- Security: No client assets in public tools without written approval.
- Review Cycle: Quarterly review of tools, datasets, and outcomes.
How to pilot AI without losing your voice
- Start with drudge work: roto hints, layout variants, temp comps, breakdown notes.
- Use AI for "many roughs, fast," then let artists choose and refine.
- Create style locks early. AI can riff inside constraints; don't let it set the style.
- Stop when cleanup exceeds the value. If revision time balloons, revert.
Event context
The panel "Keeping Things Creative in an AI World" took place at the Manchester Animation Festival (November 9-13) at HOME in Manchester. It brought together Dr Florian Block (dock10), Daniel Efergan (consultant; former Aardman ECD), and Vasil Shotarov (Blue Zoo), with Alexandra Balazs chairing.
Want structured training for your team?
If you're setting up internal standards or need role-specific upskilling, explore:
- AI courses by job for creative leads, producers, and artists.
- Prompt courses to improve quality and control across ideation and iteration.
Bottom line: use AI, but on your terms. Decide your ethics, design your dials, and keep artists in charge of the work that matters.
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