How to Become an Animator

Want to learn How to Become an Animator? Great, because the field of animation for independant contractors has been expanding due to outsourcing. An added benefit is that income has increased along with the demand for more independant contractors in this field. Animation for the right person can be a fun and very interesting field to make a living with.

Keep in mind that a career in in this field isn't for everyone. You need to be a person who has a love for art while also having the ability to be creative and artistic. If you are that type of person, you will have an interesting career working on a wide variety of assignments. These would include but not be limited to video games, cartoon feature films, television programs and promotions.

Normally when you think of Animation you think about cartoons. However, there are many other fields for you to choose to work in. You can work on video games, website animation, or advertising online. The field most often pursued by a home based professional is web animation.

Full time work is available in all of these fields. Production companies in the movie and television industry. Video game companies and Firms specializing in website design.

You will of course need to have special skills which you could acquire thru schools. Some schools will have courses in computer animation and related fields of technologies. If you are looking to be hired as an animator rather than being self-employed you should have a bachelors degree in media or fine arts.

Other Skills Needed:

• Artistic ability
• Self-Motivation
• Patience
• Basics of writing scripts
• Stop-motion photography
• Editing

When going for a job or looking for freelance work, you need a portfolio. This can consist of a showreel of animation you have done, storyboards and character designs. You should also list the jobs you have worked on previously.

Animation Equipment:

• High end Computers
• Animation Software
• Scanners
• Printers
• CD/DVD writers
• Projectors
• Cameras and lenses
• Stationary supplies
• Blank recording supplies

Even though this industry is expanding, competition for work is still fierce. Talented artists will continue to be needed as the animation work needed by the movie and television industry, web design firms and video game companies keeps increasing. So if you want to work in this field and learn how to become a professional in this field, you will need a strong education and training that can be provided by a reputable computer animation school.