How to Become an Animator

Max the Mutt Animation School – Background Painting

Animation is becoming more and more popular, and is a great way for artists to use their talents in fun and enjoyable careers. Even though they don’t work in galleries, animators are still artists. Their canvass can be seen in films, cartoons and video games.

Your day-to-day tasks will include:

• Creating and producing new ideas, using the drawing board
• Assessing the layout of scripts and creating the best visual images
• Adding color and soundtrack to pieces of animation
• Making 3-D computer generated images
• Working free hand on 2-D traditional drawings

What do I need to start with:

Talent and passion for drawing are a must. You need to have the right attitude and ambition to be able to imagine a project, plan and create it and then be able to see it through to the final stages of production.

What will I study:

You will start with classical animation courses combined with drawing classes. You will quickly learn the basics of cartooning, character design, a sequence of visual language, storytelling and storyboarding, drawing for animation, acting, background painting and background design.

You can study at schools such as:

• Herzing College
• Max the Mutt Animation School
• The Art Institute – Vancouver

Where the jobs are:

Canada is known for its content creation. It has been estimated that over half of the software used in Hollywood was developed in Canada. It is also a major player in the video game industry, with the home of Electronic Arts based in Burnaby.

So just because you go into animation doesn’t mean there is a need to work in film, you could move to games, books, comics and so on. There are also many jobs in music and advertising.