Who's a Animator?
Were cartoons like Tom & Jerry, Chhota Bheem, or Scooby Doo your favourite thing to watch as a kid? Ever wondered how these cartoons were made? Well, they were all made with the help of Animation!
Everybody needs an animator! If you want to create cartoons to entertain children, you need an animator. If you want to add creativity to your textual content, ask an animator. If you want to create simulations for your new gaming app, call an animator. Whether it is education or entertainment, an animator is required in just about any industry! As an animator, you would bring ideas to life!
What will you do?
Where will you work?
How do you get there?
What skills would you need?
Creative Skills
Creative skills involve the ability to think outside the box, generate new ideas, and find innovative solutions to problems. These skills include imagination, design thinking, artistic abilities, and the capacity to develop fresh concepts or approaches in different fields, from writing and art to problem-solving in business. Creative skills help you come up with original ideas, improve processes, and develop unique solutions in the workplace. In roles like marketing, design, or product development, creativity is essential for staying competitive and bringing new perspectives to projects or challenges. build this skill
Technical Skills
Technical skills refer to the specific knowledge and abilities required to perform particular tasks, often related to technology, engineering, computer science, or specialized fields. These skills encompass a wide range of competencies, including proficiency in software applications, programming languages, data analysis tools, and technical writing. Mastering technical skills allows individuals to effectively utilise tools and technologies relevant to their job roles. Strong technical skills will enable professionals to troubleshoot issues, implement solutions, and contribute to innovation within their organisations. build this skill
Time Management
Time management refers to the ability to plan and organise how much time you spend on specific activities. Good time management enables individuals to work smarter rather than harder, helping them prioritise tasks, set goals, and allocate time efficiently. It includes skills such as prioritisation, scheduling, and setting deadlines, allowing individuals to maximise productivity and reduce stress. This skill is especially valuable in fast-paced environments, where the ability to adapt and adjust priorities can significantly impact performance.
Attention to Detail
Attention to detail means being careful and noticing small things that others might miss. It involves checking your work carefully for mistakes, following instructions exactly, and making sure everything is done correctly. This skill helps you do accurate work and avoid errors. In jobs, attention to detail is important for tasks like writing reports, managing data, or following safety rules. build this skill
Analytical and Data Skills
Analytical and data skills involve the ability to evaluate information, interpret data, and draw insights to solve problems or make informed decisions. These skills require critical thinking, logical reasoning, and proficiency in working with data sets, often using tools like Excel, SQL, or statistical software. This skill set helps you break down complex problems, identify patterns, and make data-driven decisions. In the workplace, strong analytical and data skills allow you to provide insights that guide strategies, optimise processes, and drive innovation. They are essential for roles involving research, business analysis, marketing, finance, and operations. build this skillHow do you make it to the top ranks?
Intern
You can work under the supervision of a reputed animator or an animation studio to strengthen your abilities for a successful career in the field.
Junior Animator
After gaining the necessary knowledge as an intern, you can secure the position of a Junior Animator. Here, you will use your skills to generate new ideas and work on building characters through artwork and sketches.
Animator
After one to two years of experience in the field, you can secure the position of an animator at mid-level. Here, you will work on sequencing together the images created by the junior animator. You will also work on creating an animation movement and assist the senior animator.
Senior Animator
You will be the most experienced member of your team as a Senior Animator. You’ll be the one to lead your team and make sure everything runs smoothly. You’ll make sure your team sticks to the deadlines. You’ll also be responsible for ensuring that your team’s work is in focus with your clients’ creative vision.
Pursuing your career locally VS abroad
In India and across the world there is a growing demand for talented individuals in the animation sector and the skills required of an animator are highly respected. Animation offers a lucrative career for those interested in building a career in this field. In India you can get certificates, diploma, and degree programs from private universities while pursuing this discipline. The route taken by most young animators these days is to start with a certificate program and then acquire a master’s degree after a few years of experience.
A certificate course in Animation can cost you anywhere between INR 20,000 to INR 50,000, whereas, a masters degree specialising in Animation can range between INR 40,000 to INR 1,00,000 depending on the institute you choose.
Click here for top colleges for animation courses in India. Click here to look at the best animation online courses and classes with certification. Apart from these you could also try a free online animation course from education portals such as Udemy, Unacademy and IIT Bombay. Click here to know more about the best animation courses (free and paid).
For students interested in taking up a career in animation, a bachelor’s degree is a stepping stone towards making your mark in the field. Although the cutoff varies from university to university, the applicants should possess a TOFEL score of more than 570 if the mode of the examination is paper based. The candidate needs only 230 marks for TOFEL if it is computer based. For IELTS the candidates should possess a score more than 6.5. Students need a verbal score of more than 400 for the GRE.
The degree course in graphic art or fine arts is of four years duration. Aspirants can also choose for a certificate course or a diploma in animation. A bachelor’s degree should cost you anywhere between US 45,000$ to 100,000$ for the complete course. Click here to know more about the best bachelor programs available abroad.
A master’s course will be more rigorous than a bachelor’s and will require creating a portfolio or writing a thesis prior to completion. You can choose a topic from animation history and art criticism to drawing in motion, 3-D cartoon character animation and environment development. A Master of Arts/Master of Fine Arts/Master of Design acquired internationally should cost you anywhere between US 8,000$ to 35,000$ for one year.
How much would you get paid?
As an animator, your payscale broadly depends on the area of your employment, the organisation you’re working with and your experience in the field.
What are your career options?
Art Director
As an art director, you will play a prominent role in animation. You will hold a respected place in an animation team and the creative staff on the team directly report to you. You will also have the final say on what footage or stills are to be included in the final cut and may also be required to train junior staff and manage budgeting requirements. To become a successful art director, you will need a degree in art or graphic design along with years of work experience and a sick portfolio that knocks the socks of potential employees!
Stop Motion Animator
Stop motion animation can be a very tiresome discipline which takes a lot of skill, attention to detail and most of all a great deal of patience. The difference between motion animators and traditional 2D or 3D animators is that they must also set up physical rigs, usually to specification, in which to work with the models and camera equipment before using specialist software to bring it all to life in the editing suite. As a Stop motion animator, you will be self-taught and embark on a career in the industry after having honed your skills through freelance work.
3D Modeller
As a 3D Modeller, you will have to work with a number and combination of industry-grade animation tools such as Maya, 3DS Max and Blender to name a few. Your role will be to work from the ground up to bring fully rendered models and environments to life. You can find work not just in film and video games but in a diversity of fields such as engineering, advertising, manufacturing, architecture. To become a 3D modeller, you can get into the career through a 3D animation school. Internships are important and you can sometimes get straight into paid work if you’re based in an entertainment hotspot.
Compositing Artist
As a compositing artist, you will hold a lot of responsibility over how the animation looks while working closely with the other animation staff such as SFX specialists, lighting and texture directors in order to add a layer of polish and keep the entire project looking consistent. IF you are interested in taking up this career path, there are many ways to become a compositing artist. While many studios hire professionals who have undertaken specialist study in this area, it’s usually a case of working up from a junior animator or SFX level. Many employers want a bachelor’s degree or higher in visual effects, animation + visual effects, compositing + visual effects, or related areas. In addition, employers prefer to hire artists with a minimum of three years’ experience for intermediate positions.
Storyboard Artist
A Storyboard artist usually works hand-in-hand with animation and/or filmmaking teams to help design a story from start to finish long before work starts. As a storyboard artist, it will be your job to take input from writers and directors, you will also come up with conceptual artwork from stills from which the production team can work. Your skills as a storyboard artist will save everyone else time and money and they’re highly sought after on film shoots, traditional animation, music videos and commercials.
Employers prefer to hire storyboard artists with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in art, fine art, illustration, digital art, drawing and painting or other related areas. Experience through an internship or through entry-level positions is necessary. Storyboard artists with exceptional talent, but little formal training, may qualify for some entry-level positions.
Texture Artist
As a Texture Artist, you will specialise in creating the textures of 3D animated objects. You will require a biological understanding of skin in humans and animals, as well as knowledge of textiles, geographic elements, architectural finishes, landscapes, etc. With games now requiring more photo-realistic finishes these days the role of the Texture Artist is increasing in importance. Your goal will be to recreate realistic or fantastical textures or surfaces to characters or objects. You will typically come from a graphic design school background and need to gain years of experience in texture creation first and foremost before transferring those skills to the animation sphere.
You’ve only scratched the surface.
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