6 Signs You Should Be Working in Animation
You spend all day doodling, sketching, and making up exciting stories and adventures for your original characters. Every time you watch a cartoon or animated movie, you think of the techniques used to draw each character, animal, and object. If this sounds like you, you may have a calling as an animator.
What does an animator do?
Animators are the ones responsible for creating and designing animation and visual effects for various types of media, using computer software. Many animators work in the motion picture and video industry, video game design, or within the creative department for mobile devices. These professionals often conceptualize their animations by drawing storyboards, designing characters, and figuring out how they would move based on real-life. For a large majority of animated motion pictures, video games, television shows, commercials, and other media, the goal is to come up with realistic designs and animations that bring the story to life in an immersive fashion.
Within this fast-growing industry, the role of an animator is constantly evolving as technology advances. Some common tasks of an animator may include:
- Drawing storyboards
- Creating frames
- Collaborating with clients and the production team
- Designing characters
- Using computer software
- Creating realistic models of characters and environments
- Researching industry trends and developments
Learning the necessary skills to be successful as an animator takes time, practice, and the proper education. You can advance your skills and get a competitive edge by pursuing a graduate certificate in animation essentials online from NJIT. With it’s flexible class offerings, you’ll gain crucial concepts and techniques needed for your design process, while still being able to work and tend to family responsibilities.
6 Signs you should be working in animation
Now that you know a little bit more about what an animator does in the office, it’s time to find out if you have all the signs that point to a career in animation:
1) You have an artistic eye
From playing with finger paints everyday as a kid, to drawing sketches on your homework, you’ve always been attracted to creating elaborate pictures and have the astounding ability to easily design something aesthetically pleasing. While just about anyone can draw a stick figure or color in a coloring book, it takes a special artistic eye to bring designs to life.
Animators must be incredibly attentive to detail when storytelling through an artistic medium. Having a strong artistic eye can make the difference between an amateur and an elevated work of art.
2) Deep concentration comes naturally for you
When something interests you, you have absolutely no problem sitting down, getting in the zone, and giving that subject your full undivided attention. Believe it or not, mastering the skill of concentration can be a struggle for some. However, if you have spent hours focusing on a single task with ease, you’ll likely excel as an animator.
A lack of deep concentration can put you at risk of missing critical details, or going over time and budget. Being able to lock into your task allows you to catch errors, ensure the series of animations move seamlessly, and complete assignments by the deadline.
Use your professional skills of concentration to help guide you through earning your graduate certificate online from NJIT in animation essentials — you’ll get more out of your certificate program when you have a high level of focus, giving you the chance to absorb every last bit of information.
3) You’re naturally curious
During the day when things slow down, and you’re home without anything to do, you don’t just sit on the couch and mindlessly scroll through social media. Instead, you go through your long lists of interests, start a new hobby, and find that your mind is constantly buzzing with new ideas and concepts. Those who never get bored because they’re always interested in trying new things, make for excellent animators. Curiosity expands the creativity and depth of an animator’s storytelling process.
Being curious as a cat doesn’t just help with the actual content and animations you’re designing. When you’re constantly trying to push the limits and think of new, innovative ideas, the outcome can be astonishing. This could be applied to the technology used to design, storytelling, and so much more.
4) You have strong analytical skills
Not sure if you have strong analytical skills? Think about what you do in everyday life, and when problems occur. Do you rely on rationale when overcoming an obstacle? Does logic drive your decision making? Are you inquisitive and curious about how things work? If you answered yes to these, you’re probably an analytical thinker. The term “analytical thinking” is most often associated with science, but it’s also a key skill for animators to have.
Because animation is heavily intertwined with the digital world, using technology as a tool for success is non-negotiable. You should have a deep understanding of the foundations of technology so you can use the animation software to the best of your ability. Even though animation is not real life, animations still have to move smoothly by using the law of physics.
5) You’re witty with a great sense of humor
During family dinners, you take every opportunity to joke around and make everyone laugh. When choosing a film for movie night, you always pick a hilarious blockbuster that leaves you in tears of laughter. You use body language, facial expressions and gestures to add another layer of fun to your jokes. Sound familiar? If so, use your excellent sense of humor to your advantage while working as an animator.
Great animation encompasses a combination of emotional empathy and a sense of humor to create something that fully engages the viewer and captivates their mind. Animators who have a natural sense of humor, body language, and facial expressions can typically exaggerate these visual cues and translate them into the animation.
6) You’re passionate about your craft
No matter what the job is, if you’re not passionate about your art, you may hinder yourself from growing and excelling. If you get excited when you think about starting a new project, will never sign something you aren’t proud of, view a challenging task as a rewarding opportunity, and are obsessed with getting better every day, you can be sure that you’ll love your job as an animator.
Passion gives you purpose, and when it comes to animation, you must be willing to take every chance you get to gain experience to make outstanding designs. Without passion, it can be hard to stay motivated, especially in the early stages of your career. Show off your passion with your ePortfolio by including strong pieces of art that express your desire to work as an animator.
Turn your passion into a paycheck with NJIT
Now you’re probably wondering how you can go from designing animations on your computer during your free time, to creating stunning works of art for top media companies around the world. Well, if you find that you check off the boxes of the characteristics that an animator should have, the next step is to hone in on your talent by furthering your education and knowledge of animation design.
At NJIT, you can learn all about animation career information, and the skills needed to succeed as a professional in this area. Don’t wait to get started, and listen to the signs telling you to apply to the animation essentials graduate certificate!