Innovate. Create. Animate.
All of us know that animation, VFX, motion graphics play a vital role in the business landscape. Pictorial representation of anything hits faster than the verbal one. The human brain can process images up to 60000 times faster than words. For the sake of storytelling about your brand, there is a need for these things a lot.
Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd. is an innovative and creative animation company helping businesses reach out to more people through the highest quality CG animation and VFX. The master brain behind the company’s long-standing success is Vrinda Sood, CEO at Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd.
Citrus Ink Studios
Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd. started as a sole proprietor in Feb’2014 and was registered as a company – Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd. April 2019. In these 5 years of journey, Citrus Ink Studios has touched many milestones in different fields of Animation.
Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd. is an award-winning full-service animation studio focused on delivering the highest quality CG animation and VFX in India. Their goal is to give amazing production quality in the shortest possible time. They have worked with numerous leading brands in the advertising space such as The Coca-Cola Company, Nestle, Minute Maid Juice, the History Channel, Honda, Panasonic, Horlicks, and the World Health Organization. Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd. is now working on transitioning into working on TV series and films.
The initial challenges
Initially, they had to face a lot of challenges. Their geographical location, lack of talent were the key challenges. In this industry just being new itself can pose a big challenge as it is difficult for clients and the talent to trust a new studio. Animation services were very new to Delhi in advertising and since advertising is always time-pressed and heavy on good quality it was difficult initially to gain the client’s trust. People took a lot of time to trust the fact that small studios can deliver good work in the promised time.
The triggering point for the growth
Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd. had been working for almost two years now. They had done a lot of ad films by then. Their film “PaperBoat” which was a short film format, branded story (promotional film for PaperBoat) just proved to the world that they can create and deliver international quality animation.
The film’s animation quality and style caught the media attention and we were also compared by, a leading social networking blog to “Pixar” as the article mentioned “Pixar of India. The concept of the film belonged to a leading advertising agency in Delhi however the execution of the film had happened completely in their studio. This was a breakthrough and the film also won many awards at the International film festivals.
The industry will continue to upgrade itself in infrastructure and technology, however, we cannot shy away from creative traditions. The traditional animation, posing structuring, the golden rules of animation will always remain the same and will continue to guide and form the foundation of modern-day animation and filmmaking.
The graph of growth since inception
Citrus Ink Studios’ growth has been steady and it has been an upward graph. From a team of two in February 2014 they have now expanded to a team of 40 in the last 5 years and are continuing to grow. Similarly, Citrus Ink Studio’s total revenues have also shown a steady upward rise and we hope to continue to work hard and double the numbers.
The reason behind Citrus Ink Studios’ long-standing success
The main reason for Citrus Ink Studios’ long-standing success is that the team is bound to each other and the company by a common thread – our love for animation. Vrinda Sood, CEO Says, “When we started in Delhi – we didn’t have leading industry personnel to start the company and to guide us through. I was fresh out of college for animation and so was my colleague. Together we were joined in by more animation-loving individuals and our passion for animation led to the growth of this beautiful company. We continue to live our dream by doing better and delivering an even better output each time and it is this commitment towards our job that we have found continued success.”
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
They somehow already know what you truly want to become”
The Services
Being in the animation industry does not leave you with any scope, but to upgrade yourself and embrace new technology. Where we need to keep upgrading our infrastructure and software’s it is also very critical for us to reduce our production time and effort for more effective and affordable outcomes. We continuously have to work around to figure out new ways of doing things that may require fewer man-hours and machine time.
Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd.’s forte is animation and VFX. They are committed to very high-quality animation and VFX and they continually strive to deliver and match their quality to the animations available worldwide. The team at Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd. thinks that they still need to work a lot in many areas, however, they are happy that their quality of work is acknowledged wherever they exhibit showreel internationally. The quality of work sets them apart from many other studios.
The only way to remain ahead in terms of our products and services is to remain consistent and deliver quality in the promised time. There is no other mantra for success. The differentiated output in good quality can resolve a lot of issues in the service industry, however coming up with your IP which may be recognized again by the international audience will be a proud moment.
The professional experience
Vrinda has been able to establish a good connection with her clients, deliver the best to be able to have them come back to us without any hesitation. It has been great to be working with the best talent in the industry and help them realize their dreams while working together to achieve a common goal. The experience may have had many ups and downs, however, all ups have taught us to be humble about our achievements and all the lows have pushed us to do better.
The key achievements
In this journey, she has learned a lot, how to deliver in extreme pressure, how to work with a small team, and deliver the unthinkable. The most important thing she has learned Is the micro and macro-management of the business simultaneously, being an entrepreneur leaves with you little opportunity to delegate your responsibilities due to lack of resources to hire an HR to do the multiple tasks.
At one point in business, she remembers working as the production coordination, CFO, accountant quality supervisor, etc. However, reaching where they are today is the most satisfying feeling. They have had some great releases in the last few years, garnering a tremendous response from the viewers and that makes it all worth it. Citrus Ink Studios’ Films for PVR, Paperboat, Hero, Honda, Arctic Fox, and some other international brands were well received and appreciated.
A Unique, creative-minded team
Giving equal opportunity, respect, and creative freedom to the team has helped them a lot. They recognize each other’s passion for animation and the desire to do well and give their best – this is one thing that is common to all and hence easy to understand. Continuously doing better and working with different characters, environments, and products without having any creative restrictions have only brought the best out of each one.
Constant vigilance is a strategy to fulfill an everlasting need to not get complacent. It’s important to be vigilant to not lose track once in a while and not get complacent while doing what we love to do and especially when we are doing it every day and earning a living out of it. It is also important to be vigilant of the environment in this competitive world.
Overwhelming client Experience
For Citrus Ink Studios Pvt. Ltd., each client has been special and they have only grown with them.
There is a client in particular in America who encouraged them to do better and he is from one of the best animation companies in the world has taught them in the process and help them work on the finer nuances of the characters.
About the rat race in the market
There is a rat race in the market, but only the best rat wins. You have to be the best and that’s the only way to stay ahead. To win the race it is not important to be noticed, important is running. And as Steve Jobs once said “We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why else even be here?” So put that dent and get noticed. Stay up with innovation and quality and you’ll be good.
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