Day 5: Moving Through The “Messy Middle” (Without Losing Your Mind) with Kalika Sharma

Kalika Sharma is the founder and creative director of AntidoteFX, a woman-led animation and design studio, known for turning complex ideas into powerful, visual stories. With 20+ years of experience in motion design, her award-winning portfolio includes partnerships with Carnegie Hall, Marriott Bonvoy, Netflix, iHeartRadio Music Festival, and Memorial Sloan Kettering, blending aesthetic impact with strategic messaging.

She has also spent two decades teaching at institutions like NYU-Tisch and Pratt Institute, guiding students from being first-time animators to confident storytellers. Kalika excels at showing creatives how to integrate real-world problem solving, with traditional and digital technology. She believes that enduring creative work is not only about being seen, but being felt, remembered, and shared in meaningful ways.

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

• Discover the power of persistence and creative pivots in the journey to purpose through passion and resilience
• Navigate the messy middle of leading a team when the work starts to dry up
• Find strength in stories of resilience when parenting, caregiving, and career collide
• Understand why grief over shifting roles and careers is as real as any other loss
• Face the truth of freelancing when projects stop landing in your lap
• Embrace the comfort of knowing you’re not alone in the struggle
• Turn your asymmetric advantage into purpose-driven creative work
• See how the Arnold Academy community helped her create with authenticity
• Craft your unique voice to connect more deeply—it’s about the messenger
• Hear what your future self might say when you're stuck in the messy middle

RESOURCES:

AntidoteFX

The Four Tendencies