How do you find the best jobs in the animation industry?

Are you an aspiring animator? With the rise in demand for visual content and consequently – artists and visual creators – it’s important for young aspirants to know where to begin and what path to tread on.

Are you fond of colors, shapes, fascinating diagrams & structures, cool motion graphics, and computers? The animation industry is looking for talent like you to help them rule the world! There are 3D animation courses which will transform students into experts.

A couple of decades back, this was all a wishy-washy dream of a high-school nerd.

In the 21st century – it’s a practical and lucrative career option for many.

If you have an inclination to create, design, and bring imagination a little bit closer to reality, read further. Find out how to get the best jobs in the animation industry. Get paid for what you would love doing for life!

Here are few ways to help you get a job in animation and design-

1. Have a strong portfolio website

A secret sauce for success in any creative career today is building a portfolio.

And the best way to showcase it is by building a well-designed website that speaks for your abilities. Remember these points while creating a website portfolio for a career in animation:

• Know your strengths and then double down on them. For eg, if you are great at 3D design or character creation. Have a centerpiece of the website as a character animation- weave a cool story that engages the viewer.
• Share this website throughout your network. After you have made your portfolio website, spread the word! Ask your friends, family, colleagues, and their acquaintances to share, retweet, email, and DM their network.

Roshni Karuppiah: Student’s Portfolio

2. Create a showreel

Showreel or demo-reel is basically a trailer to the full repertoire of animation skills you possess.

They represent your strengths and best bets concisely to companies and prospects. And that creates and brings opportunities, offers & interviews for a job or position in animation, design and VFX.

Make a showreel of your best work till date and place it at the top of your website. Showreels help the animation studios or hiring professionals to glance quickly & know your specialties, abilities, and potential.

Student Artwork

3. Experiment & practice with the software

Many seasoned animation professionals use more premium and high-end software like Maya, Unity, and Adobe Animate.

Yet you can get some hands-on experience by experimenting with beginner-friendly options like Moho, Stop Motion Studio, or Blender.

Through this, you’ll start feeling comfortable with the myriad of basic controls, features, and components in animation software. Later when you get access to the high-end software, it’ll be easier to navigate and learn further.

4. Find a specialized institute

Many experienced professionals who are working today in the industry have opened special training institutes. These small, specialized workshops and schools are way more effective at teaching practical knowledge than a big-name college.

Also, as the teachers in these institutes are currently working in the industry, they teach their students how to apply the learnings in real-life. And getting internships, job offers, and placements is much easier due to the industry exposure & connections.

5. Opportunities and job prospects

Coming back to the meat of the matter, are there enough job opportunities in animation? Yes, you’ll find that animation is becoming a need for almost every industry today.

Even though major animation projects are signed by the gaming, media & entertainment sectors; industries like manufacturing, architecture, and even healthcare & education can’t do well without the help of animation and design talent on board.

Huge media conglomerates in Japan, China, Singapore, and Korea are always looking for the best talent in animation. Atari, SEGA, Ubisoft, Gameloft, DreamWorks, Disney, Sony, Imax, EA, Lucasfilm are only a few of the popular studios that outsource talent from their Asian divisions for world-class games and movies.

In Conclusion

The animation industry has been booming since the advent of technology. And the increasing accessibility of high-end devices in the hands of common people has created even more opportunities.

Even though COVID-19 might have affected many industries, animation has stayed strong in many aspects. Don’t stop your job hunt. Keep applying to the suitable offers and possibilities will knock on your door.

In fact, in the wake of the pandemic; the industry has witnessed more demand.

The advertising industry is trying to bank fast on the AR abilities of the apps and high-end animation capabilities it needs to engage consumers in closed spaces.

To grab the best job opportunities, keep honing, and diversifying your skill set and knowledge about the field. Get working on small projects, freelancing, internships, and build your portfolio over time.

As you get more and more work done, somebody from the industry or a cool studio will pop up in your network. Then leverage that lead and grab that opportunity. Keep learning, stay updated, and experiment as much as you can.

Short Movie: The No Good Do Gooder

How does MAGES help you?

If you’re passionate about creating worlds for games, films and more – that excite, engage and inspire people – you definitely want to begin at a place that accommodates your needs, ambitions, and more specifically, industry-relevant knowledge.

At MAGES, we pride on creating programs that help develop industry-relevant skills.

For this, we have a coterie of mentors who have extensive experience in the game and film industry. Creative careers flourish with freedom, passion, and the right guidance that comes from staying at the top of everything that is happening in the industry – now.

And the best part is – it’s affordable.

So, when do you want to begin your journey?