By Joe Cooper
Animation School Review Columnist

A career in animation can take you in many directions. Your animation school will introduce you to the full range of options. In the meantime, here are three popular areas of animation to consider.

Cartoon Animation

Focusing on 2D animation in animation school (and maybe earning a 2D animation degree) is the best way to become a cartoon animator. If you decide to focus on cartoon animation, you’ll build a background in both sketch illustration and 2D animation software. A wide variety of media employ cartoon animators—you could draw cartoons for newspapers, magazines, online publications, blogs, and animation websites. Others career options include becoming a sketch artist and working in a variety of industries, from fashion to manufacturing to advertising.

Animated TV Series

These are still very popular all over the world, and there are many afternoon and weekend TV spots to fill with new animated series. 2D and Flash animation courses in animation school will give you the background for this specialty, as will storyboarding and animated narrative classes. This field is very competitive, so getting an internship or two under your belt before graduation is a good idea.

Animated Feature Films

Feature animation has revived itself since its decline in the early 90s and emerged as an extremely competitive area of the industry. Computer animation is a large part of feature animation, so take as many 3D and computer animation classes as you can. Learning layering, 3D modeling, and vectors will also help you develop the skills you need to eventually become a character or story artist for an animation studio.

Animation is a popular field, and competition for the top jobs can be fierce. Be sure to prepare for success by developing a thorough skill set and building a network of colleagues and instructors in animation school.

Source

IC Wales

About the Author

Joe Cooper is a freelance education and technology writer and edits medical literature. He holds a bachelor’s in American Literature from UCLA.