Propellers Animation Studio

Propellers Animation Studio is an independent animation production company founded in 2006 in Kazan, Russia. It develops and produces serialized 3D CGI and 2D digital cutout animation, with a particular focus on preschool and children's entertainment. Its work spans television, streaming services and online platforms, alongside commercial and educational productions.

The company grew from an amateur animation club assembled by CG artist Artur Shamshadinov in 2005–2006. As the collective developed its technical capabilities, it became a commercial studio offering full-cycle production. The business was registered as an individual entrepreneurship in 2012, followed by the incorporation of its Russian operating company in 2017. Its international administrative presence in Cyprus supports foreign contracting, co-production and distribution, while creative management remains closely connected to Kazan.

Production capabilities

Propellers can take projects from original concepts and scripts through animatics, visual development, modeling, texturing, rigging, animation, rendering and compositing. Its production offering also includes sound design, music, voiceover casting, mixing and mastering. Alongside complete productions, it integrates into other studios' pipelines to support animation workloads and address production bottlenecks.

The studio combines original properties with commissioned work and co-productions. Its catalog includes Lapkiland, Thorny Stories, Roundies and Grumpy Greg, as well as preschool productions such as Tikabo, Fly Deliveries and Dolly and Friends. It has also contributed to Train Tishka and 10 Friends of Rabbit, and produced an animated opening sequence for the Vlad & Niki channel.

Beyond entertainment series, Propellers creates brand mascots, corporate explainers, commercials and instructional films, including transport safety content. Its regional cultural work includes Barsiklar & Neko, a Tatar-language animation and comic project. This range connects its character animation practice with educational, promotional and cultural storytelling. The studio also works in co-production, project financing and international intellectual-property distribution, supporting projects beyond the execution of individual animation stages.