Consider a career as an animator if you’re artistic and enjoy drawing. It’s a role used in various industries, including film, television, video games, education, and healthcare. What an animator does, how to become an Animator, working circumstances, remuneration. If you want to turn a pastime into a job, being an animator is an exciting possibility. On the other hand, if you appreciate the arts and are looking for a rewarding career, animation may be the field.
Though animator requirements differ, having prior graphic design or drawing experience may be advantageous. Because different businesses employ different software packages and techniques, the needs for animator training will vary as well. You might wish to know the answer to the question, “how to Become an Animator?” before deciding on a career path.
How to Become an Animator
1. Complete Education
Completing a bachelor’s degree program in animation equips students with essential art talents and training in the industry’s technologies. Gaming, visual or special effects, animation for websites, cinema, video, or the internet are all specialties in the animation area. In addition, basic animation requirements, such as art, drawing, multimedia, 2-D and 3-D animation, and graphics, are covered in animator education and training courses.
Make sure you select the appropriate program. Students should enroll in an animator degree program that includes courses in the skills that align with their chosen specialty’s animator education requirements. Interactive animation classes, for example, may not be beneficial to a student pursuing a career in special effects animation for cinema.
2. Gain Work Experience
Work experience is significant when it comes to animator qualifications. The majority of businesses prefer artists with prior experience. Students seeking an animation education through a degree program can do an internship as part of their graduation requirements to gain on-the-job experience. Graduates and animators without a formal degree will typically be required to work as assistants before progressing to full-fledged animation roles. This industry also offers various freelance jobs for artists of all ability levels, providing another way to gain significant work experience. If you’re just getting started, look for employment that has similar responsibilities. The following are some of the most basic animator tasks:
- Creating illustrations and visual effects
- Coordinating with other animators
- Researching inspiration on designs
- Editing animations to comply with visuals
Volunteer to help others with their animation needs. Animators can discover many local possibilities to give animation services for schools, non-profits, small businesses, or community groups, whether to enhance their websites or provide animation for a short film. On a résumé and a demo reel, professional work done as a voluntary service can be used as experience.
3. Build a Portfolio
Create a portfolio or demo reel to show off your animator skills. All students should create portfolios or demo reels throughout their degree program to display their artistry, inventiveness, and technical proficiency. As your career progresses, this portfolio should be updated to reflect recent work samples. The material should also be relevant to the position you’re applying for and formatted to the employer’s specifications. Most employers want the artist to submit a DVD or link to a demo reel website along with their job application.
Artists can customize their demo reels to highlight the style and technical abilities required for the position they’re seeking for. Use content that represents similar work and concepts if you’re applying for an animator position in the video game business, for example. However, depending on the nature of the job description, you might want to include a range of content to exhibit your skills if you’re looking to figure out how to become a movie animator. In any case, this stage is critical if you want to set yourself apart from the competitors.
4. Maintain Your Proficiency
Attending workshops that teach sophisticated software features and address industry changes can help animators stay efficient and competitive. These classes are offered by institutions as well as software firms such as Autodesk and Adobe.
You’ll want to read trade journals. Graphics and animation industry publications are valuable, objective sources of information, reporting on industry trends and new technology releases. Artists can subscribe to a variety of print and online publications.
5. Consider Graduate Training
Animators can enroll in a master’s program to further enhance their creative and technical talents to prepare for senior-level roles. For example, animators can build competence in narrative using 2-D and 3-D designs by enrolling in programs like a Master of Fine Arts in Animation and Visual Effects.
Further computer animation education also allows animators to network with top animators in the film and game design sectors through lectures and workshops and learn new ideas through collaborative team projects.
How to Become an Animator Career requirement
| Degree Level | Bachelor's degree standard |
|---|---|
| Degree Field | Computer animation, fine art, graphic arts |
| Training | Some employers require on-the-job training in using company specific software |
| Experience | 1 year for entry-level positions; 3 or more years for mid-level or advanced positions |
| Key Skills | Creative, artistic, communication, computer and time-management skills; ability to use animation and video editing software |
| Salary | $75,270 per year (2019 median salary for all multimedia artists and animators) |
| Job Outlook | 4% increase for 2019-2029 (all multimedia artists and animators) |
Animators create 2-D and 3-D animation for websites, films, video games, and mobile media using animation software and computers. Today’s energy still requires drawing and sculpting talents, but cutting-edge technology has teamed with art to broaden the area.
Some animators are self-employed and must continually look for new freelancing tasks, as they often work from home. Others work full-time for businesses and studios. In either scenario, animators’ work weeks are frequently long, and they may be required to work nights and weekends.
