Career’s in Animation & Animation Degree’s
Careers in Animation
Careers in Animation are growing. This industry is increasing as the demand for video games, movies, etc. is growing. There are currently 64,000 animators and with an expected increase of 6% by 2024. There are different types of animators, such as computer animators and regular animators, and within those careers, there are project managers, directors, artists, and many other positions for animators, so a career in computer animation would be secure if you choose it as your career. The animation is a hot job with an increasing job market, and in this paper, we are going to talk about the job market for computer animators and general animators.
Salaries for careers in animation fluctuates a lot. It all depends on what company you work for, if you get lucky and your animation hits big, you can be making a ton of cash. In the year 2014, the average computer animator salary was $61,000, but there are many levels of salary for a computer animator. Typically the starting salaries for an entry-level computer animator are somewhere between $30,000 and $45,000 a year. They are responsible for animation while under the supervision of a more experienced computer animator and perform administrative tasks. An experienced computer animator can make between $40,000 and $100,000 a year. It takes two years of computer animating experience and their tasks include coming up with animation ideas, doing storyboards, and doing animation under no supervision.
Next, computer animators who take on upper-level, managerial positions in large studios can make more than $150,000 a year, especially if they manage highly profitable animation studios. The regular requirements of being an experienced computer animator require about five to ten years of computer animating, it might require other degrees such as a business degree if you are planning on running your own studio, and you need to have many clients and know many people in the computer animating industry if you are trying to become successful. Upper- level computer animators are responsible for running a company, and if they work for a company they are usually the project manager.
Salaries for careers in animation depend on the company, and some companies have a contract that you work until the project is finished and get paid depending on how much your contract is worth. These jobs also require you to move to different studios a lot. As you would finish a project in one studio, you would have to move to a new studio for a new project. As a new computer animator, it would take you some time trying to find a new job, but as you become more experienced and work in different studios you start getting more connections for jobs.
There are currently over 64,000 hired computer animators that are pursuing Careers in Animation, and this is expected to increase to 68,000 by 2024. The computer animating industry is expected to increase at a regular pace of 6% between 2014 to 2024. Job security for computer animators is also secure. Since there are many different positions for computer animators like a modeler, an animator, a character animator, a lighting specialist, a compositor, a texture artist, a CG programmer, a technical director, or an art director there are many studios looking for people specializing in those positions. If you have a job in animating the project, you could be looking for what type of animating you could do for a project, such as doing shadowing, lighting, or compositing for one project, then the next project modeling, animation, and texture. Since animating is a different job each time, there are many possibilities for you to work in the field. Jobs in a studio could last for many years too. The average time working in a studio could last for two to three years, five years being uncommon, and very rarely depending if you find a successful studio you could work for twenty years.
Careers in Animation is a hot career path with not much competition as other career fields, and finding a job in the career as an experienced animator could be easy for you since the animation field is a small industry, and as jobs in the animation field are increasing. As technology continues to change and people continue watching cartoons, or play video games, there will always be a job for you in computer animation. If you are looking for a career in animation, but computer animation does not feel like the field for you, there are other careers for animation such as a general animator.
What many people do not know is that animators work normal hours but many times they have to work longer and push harder to achieve a project or an animation that they are working on. Some have to stay after work or work overtime hours. Working overtime in animation is becoming a big problem. Constant over time, in general, is a problem. How do you think you would feel working much more hours daily then you are supposed to? Sometimes there are deadlines you need to reach and workers assume that if you do not work a certain amount of hours’ overtime than you will not achieve your desired project. Also, think about the fact of how fatigued and stressed workers will be working so much overtime. Overtime is not always a problem. Especially when you get paid extra for overtime then many individuals like to work more hours during the day. Those who do not have a family and are single are more likely to do overtime to get more money to buy things they want and need. The problem arises though when overtime becomes your regular day and even worse is when you do not get paid for it. But let’s say you do get paid for those hours. Think about how much our brains can actually process in a day without breaks. Sure we can have a lunch break and a coffee break but too much will get us stressed out. Our brains will become fatigued if we work too much and stress our brains out. So when we cannot get a task done in one day which is our deadline and it happens daily then that is not good for a worker. That worker will soon become too stressed out and the whole project might not turn out as it is supposed to. It is also especially hard for workers with families because those extra hours are hours taken away from relaxing and spending time with their families. That is when they need to rest their brains and gather more ideas. Sometimes we think deadlines are so important that we do not care or think about other people's lives. I believe we need to limit overtime or eliminate it completely to have better projects and happier workers. Once the workers are happier then things happen better and the projects might turn out better. Overall if overtime is not involved or you are given a project to finish within a timeframe, do not procrastinate and you will be good.
Education for animators is really important. Now a day most of all jobs are looking for workers with experience. But most of us college students do not have that because we are still in college. The best possibility is to start young and start taking classes in high school and then decide if you are aiming for a two year or four-year degree. Once you have that figured out, go and do your best. Even though you do not have the experience, you can practice at home and perfect what you do. Once you have that down then companies will look at how you actually make animations instead of the places you have worked at.
Overall working in an animation service is a really good job for anyone that is looking or is interested in this field. If it is something you like doing, then maybe it is for you. You can be looking into this and try to get a career in computer animation and hopefully, this will inspire you. The best is to start young and try to achieve what you want. With the job possibilities growing more and more, there is a bigger chance of you finding a job in this field.
Animation Degree or getting started in this profession does require a starting point. This post looks into how to get the right animation degree, and what you should be looking at.
Growing up, Pixar studio has produced dozens of classic movies that have touched our hearts. However, Pixar would not have the same effects on us without the amazing talents of their animators. With that being said, we will be writing today about the degrees in animation. First, we will be talking about the different types of degrees in animation with their programs and the course taken to get those degrees. This was an interesting idea to write about because, in comparison to other careers, it is quite fast to get a master’s degree in animation. There are many different classes that you’re able to explore when studying to get these degrees in animation. Then we will be talking about the different types in careers obtainable when looking into animation. We really go deeply into Pixar and Studio Ghibli when talking about these careers.
Degrees in Animation
There are different types of degrees in animation with different schools and programs that go under each. An associate degree is one
of them and it helps prepare people for whatever field they are wanting to pursue. The associate's program helps with image editing and modeling. With a strong portfolio and experience, it is possible to find a job with this type of degree, otherwise, it’s easier to get a job with a bachelor’s degree. In order to get this degree, the prerequisites are a high school diploma or GED. There are different degree fields which are Digital Media and Animation; Computer Design, Animation, and Game Design Engineering Technology; 3D Animation. The classes that people take is image editing, color theory, fundamentals of design, and web animation. There are also different types of careers that you can have with this degree. The next type of degree is the bachelor’s degree in fine arts in computer animation. This degree covers graphics and 3D animating. These courses include Motion graphics, Tone and color, Character design, Storyboarding Digital concepts, and Figure Drawing. The last degree in animation is the master’s degree in computer animation. This degree can be completed in 2 years. Students are given a variety of elective courses to choose from, including 3D modeling, animation, and digital video. Applicants to a master’s degree program in computer animation must hold a bachelor’s degree, and some schools prefer applicants to hold a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. The classes and courses taken for this degree consist of Art and technology history, Theory and aesthetics, Advanced animation, 3D modeling, Character animation, Artificial intelligence, Game Design, and hardware architectures.
Pixar and Studio Ghibli are just two of the most famous animation producers in the world, however, they don’t hire animators just off the street. When a person goes to school for animation, this opens them up to hundreds of careers. Some jobs, for example, could be a cartoonist, animation director, or 3D modeler. Cartoonists sometimes write captions with their drawings, or they add stories. Most cartoonists typically tend to have critical, comic, or dramatic talents in addition to their drawing skills. It is common to see a cartoonist working in some form of media, however, cartoonists can also find themselves in the television and film industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported information on cartoonists. According to their information, they claim illustrators and painters average $45,000 per year and can earn up to $91,000 depending on how often they work. Employment for cartoonists is also expected to grow by 4% by 2022, this shows that this job is continuing to grow and as people become more technologically savvy, there is potential to have higher expected growth. If you are someone who can be considered being an animation director such as Hayao Miyazaki, you may want to have skills that allow you to recruit, coordinate and manage teams, as well as having the capabilities of taking your interpretations of a story and then communicating it to your team. This is a big job, where the animation director is the one to review all the undergoing production from the animation team. Salaries can vary anywhere from $70,000 per year all the way up to $180,000 per year. There is a growth in employment of 3% for jobs as animation directors, however, there is still a strong demand for animated films and television shows and this may continue to increase for mobile platforms and online streaming. Being a 3D modeler means to create characters as well as environments for products such as video games or 3D movies like the movie “Warcraft”. Modelers also create images, film effects, special effects, and models for geologists and architects. A 3D modeler can earn an average of $69,000 per year or make a possible high of $100,000. There are essential skills that a modeler needs are to be advanced in math and computer skills. However, there are more skills required depending on what specific job you are searching for such as becoming a 3D Modeler for a video game would require a major in-game design but a 3D modeler in a science field would be best for majors in physics.
Animators are essential for any type of visual image, whether they just create effects or create characters in developing storylines and designing graphics for websites. Animators would not be as skilled today without their degrees in animation, these animators have specifically chosen their majors and taken classes that will help them become the best at what they do. The animation is also a good career choice because of the large variety of job opportunities. The animation is important to bringing characters to life. This is an exciting career for one to get into however, this job is not meant to be super easy. Animators spend many hours into their artwork. This means having nights and weekends spent just developing your idea. This job choice best fits those who are capable of having a great deal of attention to detail. Animators must also master the art of movement, this puts an emphasis on students taking an acting class. In the end, the animation is a career that is ideal for those who can commit many hours as well as those who want to expand their creativity in the future.
