We would hardly find any child in this world who does not love Mickey Mouse, who does not roll on the floor with laughter by watching the naughtiness of Tom and Jerry. Children strongly believe that the imaginary superheroes like superman, batman, Spiderman, Chota Bheem would come and rescue them from any kind of troubles. Every child now a day dreams of making Doremon his friend so that he could save them from doing home works and their angry mothers.
Not only the children but the audience of every age group hold their breath when dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, giant Anaconda and sinking Titanic ship appear of the screen. The list of these characters does not end here. We as a child used to believe that the characters were real but when we grew up we realized that none of them could come out of our TV/film screens. Have you ever wondered who are they who made our childhood so awesome and till now give us thrilling experiences through various films and series? They are the animators who put life into these characters.
The animation is sometimes misunderstood with cartooning. Cartoons are the caricatures of characters with some distinct subtleties which are drawn to evoke a sense of comedy. Whereas animation is the blending of art and technology with which the objects are brought to life and shown real on a screen.
Animation industry across the world is growing at a rapid pace and creating working avenues for millions. If you are also interested in this field then this article will give you a brief idea about animation as a career option.
Eligibility:
To pursue a career in animation, the courses that one can go after completing 10+2 is a graduate degree or diploma in animation like B.A in Animation, B.Sc in Animation, Bachelor in Fine Arts (BFA), Diploma in Animation and various Certificate Courses. One must have qualified 10+2 from a recognized board with at least 45% marks to become eligible for these courses. A bachelor’s degree in animation and the BFA is of three-year duration and the duration of diploma course in animation varies from six-months to one- and-a-half-years.
Is it the right career for you??
A Good animator must be very creative and must possess certain skills and qualities. If you have the following qualities then this the right career option for you:
- Creativity
- Zeal and imagination
- Drawing and sketching skill
- Ability to convert human, bird and animal expressions and movements into animation
- Good visualization skills and flair for using colours
- Patience, hard work and dedication
- Ability of multitasking
- Good communication skills (because it’s teamwork)
Top Institutions Offering Courses in Animation and VFX:
- National Institute Of Film And Fine Arts
- St. Xavier's College
- Maya Institute Of Advanced Cinematic (MAAC)
- Arena Animation
- F X School
- Picasso Animation College
- Mayabious Academy
- Toonz Academy
- Zee Institute of Creative Art (ZICA)
- Whistling Woods International Institute
Future prospect of this career:
These days India has become a hub of this industry because of its potential to produce world-class animations which were once dominated by the West. The demand for animation and special effect has become insatiable in Television, film and advertising industry. Moreover, the boom in this industry has also spilt over the mobile and computer gaming industries. Western animation companies also rely on India for outsourcing animation because of India’s good foundation of communicating in the English language, cost benefits, good infrastructure and excellent qualities of work. The animation is a lucrative profession in which within a span of three to five years you can become a senior animator and can earn a monthly salary of Rs.30,000 to Rs.40,000 at the beginning. If someone is experienced and creative and get a chance to work in good projects then he/she can earn even more than 1 lakh. Being an animator one can probably work as a:
- 2 D Animator
- 3 D Animator
- Key Frame Animator
- Image Editor
- Layout Artist
- Lighting Artist
- Story Board Artist
- Clean Up Artist
- Rigging Artist
- Background Artist
- Modeller
- Character Animator
- Texture Artist
- Rendering Artist
- Digital Ink and Paint Artist
