Miki Mottes is an illustrator and animator who designs for the internet from Tel-Aviv in Israel. He has only been animating and designing for the web for the past few years but has worked on a wide range of projects on major internet sites, commercial companies and TV stations as well. Miki enjoys Flash and Action scripting when working on his projects and he is entirely “self-taught” when it comes to these skills.

1. I see that you do a great deal of animation but how did you get started in web design?

It all started when I was in high school, with ANSI screens for my BBS and animations distributed on floppy disks to my friends as a hobby. From then on, it was only natural for me to look for ways to have my work seen by as many people as possible. I moved to political satires, then commercial animations and flash-based websites. After a while, people urged me to build a portfolio (www.mikimottes.com)

2. When did you start designing websites?

I started designing websites and creating illustrations and animations a few years ago, when I first got introduced to Flash. Before then, I used to draw weird creatures and comics on papers, walls, whatever I could find.

3. What are the biggest challenges that you face in web design currently?

The biggest challenges for me are:
A. Creating a website with lots of small details (which I think differentiates a good work from a merely creative one), and still get the perfect work done within the budget.
B. Finding the customers that understand the benefits of using illustrations and animations to deliver their message or promote their product/service.

4. Do you code on any of your web design projects? If so, what languages do you code in?

I don’t consider myself as a developer (although I studied computer science).

I use basic ActionScript for my animations (dealing with sound, movements, mouse events etc.), When I need more complicated development for server/client side, I work with several developers. I’m always looking for great and talented developers to work with.

5. Where did you go to school and has it helped you become a better web designer and animator?

I never actually studied design in a formal institute. Over the years I took lessons to get to know the tools, but never felt the base training is missing.

6. Since you first started how has the web design industry changed? Has it changed for the better? If so, how? If not, please explain?

I think the internet itself is much more mature now than it was when I first started creating content. The broadband has brought the animations on the web to a much higher level. Besides, social networks and viral marketing has helped me to spread my work all over. And of course, the Flash player is now installed on 99% of all computers and has become the standard tool for rich content on the web.

7. What are your favorite tools to use when designing a website with animation / motion design in mind? Why are they your favorite tools?

My favorite tools are Flash and AfterEffects. I use a Wacom tablet for drawing, but I will never skip the paper sketching step.

8. How do you approach designing for the web as it relates to animation?  What are some of the biggest problems you face with animation and the web?

I think that illustrations and animations can deliver in a short time a message that will take much longer to deliver through verbal mean. I believe that a good website that smartly combines graphic content, might work much better and lead to a better conversion than a website that uses text only.

The biggest problems are loading times, SEO issues when using Flash and most technologies not fully supporting right-to-left languages.