Batch Monthly : January '26
Interviewing ROJ the Goat and featuring fun Batch Moments
Hello nodes!
The month is almost over, and we are checking in with the latest. From community updates to industry news, you’d hear it on Batch Monthly. This newsletter is dedicated to all the cool, creative people who make our lives more beautiful. Our January entry is the first of many, and we will use this channel to connect and grow.
In case you haven’t heard of Batch, we are a community of underrepresented motion designers from Africa. Our members are all around the world. We are the future of motion design.
On this Batch Monthly:
We interview Batch’s founder, Olamide “ROJ the Goat” Rowland. He shares his journey, what he’s working on right now, and his vision for Batch.
Batch Moments shares highlights within our community. This month, we feature Astonish’s content creation, Chizzy’s new showreel, Tolu’s Nothing project, and Davina's win of the 3D printer.
Currently in Motion breaks down Maxon’s backlash, Blender’s new leadership, and Apple’s studio launch.
You will learn our favourite tools and get resources on how to use them
But first.
Meet ROJ the Goat
Olamide Rowland is a Nigerian motion designer, visual artist, and creative professional known for work in motion design, 3D design, and art direction.
At least that’s what ChatGPT said when we asked for ROJ’s bio. Let’s hear from the man himself.
B: ROJ, could you tell us about you and what you are currently working on?
R: I’m a filmmaker, designer, and animator. Grew up in Ogun state and moved to Lagos about 3 years ago. Right now, I’m most excited about my narrative short film, which is still in pre-production. There’s one page left to complete the screenplay, and I’m really excited about this version because I’ve considered many directions on how to tell the story, and I feel like the current one is, in many ways, so me.
B: Oooh.. really looking forward to your film. So far, your experimentations have been interesting, but narrative work would be a whole new dish on your menu. Would love to explore that, but since this conversation is with Batch, let’s talk about motion design.
R: Yes. I even have my own definition for motion design, but I’m afraid you’d quote me on it.
B: What..? Never!
Motion design is fundamentally the baby of three industries. It’s like if animation and graphic design delivered a baby, and the midwife was cinematography.
As a motion designer, you are a graphic designer and an animator. And cinematography is the catalyst for your creation. - ROJ the Goat (2026)
R: Motion design is going through an evolution at the moment because the world is shifting and providing new applications for it in terms of product, interaction design, and projection mapping. Right now, there’s a huge market for experiences and experience design is the next frontier for motion.
B: What’s your journey with motion been like so far?
R: My journey started around January 2016 when graphic design gave me a channel to process a tough personal experience. I also had this neighbour who was learning graphic design at the time. He gatekept the knowledge since I couldn’t pay to learn but because I was so curious, I downloaded bootlegged Corel Draw and began experimenting and teaching myself from scratch. I’m fortunate to have had some internet access which allowed me to watch tutorials and explainer videos. I look at my work through the years and see how the growth has been exponential.
For motion design specifically, I started learning Blender in late 2016 and that version was so difficult to use. Rendering would take hours, the interface was terrible, but by 2017 I met someone who was so good at Cinema 4D and I begged this guy to teach me. He ignored me. Next thing you know, and yes, this is a pattern, I downloaded Cinema 4D and started teaching myself motion design. By 2018 I was fully a motion designer and I even started a studio called Hierarchy. Closed it down in 2021 though because I felt working behind a studio was holding me back. I was 17 when I launched Hierarchy and I didn’t have enough experience to boldly represent. Every year has been an evolution.
B: So when did Batch come into the picture?
R: Batch came into the picture in 2022. I wanted to start a community for my fans… (laughter) I’m joking.
B: He’s not.
R: (laughter) Actually, Batch started because community has been a big part of my journey as a designer. I used to be part of Àșà Coterie, one of the best design communities we have in Nigeria. Being part of it nurtured my growth and those of other members. We were connecting, learning from each other, and gaining access to mentors through the network.
When I started YouTube in 2020, I would get comments and DMs from people who wanted to learn from me. But I realised that what people needed most were peers. Designers facing similar struggles as they were. This was a big reason I founded Batch.
B: But why the name “Batch”?
R: It’s a little bit cringe to say it lol. But, we are the next Batch of amazing motion designers.
Okay okay. That was such an insightful conversation with ROJ. It’s time keep up with the community. Here are some…
Batch Moments
Quite a bit happened this month. Did you hear Astonish is now creating content? Because of his perfectionist tendencies, he was afraid put himself out there in that way. But he realised that to begin is to be cringe. Astonish let go of the pressure to use the best camera or editing techniques and focused on sharing his message. So far, his content has gotten positive reception and he wishes he started posting like this years ago. He concluded, “The knowledge I have is a gift that is meant to be shared.”
Another cool moment was when Chizzy posted this reel. Even if your attention span can only stretch to a couple seconds, you will be hooked. It’s a composite of some of the motion design work he has done. One of our favourite elements was the sound. It flowed beautifully with the motion and made the experience super immersive. Chizzy, said that this showreel shed light on his obsession with “tunnel” motifs and he’s curious to see how he moves past the recurrence.
Tolu completed his Nothing project as part of his experimentation with concepts for physical products. He wanted to see if he could marry his style with the aesthetics of the Nothing brand. After months of work in a certain direction, he switched course. According to him, “My original idea didn’t have a cohesive story/progression.” Tolu made the final video in just two days. He shared his main takeaway from the process with us, “I’ve learnt that when working on a project, I should commit to a clear cut direction before starting.” He also said that the idea we are most attached to may not be the best so we should not be afraid to drop it and go with something else entirely.
We were so proud when Davina won a 3D printer. She’s an amazing engineer and for so long has been designing sustainable products but couldn’t access the tools she needed to make models and prototypes. Once the opportunity to score a 3D printer came up, she entered the competition and came out with a Bambu Lab A1 Mini courtsey of The 3D Tribe. We asked Davina the first thing she would print and she said, “Project 501. Where I give back to the 501 people who liked my comment and got me the printer. ”
Currently in Motion
Nowadays, it’s near-impossible to find a software/platform that isn’t forcefully suggesting AI integration into your production or consumption process. Maxon, a prominent German software developer, did that this month with the announcement of Maxon Digital Twin, a tool that can generate marketing imagery with AI-generated backgrounds from 3D product.
The announcement was meant to showcase innovation at the AMD booth at CES 2026 in Las Vegas but what followed was widespread backlash from 3D artists. The negative reaction was especially intense on X where Maxon eventually took down their post about the tool.
Most of the negative responses were from artists asking why Maxon was so interested in offering AI features instead of long-requested improvements to its software. People also questioned the source of the tool’s training data and AI’s role in undercutting artists.
But Maxon was not the only company making the news with a product launch. Apple announced Apple Creator Studio which is pretty much Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage in a single subscription. And of course, the Creator Studio offers new AI features. If you try it out, please let us know how it compares to Adobe.
Meanwhile, the Blender Foundation transitioned to new leadership. Francesco Siddi took over as CEO and chairman from founder Ton Roosendaal on 2nd Janurary. This transition has been in the works since 2019, "As the Blender project continues to grow, some evolution is natural, but our core values and commitment to the mission remain unchanged: putting the best 3D technology in the hands of artists as free and open source software," the new executive team remarked. "We are excited to embark on this journey together, and we wish everyone in the community a great 2026!"
Our Favourite Tools
We hope the new leadership at the Blender foundation maintains the great qualities the software offers while implementing necessary improvements because Blender is one of our favourite tools. We love that it's a free, open-source, all-in-one suite that provides professional-grade features for modelling, animation, rendering, and compositing. We’ve watched Blender’s user interface go from a clunky mess to a well-oiled machine that does such an incredible job. Its accessibility translates to priceless value through its extensive community that makes learning much easier for users.
Another of our favourite tools this month is Cinema 4D. However, at a price point of $70 - $ 150 per month, it is inaccessible to most individual artists, especially those living in countries like Nigeria. With a staggering minimum wage of $50 a month, paying for expensive software is not attainable for many. But Cinema 4D is the tool to use if you want to create industry standard motion graphics. Although Blender can achieve many of the same motion design feats as Cinema 4D, the process is often much more complex. Also, Cinema 4D’s X Particle feature is… *chef’s kiss.
Last on our list is Rive. We love that it is taking interactive design head-on. Rive is such a powerful animation engine that does not require extensive coding knowledge or an array of plugins. The downside is that although it’s free to design within the editor, it’s not free to export, ship, or use your creations in production. But for $9/mo, you can get these features.
If you are interested in trying out any of these tools, here are some resources that could help:
That will be all for this month nodes!
Thank you for sticking with us to the end of our January newsletter. Hope you enjoyed it because we would be sharing an entry like this each month. In between that, you can get support, connection, and motivation from our WhatsApp community. Join Batch today.
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Written by Kufreabasi Eyo