Forum - View topicBecoming an animator.
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pingo
 Posts: 47 |
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Cheers mates.
I have been thinking!  Im a 18 year old individual, currently working in a mall^_^
I have been bothered alot lately by the fact that I don't know what I want to do with my life. One of the things I have always done since I was very little was drawing. I have done it all my life, even though im not very good at it. I made drawings on my homework and exam papers too^_~ So I was thinking about becoming an animator. I read this great article: animenewsnetwork.com/columns/answerman.php?id=162 But I have some questions. Maybe if someone here is knowledged about the industry, they could answer or guide me to someone who can, answer. 1)Would the anime industry be Japan only? Is everything westeren just cartoon for kids. So if a person would be serious about it, they would have to move to japan? 2)Would an animator be a good job to have in 10 years? I mean, I have heard that CGI movies like Toy Story, Monsters Inc and Finding Nemo are talking over the animation industry, and that the art of drawing will soon die or fade away, unless someone would become a manga or comic book artist. 3)Is the road to becoming an animator a long one? Would it be possible to eventualy make a career for yourself or go higher? Maybe if you're skilled, being able to create your own thing. I understand that studios and publishers just won't take another persons ideas or designs, but if they worked hard from the bottom. _______ I just think it's fun to draw, and I want to get better at it. So I was thinking of trying to make a living off it! And anime is one of my favorite hobbies. I guess I could also imagine myself doing art work for video games or movies, but I don't know if there is an education for that sort of stuff. links or tips would be very much helpful. -Pingo |
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DrizzlingEnthalpy
 Posts: 255 |
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To answer your first question, most people consider "authentic" anime as being from Japan only. Some have said that true anime is determined by style and not country of origin, but I don't know anyone who considers The Boondocks to be anime.
It should seem very obvious that not all American animations are for children. Most cartoons for adults are comedies, though; I can't think of any currently-running cartoon series for adults with a serious nature. For your second question, I am 15 and am hoping for a job in the animation industry, possibly at William's Street to start out with. Technically, I am already an animator as I have made several arguably professional-quality Flash animations that I have made money off of, but I don't really do that for a living. It is computer animation, though, even though many commercial Flash cartoons try to emulate traditionally-drawn cartooning. I'm not sure how long a career a a traditional animator could last in the United States, or if there are many jobs open to that sort right now. I doubt Japan's traditional animation industry is going anywhere, though. For your third question, the requirement to become a professional animator is generally just to be good at animating and to be willing to put time into it. There are college courses you can take and many employers offer classes to help you, but if you are already good enough, they are not mandatory. It would be wise to take them, though. You should assemble a portfolio of some of your best animations to show prospective employers. |
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pingo
Posts: 47 |
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I wish there were some kind of statistics to see if anime and cartoons(stuff like simpsons, family guy and so on) have been in decline or made more popular in the last 5-6 years or so. but thanks for your questions, though im a little confused about what you're saying about flash. So you are making animations in 3d studio max, photoshop, and that sort of stuff, or do you actually draw animations with paper and pencil? 
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afnj
Posts: 34 |
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if your looking to set your feet in the buisness, defenatly go to school for computer imaging and CGI animation. Not to say that hand drawn cartoons don't exist, but almost all animation is CGI now adays. I'm not taling about just 3D animation like toy story or finding nemo a lot of 2D cartoons are computer animated like The Simpsons and South Park along with the majority of present anime.
If your wondering if the buisness with be stong enough to make a killer living, all I have to say is don't do it for the money do it because you love it. if you have to take up a side job to suport your self so be it. if your not up to it than the job isn't for you. |
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DrizzlingEnthalpy
Posts: 255 |
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Although South Park is and always has been animated entirely on the computer, shows such as The Simpsons are drawn traditionally and cleaned up and colored digitally. The same is true for Japanese cartoons now too, actually. There's an interview with GAINAX (can't remember where, but it should be easy to find) where it was mentioned that although they wanted to continue animating traditionally, it was virtually impossible now and that Mahoromatic Season 1 would be their last traditionally-animated series, and that was back in 2001. Mahoromatic Season 2 and their subsequent projects have all still been hand-drawn, but colored and cleaned up digitally like American cartoons. Personally I like the digitally-colored look better, and it is easier to produce.
EDIT: I didn't mean that Mahoromatic Season 2 was GAINAX's first digitally-done anime; that title belongs to Fooly Cooly. FLCL was digitally done, Mahoromatic 1 was tradtional, then Mahoromatic 2 and all subsequent GAINAX projects were digital. |
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Cloe
Moderator
 Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Me too.  Then again, I've never animated the old way, with a big Oxberry animation camera and painted cels.
Pingo, if animation is something you are interested in, don't sweat thinking 10 years down the road; just plan things one step at a time. To be perfectly honest with you, barely any actual traditional animating is going on in American studios. It's almost all outsourced. Most of the jobs available right now in the commercial arena are: -Storyboarding -CGI work (Maya, 3D Studio Max, etc) -Post-production -Producing -Freelance (this is what I do and it consists of being hired by clients to produce either short films of commercials. My last job was for Nickelodeon.) Things for 2D animation in America aren't going so well right now, but I sincerely believe the situation will get better. People will get nostalgia for 2D films again. And we still have a thriving independent scene, and doing well at animation and film festivals will do wonders for promoting your name and work. The advice I would offer you right now: If you like to draw and you're absolutely serious about pursuing animation as a life choice, look into good schools. CALarts is a great one, sure to get you all the connections you need for a successful career, but it's VERY hard to get into. Especially if you don't already have a portfolio. NYU is a good place, as is MCAD. Do a little research and find a program that suits you. Also, animation isn't all about drawing, so don't feel intimidated or anything if you feel your skills aren't up to par. Animation is about movement. If you don't want to go to college right now and begin collecting massive student loans (I don't blame you if you don't!), I'm going to recommend buying this book to learn the basics of animation. Buy some paper and pencils and try to get a piece done, just to see if it's something you like. |
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pingo
Posts: 47 |
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wow! thanks for the info.
But what about the future of animation? Like simpsons, family guy, boondocks... comics? I don't care what field im in. I just want to draw... Though CGI sounds kind of cool. I could just imagine that making CGI movies would be really really hard. |
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Cloe
Moderator
Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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The future is very hard to tell. If you're asking about production work, I don't see any sign of studios that have turned to outsourcing (a la Simpsons, Family Guy, every other TV animation, basically) deciding to animate in-house in the future. Having people in India do the work is cheaper, I guess. 
Don't fret, though. There are some TV animations that are made entirely in house, such as Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, animated by the lovely folks at the Renegade animation studio. The advent of Flash for TV animation and the use of AfterEffects animation has really helped cut costs. I'm trying to get a full-time position at a studio in LA right now, actually, so that type of knowledge is very useful. And I'll actually get to animate! Comics is a great field. There are many wonderful opportunities and I encourage you, along with making an animated piece of your own, to make a mini-comic as well, and see how you like it. I've found that comic jobs have saved me in the past, when there was no freelance animation work available.
If you find yourself at home with CGI, you are quite lucky. There is currently a lot of work available in CGI, mostly in games but also in special effects and commercials. My fiance is a 3D animator at a commercial studio in Minneapolis and he loves it. There is not much drawing in 3D animation, though. Only the conceptual stuff. Then there's modeling, rigging, shading, lighting, and (of course) animation. I never liked doing 3D much myself (which, I'm sure you can imagine, has made it a bit harder for me to find enjoyable work than others); I'm more of a traditional 2D gal.
Big studio CGI films (a la Pixar) are really group projects; the work is broken down and given to so many different people, I'm sure you wouldn't find your job too overwhelming. For short CGI films (a la Rosto), it's a bit harder because you have to do everything yourself, and of course the piece can't be very long or detailed or else it will take years to finish. It's more time-consuming than hard, though. I've made a short 3D film, and although it was a chore to finish (I don't like CGI), it wasn't really that difficult. |
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MRC1
 Posts: 4 Location: Las Vegas, NV |
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Hi Pingo,
If you are interested in animation you may want to look at a few books like The Figure in Motion, also Animals in Motion by Eadweard Muybridege who was the first to time stop studies in late 19 century. These book are available at Dover Publications. Also another good book if it is still in print is The Animation Book New Digital Edition by Kit Laybourne. Also even if all things are going digital you will still need to have a good drawing back ground behind you to animate picture unless you are going to rotoscope the animation which is using actors that are put on video and then animated electronically turn in to basic lines and for the character, it is a timely and costly way to produce animation. Also may be scuplture classes may be needed so you can think in the round for 3D animations and modelling. A program that will not break your pocket book is SWiSH it works alot like Maromedia Flash in stop motion animation but is not programable. One more thing, you might want to look at the interview on the Blue Submarine 6 DVD you will see that the ability to draw, paint and scuplt is needed today and in the future of animation. I hope this help you, MRC1 |
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