How can i be an animator? Please help?

Question

I would like to be an animator for cartoons/3d animated films or tv shows. But i dont know what course at college id have to take or how long the coure would be.

And how long does it take to become really good at using 3d animation software.

ANY information will help.

And you will get 10 points too :)

Answer 1

You will do a three-year college course in either traditional (2D) or computer (3D) animation. It's important that you decide which of these you want to study, as they require different skills and trying to learn both to a professional standard is too much for anyone to handle! :) Traditional animation requires strong drawing skills and a good ability to make fast gesture drawings. With computer animation, drawing skills definitely help, but you also need to be comfortable working with computers and learning to use complex software.

How long it takes to learn 3D software is subjective - you will find yourself doing very basic animations (eg simple shapes) almost immediately, but it takes a few years to learn all the modelling, rigging and animating concepts to a level that you will produce work to a professional standard (you should find yourself around that point in your final year). The software is so detailed that you could learn it for years and years and still not know everything about it, but the point is just to learn what you need to produce what you want to do - the industry has specialists (character animators, facial animators, 3D effects animators, etc) in different departments who all know their different aspects of the software best.

You would usually take an internship with an animation company either during (making it a 4 year sandwich course) or after your degree, which would help you get into the industry. Look for art schools in your area - see if you can find one which specialises in or has a good reputation for animation, and gather some prospectuses and look though the course descriptions.

A guide to some good animation schools in the US:

http://www.animationarena.com/best-anima...

You may find some of the other articles on that website useful also.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Depending on where you live some places have actual courses for this career. Like here in Ontario there's colleges that have animation and illustration classes. They would be your best bet, if you can find them :)