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Tobias Schwarz studied Visual Communication with a focus on Film Studies at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK) from 1990 to 1995. At the same time, he earned a BA in Classical Animation at Ballyfermot College in Dublin, Ireland (1993–1995). He gained his first professional experience in animation as a draftsman for the feature film "Asterix in Amerika" (1994).
After completing his studies, Schwarz worked in animation and storyboarding on numerous productions, including many international projects. Among the best-known are "Werner - das muß kesseln!!!" (1996), Disney's "Anastasia" (US 1997), and the sci-fi adventure "Titan A.E." (US 2000). Between 2000 and 2006, he was responsible for animating specific characters in several Disney productions, including Wendy in "Return to Neverland" (US 2002), Mowgli and the vultures in "The Jungle Book 2" (US 2003), and Bambi in "Bambi II" (US 2006).
Schwarz also contributed as an animator to feature films like "Kleiner Dodo" (2007) and "Space Chimps" (US/CN/UK 2008). As a storyboard artist, he worked on a range of popular family and children's films including "Lauras Stern" ("Laura's Star," 2004), "Ritter Rost" ("Knight Rusty," 2011), "Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss" ("Coconut The Little Dragon," 2014), "Käpt'n Sharky" ("Capt'n Sharky," 2017), "Bigfoot Junior" (US 2017), and "Maya the Bee – The Golden Orb" (DE/AU 2020). He also created the storyboards for the acclaimed British animated biopic "Ethel & Ernest" (UK 2016), based on the graphic novel by Raymond Briggs.
Schwarz gained directing experience in 2015–2016 with numerous episodes of the TV series "Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss." He went on to direct the animation for "Die Häschenschule - Der große Eierklau" ("Rabbit Academy - Mission Eggpossible," 2021).
"Heidi - Die Legende vom Luchs" ("Heidi – Rescue of the Lynx," DE/ES/BE) is his first feature film as director. It premiered in June 2025 at the Children's Media Festival Goldener Spatz in Germany and was released in cinemas shortly after.