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Career in Animation

Each one of us lives with millions of pictures in our minds, and how often we wish we could show them to the world in the same way but they are often lost or distorted. It is estimated that 70% of the ideas and visual imageries die before they are translated in concrete forms. But the scene is fast changing and Animation is the key to the explosive powers of expression. Animation is envisaged as a tool to bring about a cultural, social & technological revolution. Movies like Hanuman, Krishna and Cars etc. more than prove the point. All these facts put together, a career in Animation is a dream come true for our generation of creative genius.

The position of Indian animators in the international scenario is promising. However there are many  facts that encourage a student to look at Animation as a career :

* More and more American, Canadian and European companies are beginning to outsource their work to Indian animation companies. 
* Globally, all eyes have turned towards India for animation outsourcing. Indian animation industry which is forecast to reach USD 869 million by 2010, representing a CAGR of 25 percent over 2006-2010, is facing a severe shortage of workforce today especially on the quality front.
* In India alone, the animation industry needs over 30,000 people, while the demand met is a mere 10 % of the requirement. 
* According to the latest NASSCOM report on Animation and Gaming industry, the global animation market (demand perspective) which was estimated at USD 59 billion in 2006, is estimated to reach USD 80 billion by 2010; Global market for animated content and related services (developer’s perspective) is estimated at USD 25-26 billion and is forecast to cross USD 34 billion by 2010.
* In addition to this, India’s animators are considered to deliver world-class quality, creativity and artistry, technological proficiency, productivity and also have a good command over English.

Significant Corner Stones
 
Teaching of a technology as multifaceted and complexed as Animation needs an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of technology, as well as the mind set and challenges faced by the students. All these factors should ideally make the corner stones of the curriculum offered by the multimedia institutes. The institutes focus should be to make its programs an exact and relevant match with the animation industry’s demands. In sync with the evolving industry requirements, many institutes have introduced comprehensive programs in 2D and 3D animation training.

While selecting an institute these are the checkpoints one should look for: -

* A curriculum designed with the objective of making the student a complete Animation Professional.

* Curriculum covering every aspect of animation including both 2D and 3D animation.

* Equal emphasis on both 2D and 3D Animation.

* Pre and Post Production Techniques.

* Skill development from ideation to execution.

* Creation of Demo Reels (Project)
Though 3D animation is fast becoming popular and a successful medium for filmmaking, the importance of 2D hand drawn animation should not be underestimated and enough attention should be paid on hand-drawn animation before moving to 3D. At times without the knowledge of 2D, 3D animation creation can appear lifeless or rigid. Beginning with the basic drawing skills, the program should emphasize on teaching the students to integrate both the 2D as well as 3D animation.

The Futuristic Approach

Multimedia Industry has long recognized the fact that education is not solely about acquiring technical skills but also the acquisition of a variety of personality traits that help students transfer their academic learning seamlessly into their jobs/careers thereby making them more employable. 

Personality: Animation is a creative thing and one needs to have creativity while handling. 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.
Specialization:One can specialize as a 3D or 2D modeler, special FX Creator, Animator, Character Designer, Games Designer, Interaction Designer. 

Colleges, Institutions and Universities:

• National Institute of Design (NID)
• J.J School of Arts.
• Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA)
• Industrial Design Center (IDC), IIT Mumbai and Guwahati
• Arena Multimedia
  
• Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics
• TOONZ Animation India Pvt .Ltd
• Academy of Digital Arts and commerce
• RAI University
• ANIMASTER

Career Prospects:Animation application areas include myriad avenues in the following areas

1. Entertainment (movies and television)
2. Business (product promotions and marketing demos)
3. Sales (presentations)
4. Education (Computer Based Tutorials/Web Based Tutorials)
5. Publishing (graphics and printing)
6. Virtual reality in Defense
7. Web designing
8. Engineering
9. Advertising (commercials and print ads)
10. Fashion designing and interior designing
11. Development of computer games/mobile games
12. Medical, legal and insurance industry (presentations and model)

Course fee: It mainly depends on the institute you are going to pursue the course from and also the kind of course you are doing, whether it is a diploma, degree {short term or long term}.

Kind of Jobs:

1. Modeler
2. Layout artist
3. Clean-up artist
4. Scanner operator
5. Digital ink and paint artist
6. Compositor
7. Key frame animator
8. Background artist
9. In-between animator

Every role is crucial for the successful creation of the Animated project

Nature of work: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.
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: Story → Story Boarding → Character Sketch → Concept creation → Modeling → Environments → Rigging → Character and Mechanical Animation → Storyboard Animation → Lighting →Texturing → Dynamics → Voice Recording → Digital Editing → Vfx → Final Film 

Opportunities in the animation industry: Animation is fast 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.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 artoon characters and are ready to invest heavily in this sector in India. Especially for someone who looks at animation and computer graphics as a serious career.The range of jobs available for a computer animator can be mind boggling. There is hardly any industry that doesn’t require or use computer animators.

Job Prospects in India: 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 technical.

Job Prospects Abroad:I MAX,Sony and Walt Disney are the top notch companies who require competent animators for various projects.

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. After finishing the in-house training in some leading animation production studio, you can be a junior animator and can start earning between Rs.12000 to Rs.14000. A senior animator with an experience of 3 to 5 years can take home a sum of Rs.25000 to Rs.35000. But if you have a portfolio of some good and outstanding animation work you would even be able to earn more than Rs.50000 to Rs.60000.So in just a few years one can draw a salary of six figures.

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