Introduction

Animation is one of the fastest-growing fields globally, with enormous career opportunities to build a lucrative career. Animation is a diverse field that requires knowledge of various domains like software, arts, and design, along with a lot of imagination and creativity. Similarly, animators are creative artists who specialize in designing animation and bringing life to animated characters. The objective of animation is always to tell stories, deliver messages, and communicate emotions in an easy-to-understand, entertaining, and cost-effective way by using life-like 3D and 2D animated characters.

Animation now plays an essential role in the entertainment, media, education, and advertising industries. Animations are increasingly used in advertising, science education, tour, travel and tourism, video games, healthcare, education, etc., becoming an essential part of our daily lives.

The rapid growth of animation technology has ensured that the demand for animation professionals is all set to grow. In this article, students will get the best avenues they can explore to build up a career after an animation course.

What is animation?

In simple terms, animation is a technique in which figures, drawings, and models are manipulated to create an illusion of moving images. Traditionally animations were created using pictures drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets, which were then photographed and made into a film.

With the advancement of technology, most animations are now made with computer software; the job paint sheets of yesterday are now taken over by various computer software. Softwares like- Adobe creative cloud, Autodesk Maya, Visme, Blender, Crello, PosterMyWall, PixTeller, Animatron Studio, Biteable, Animaker, Canva, Easil, Pencil2D, Powtoon, Procreate, Clip Studio Paint, CelAction2D, Synfig Studio, KeyShot, etc., are the some of the most in the field of animation.

Courses in animation

The journey toward a career in animation starts with students joining either a graduate, diploma, or certificate course in animation. A lot of options for a degree in animation and diploma in animation are available to students like- a BSc in Animation, BSc Animation, Graphics & VFX, BSc in Multimedia and Animation, BSc Multimedia, Animation & Graphic Design, BA VFX and Animation, BSc in Multimedia, BA Multimedia, Diploma in Animation and multimedia, etc.

The diploma course in Animation and Multimedia is a single-year course. A diploma is the most cost-effective and shortest route to develop skills in design, image manipulation, illustration, graphics designing, photography, cinematography, cartoons, 2D & 3D animation, video editing, visual effects and game designing, and developing conceptualizing ability and creativity.

The graduation course in animation is 3 years long, which helps students build up a strong conceptual foundation in animation and develop skills for a career in animation. After graduation, students can further pursue a master's program in animation to further build up knowledge and skills in the animation domain.

Also read: Scope and Opportunities in the Field of Animation

 

Career in Animation

A career in animation can be very lucrative. Being an artistic profession, animation requires the students to bring out the best of their creativity, design skills, and technical skills. Further, students also need to have good observation skills, artistic skills, attention to detail, proficiency in animation software, a basic understanding of acting and drama, and a team player.

Students, along with learning, should also create their portfolios and demos to display their capabilities and expertise. A good portfolio is a significant plus factor when looking for jobs.

Top Professional Avenues

GAMING INDUSTRY : -

Computer gaming is on the rise, with many companies like Electronic Arts, Microsoft XBOX, Sony, Take two interactive, etc., producing new and much more entertaining games every year. Animation is an integral part of almost all games, with very detailed and high-quality graphics. As animators, people make the game stories, create the backgrounds, create game story narration, and design game mechanics.

Game development is a teamwork job, where software developers, graphic designers, animators, game artists, quality assurance engineers, etc., interact and design the game piece by piece. Further, big firms are very generous with good starting salaries when it comes to wages and employment packages. Moreover, as people get more mature, skilled, and experienced in their profession, the pay also rises.

MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY : -

Animators are one of the main workhorses for the media and entertainment industry. Animators create animes, movies, videos, visual effects, cartoons, etc. The Global Animation and VFX industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 11.5% from 2021 to 2026. Major recruiters are- Reliance Media Companies, Crest Animation Studios, Anibrain, Pentamedia Graphics, MAKUTA, UTV Toonz, etc.

As animators, students can move up the corporate ladder in the media and entertainment industry to become editors, team leaders, art directors, etc. After gaining sufficient experience, students can also establish their startups.

EDUCATION INDUSTRY : -

Animations are entertaining, attractive, packed with content, and simple to understand, making them helpful in fostering learning. Animated educational helps enhance creativity in students, simplifies complex concepts, and above all, is very engaging. Animators can find a lot of untapped opportunities in the education industry.

GRAPHICS INDUSTRY : -

Animators can also work as graphic designers to create various visual elements that are aesthetic, attractive, inspiring, and appealing. As graphic designers, students create- Ad banners, images, blogs, posters, pictures, book covers, flyers, magazines, video games graphics, infographics, food packaging, videos, business messages, newsletters, etc.

The graphics industry has its own set of tools like Canva, Adobe creative cloud (Indesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.), PaintShop, etc., which students can master to take graphics jobs. Students should surely master Adobe Illustrator and create their design portfolio to take up illustrator jobs.

FREELANCING : -

Freelancing is a fast-growing industry with huge potential. Students can take up freelancing as a side hustle to augment their income. Creativity and quality are the two attributes required to establish oneself as a freelancer successfully. Moreover, students can use various freelancing platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Toptal, etc., to kickstart their freelancing careers.

Above are a few top professional avenues that animation students can tap into to build their careers. Students who want to join an animation course and start a career in animation should join the Diploma in Animation and multimedia at MGU. Mansarovar Global University is the best animation college in Bhopal, offering the best learning, skill development, and placement opportunities.