Career in Animation: Answering All Your Questions

A career in animation is one of the best decisions you can make right now. The industry was already booming, with Disney, Marvel, and virtually every other animation giant outsourcing their work to India. From films to advertisements to OTT (think: Netflix, Hotstar, Prime Video) series, there are plenty of job opportunities in both 2D and 3D animation.

 

What qualifications are needed for a career in animation?

You have three choices to start a career in animation.

  1. Get a graduate degree in animation.
  2. Get a diploma in animation.
  3. Join a certified course like the one offered by Arena Animation.

In India, a bachelor’s degree in animation is rare. BFA is more common, but itis not particularly helpful. A diploma or a certified course from a leading animation institute in Kolkata is an intelligent choice. They are shorter.

A fast-track animation and film design course is 24 months long, while a graduate degree is 3 years long. Moreover, a certified course costs less, and you are eligible for admission right after passing school. Plus, there are no stream restrictions. Students of arts, science or commerce can apply.

Wondering which animation institute is the best for you? Hop over here.

 

What are the job options in animation?

A single animation film or a movie that uses VFX can need as many as 500 qualified people. That means employment opportunities are huge. You could be asked to work on motion graphics: those moving images you see during a film’s introduction credits. You could be required to work on pre-visualisation. That’s creating digital models of sets.

And it is not just movies, or shows where you can find a job as an animator. A few other sectors would be:

Medical Insurance Data Visualisation
Education Architecture Software Publishing
Marketing Computer Systems Design Advertisements

 

The types of job roles you can find after a course from the best animation institute are:

  • Character designer: Bring characters to life through traditional and stop-motion animation.
  • Storyboard artist: Visualise the entire series of events from one animation frame to another.
  • Background artist: Paint the background of the characters.
  • Compositor: Bring together all the characters and backgrounds into a single frame.
  • Visual effects artist: Blend computer-generated images with live-action footage.
  • Lighting artist: Create distinct shades, shadows, and colour intensities.
  • Layout artist: Plan the camera angles and lighting, as well as the background design.
  • Texturing artist: Create the surface of a 3D modelled environment, object or character.
  • 2D animator: Draw multiple, separate drawings for an animated sequence.
  • 3D animator: Put life into sculpted, textured, and rigged 3D models.
  • Rigging artist: Set a modelled, textured 3D object or character with a skeletal system so that it can talk or move.
  • Rendering artist: Produce the right blend by combining models, textures, animation, and lighting in each frame.

Want to know more about awesome animation jobs and what they do? Swing by here.

 

What salary to expect after studying at an animation institute?

As one of the leading animation institutes in Kolkata, we’ve placed students with top animation companies like Toonz and Maya. Our past students also work with:

Crest Animation Studio Prana Studios DreamWorks
Discovery Channel Red Chillies Entertainment Prasad EFX
Google India Reliance Media Works Paprikaas Animation Studios

 

The actual pay you will get after completing an animation course depends on the job description, your skill level, and your experience.Here’s what you can expect:

Profile Average Range
Animator ₹520,037/year ₹290K – ₹630K
Compositor ₹307,432/year ₹184K – ₹823K
Layout artist ₹350,000/year ₹236K – ₹568K
Rigging artist ₹516,009/year ₹253K – ₹612K
Texturing & lighting artist ₹318,950/year ₹132K – ₹480K
3D modeller ₹316,723/year ₹258K – ₹375K
Rotoscoping artist ₹168,366/year ₹120K – ₹228K
Matchmoving artist ₹504,000/year ₹468K – ₹888K

What skills are required for a career in animation?

We’ve spoken about animation skills in detail before. But, in a gist, you need a mix of technical skills and creativity. The first is important because most animation is now created through software. A good animation institute will teach you how to use them. The second is important because a great animator must be able to express ideas through drawings.

When applying for an animation job, here’s what companies look for in your CV:

  • Problem-solving
  • Time management
  • Attention to detail
  • Interpersonal skills
  • Solid communication
  • Excellent visual imagination
  • Good colour and other aesthetic sense

As an experienced animation institute in Kolkata, we leave you with one piece of advice. Gain some work experience. It will develop your technical and interpersonal skills. The experience need not be with a huge animation studio.

An internship where you make a short-animated ad or a side project where you build an animated website for an NGO. All of them are equally helpful and make your CV stand out.

Thinking of starting a career in animation? Begin here.