Career in Animation

A creative bent of mind and an artistic inclination measure the unrestricted boundaries of the world of animation. “Creativity is the visualisation of illustrations and imagery, story-telling techniques and the ability to transfer ideas into form.” says Nilesh Jawarani. Centre Director. Arena Animation. To this, adds Amit Sharma, Framebox Animation’s Centre Director. “Anima­tion multimedia, is best defined as consolidation of text, sound effects, graphics and visual skills.”Emerging                    

Gaming and graphics are the latest additions to its credit.What you needAs the scope of animation is rising as never before, there are many things that you need to keep in mind while opting for this career. Besides being innovative, you need to be full of ideas and be willing to implement them.

Introduction

The word animation is derived from a Latin word anima, meaning soul i.e. when life breathes into characters. The art of animation started with the cavemen who used to draw pictures on the rocks surfaces. Then who can forget Walt Disney for the creation of his cartoons especially the Mickey Mouse! In the present sense it means linking the series of drawings and simulating their movements together. It is a rapid display of 2D or 3D images to create an illusion of motion. It is an art form in which inanimate objects are brought into life by sequencing the drawn images. Animation is emerging a special form of media now days. Animation is growing into a multi-billion dollar industry generating a great scope of employment for those who ready to try their skills into it. From a simple flick book to the computer 3D animation of stories, animation involves a lot of hard work and long hours of meticulous planning. This field being new to the Indian sector has a lot of hidden potential and talent, which needs to be properly groomed and exploited according to the international standards. There are many companies like Walt Disney, I Max and Sony who are ready to outsource their cartoon characters and are ready to invest heavily in this sector in India.
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Nature of Work

3D animation is a complete teamwork and works on the creative ideas.3D animation itself is a combination of wide variety of career combinations. The various steps included in the making of a 3D animation movie consists of:

Personality

Animation is a creative thing and one needs to have creativity while handling it. It not being a mechanical subject needs lot of passion and imaginative skills. One should have flair for sketching/drawing. It needs long hours of continuous work with a whole lot of dedication. One should be good at visualizations, choice of colors and acting too. Though this profession seems to be quite unglamorous, yet it is very exciting and unless one has the complete dedication and interest in it one should not enter this field.

Educational Qualifications

For a diploma and for a bachelor degree in animation one needs to have passed 12th standard from any recognized board with minimum of 45% marks. For postgraduate program one should have a bachelor's degree in any discipline preferably arts. One should have a basic knowledge of handling computers.

Professional Courses

There are various diploma and degree programs in animation and multimedia. These courses focus on teaching and equipping a person in various styles and techniques of animation, which may include:

• Traditional animation
• Stop-motion animation
• Rotoscoping
• Computer generated 3D and 2Danimation
• Clay-mation
• Photoshop
• Human anatomy
• Drawing

Specialization

One can specialize as a 3D or 2D modeler, special FX Creator, Animator, Character Designer, Games Designer, Interaction Designer.

Career Prospects

NASSCOM says that India's gaming industry (computer games and mobile games) is expected to generate $424 million by the 2010. There has been a US$14 million deal between Italy's Mondo TV, Europe's No 2 cartoon producer and distributor, and India's Padmalaya Telefilms. This is expected to boost India's creative reputation. NASSCOM has projected a creation of an additional 300,000 jobs in this sector in next few years. Indian animation industry though a late starter is on the threshold of a boom period and so has a great career potential. India has great mythological stories and characters, good artists and technicians. Animation application areas include myriad avenues in the following areas

• Entertainment (movies and television)
• Business (product promotions and marketing demos)
• Sales (presentations)
• Education (Computer Based Tutorials/Web Based Tutorials)
• Publishing (graphics and printing)
• Virtual reality in Defense

• Remunerations

  Animation is a sparkling career option even though it is at its nascent stage in India. It is rightly said that animation is a career where one can literally 'draw' ones salary. The training institutes help the candidates in their placements

• Contributor

  
  

  The article has been contributed by Ms. Abha Kheterpal. She has been an educationist for past 15 years and runs her own Tutorial Center. She is double M.A. in English and Economics and being diverse in her interests, she also holds a Diploma in Computer and Software Applications. She regularly contributes Career Related articles on CareerAge.com and does Career Counseling.