Any Aspiring Animators? (Or Breaking Into Animation?)

[L4213]

woah, a lot of comic artists here on tapastic are animation students too huh XD

im also an animation student too actually! its kinda motivating to hear that comics are a good portfolio for animation! pretty rad!

i've also been meaning to make my own independent animations (like the things you see in newgrounds) but im still getting the hang of animation programs, getting used to SAI, Flash is just hell for lineart :X (i've switched over to TVpaint but i miss a lot of Flash's innovative features.)

[DoodleDamage]

Yeah, there's not much "actual animation" work in the US so storyboarding really is the way to go. (It always pays more too. Animation is still considered "grunt" work.)

Storyboarding definitely is hard and usually I'm

Ah thank you very much!! I've actually started a comic recently http://tapastic.com/episode/149746 Not done in a traditional way, but it it is helping a lot with figuring out angles and such ^_^!! I hope I'll be better in the future. Also wow this is a very useful link ; v ; thank you!!!

[Strontium]

I'm actually at a crossroads of a decision now in my life, as I've only got one year left of college, and it's always been my ambition to go to art graduate school and get my masters in animation. However, I've heard a particular comic artist say they wished they hadn't wasted the time in animation school because all they do now is comics, and enjoy the medium more, and also, the stuff I'd like to do in animation isn't necessarily the grunt animating part, but more of the storyboarding and character designing stuff, which plays into making comics. So I need to decide if I want to pursue animation as my masters, or instead go with sequential art, since I already make a comic, and maybe I should just stick to that? Would I even have enough time to work on my comic if I was in animation school?

Televisions cartoons are a huge inspiration for me, and I pattern my own comic off cartoons and the way they're formatted. Ultimately I don't know if i want to gamble for a job out west (which, incidentally, I can't see myself enjoying living in southern California; I'm from the Midwest) and fulfill a dream of making a cartoon show or stick to comics, which I'm only continuing to get better at, and the marketplace for comics is growing as of late.

Since you're in the animation business, what can you tell me? Any advice on what to do? I'm going to meet with someone from the art school I'd like to attend (SAIC; I'm from Chicago) to talk about their masters programs, but it'd be helpful to get insight from someone actually in the trade.

[sarahj156]

Hnnnngggg.... Yeah. College. That's a tricky thing. Honestly, I'd really have to say a masters in animation is... probably... a waste of money. You don't even need a college degree to work in the animation business. Your portfolio is what gets you the job, not what college you go to (although a degree from CalArts will give you an edge.) And yes, there's almost no actual animation done in the US. It's all outsourced. The main jobs are storyboarders/revisionists and then the design jobs - prop, background, characters, color stylists.

I'm not sure financially what your situation is, BUT if you don't have to take out loans for college, animation could be fun! It is also lots of work. If you want the knowledge of making your own animated shorts and learning the principals then it could be worth it. Really it's up to you and how you want to spend time/money. Personally, for me I could never consider more school other than my BFA because of the massive loans I already have. But everyone's situation is different. Just pleeeeaaaaassseee be really careful if you're doing more school and have to take out loans for it.

Also, I am from Michigan! I also love the midwest and Southern Cali is.... Southern Cali. It's hot and dry and I miss my great lakes and trees! But I love my job and the people I work with and it all makes it very much worth it. I certainly don't see myself living here forever. I certainly prefer having real seasons and not just "hot or pleasant" all year. I think moving and living in new places is a great thing. There's no harm in giving it a try, you can always pick up and leave. So I'll put in my time here and build my career and maybe someday I'll be talented and trusted enough to work remotely from wherever I want to live. (I know some great storyboard artists that work remotely now because they did good work here first.)

[Ronofthemill]

Just trying to get a start in animation right now. Working on a free trial of Toon Boom Harmony and doing a decent enough job figuring it out as I go. I really just want to tell stories and I know a video is a great way to do that now a days. I'm also working on some live action projects but the idea of no costumes/locations/sets makes my mouth water.

Is there a style of animation that the industry is trending towards? It seems like during the Hannah-Barbara era (heh that rhymes) everyone had a similar style. Then more recently with Cartoon Network's "Cartoon Cartoon" this was still the case where shows like Dexter's Lab looked a lot like Power Puff Girls and so on. Today there is so much variation in the way artists animate a show. I look at the vast differences between The Amazing World of Gumball, Teen Titans Go, and Adventure Time. I just wonder if there is a style that seems more prevalent from the industry side.

And thanks for taking questions, this is super cool of you.

[sarahj156]

I think the trend of the animation industry right now is that they don't want to look like anything else. So everything really is stylistically different across the board.

If anything, maaaaybe tube arms (like in Adventure Time) is a bit of a trend. Not having defined elbows and joints most of the time.

[PocketFloral]

Ah just wanted to say thanks for making this discussion it has been really informative! I'm starting my Animation BFA in the fall and am already trying to think of all the stuff I should be doing to start building my web presence and skills (ie kinda one of the reasons I'm starting a webcomic ). Anyways I was just wondering if you did an internship in your junior year and like your general experience with it?

[sarahj156]

Yes! I did have an internship the summer between Junior/Senior. I interned through The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. They set me up at Film Roman which produces shows like "King of the Hill" and "Simpsons." I was on the show "The Goode Family" which only went for.. maybe 13 episodes? But it was a great experience and I learned really how TV Animation works... which going back to college made me realize none of my professors had a clue how to train us for industry jobs. It was a big eye-opener.

I HIGHLY encourage getting an internship when you can. The people you meet could be very crucial to landing your first job post school. Hopefully, you can get a paid internship but if you can swing an unpaid one, I would recommend going for it.

[pTerra9]

i went to college for animation but my first love is comics now, i would love to get involved in storyboarding as it is a huge favourite check out my comics here
Blood Bank

[Illegal_Sunday_Whale]

I'm just out of high school and I want to animate someday. I'm just starting though and I have no idea what I'm doing.

[sarahj156]

Just keep going! Haha, I was totally clueless going into animation as well!

[ORO8ORO]

Yo! Sometimes I like to do animations, but I do this for fun, I think.
I'm trying to do comics right now here on Tapastic, and sometimes I pretend to do animated panels.

If you like to see, here's some animations I did: http://joaomausson.blogspot.com/p/animacoes.html

(Sorry for any mistake, English isn't my native language 'xD Wish I could discuss a bit more, but this limits me x_x')

[myung]

Woot! Another animator. I interned at Nick on Foster's Home a long time ago. But right now I'm doing animation and tech art in the game industry. I worked at a few game studios including Electronic Arts for several years and now I'm working in mobile. I agree, comics are a great way to either hone your story telling skills, or build a nice portfolio. Good luck with your work!

[covalentKairanityke]

I tried my hand at rotoscope once .w. Didn't go as well as I thought it did, but I'll probably be improving myself at some point...
I'm really curious about traditional animation though, the process they use for Disney cartoons or high budget anime.

[heartshapedlips]

i'm planning to apply and attend the animation workshop in denmark when i'm finished with school in 2 years! i'm gonna do the character animation course for 3 and a half years but i haven't planned on what to do next since that's still 5 years away

[sarahj156]

Rotoscoping is very time consuming, but such is all animation I guess! Traditional animation would still be the same kind of principals - frame by frame!

[sarahj156]

yeah you have lots of time! No need to rush but I'm sure you'll have fun! Cool to know what you're going to do when out of school already!

[heartshapedlips]

yeah it's the only thing that keeps me going i really hate the school i'm in right now ^^
what school did you go to or where did you learn to storyboard?

[TristanJensen]

Animation has been a huge interest of mine for a while. I actually developed the style for my first comic based on character sketched for an animated cartoon that never really got off the ground called "Room 314".
It was basically going to be about a bunch of... "uniquely insane" people in an apartment complex but do incredibly stupid things (like go back in time, let Mitt Romney win and turn america into a apocalyptic hell hole, stuff like that). I'm hoping to start on it again when i get the chance.
But to be honest I've only done animation 5 or six times in my life, most are on youtube, and one I made a gif of .I probably won't attempt to make it again for a long time.

[sarahj156]

I went to the Rochester Institute of Technology (in Rochester, NY.) And I would not recommend it to anyone. I mean... maybe it's changed but all my professors were completely out of touch with how the animation industry works now. They were more focused on making us all indie animators... and I wanted to work in a studio. I learned "the basics" of storyboarding at my college but really it's just been independently learning and studying since I graduated. Downloading and studying every storyboard .pdf I could really helped when it came to getting my job on Fairly OddParents. And for episodes I couldn't find the storyboards for, I would watch and then sketch out each shot and pose, to get a feel of how/when it cuts.