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What is it like being an animator/animation student?
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Hi guys, I hope this is in the right place. I'm in this "career development" class and I'm supposed to ask others what they think of their field. In my case i'm interested animation and animation schools and need to gather opinons on what it's like. Hopefully this thread can grow beyond just the questions I have, but I'll see. It would be great if I could get a couple people to answer the questions I wrote below:
:
Name:
Profession/Major:
Education:
(if you currently working)
Job title:
Company:
What type of projects do you work on?
How did you get into an animation school/become an animator?
What do you hate about doing animation?
What do you love about doing animation?
What is a typical day like at work (if employed) ?
What skills do you think are most important?
Any tips to getting a job in animation/ getting into an animation school?
Thank you. :)
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Name: hannah n
Profession/Major: animation
Education: BFA in Animation
What type of projects do you work on? Tutorials/short clips in my spare time, larger projects like short films and video game animations for classes
How did you get into an animation school/become an animator? I personally was more interested in doing comics when i got into school, and when they announced having an Animation degree program for the first time, i joined it figuring it would help me to become a better comic artist. i think it did, but now i am more interested in working in the animation industry.
What do you hate about doing animation? having to be patient and wait to see the finished product.
What do you love about doing animation? seeing everything come together, watching characters come to life
What skills do you think are most important? TIMING, layout/poses
Any tips to getting a job in animation/ getting into an animation school? draw a lot from life, try to capture movement in your work
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(Note: my "H" key is sticking, so sometimes it doesn't work and I write things like "someting" or "tink." I'll try to fix everyting awkward I see in here, but I apologize in advance.)
Name: Isabela Dos Santos
Profession/Major: Experimental Animation BFA (beginning 2nd year in the fall)
Education: Public high school; CalArts
(if you currently working)
Job title: Freelance
Company: projects with YoungArts, Camille A. Brown, and other smaller jobs
What type of projects do you work on? Mainly animations for live performance, which I totally enjoy and am beginning to focus on with my independent projects. I also make my fair share of stand-alone shorts, of any animated medium.
How did you get into an animation school/become an animator? I began animating without really seeing the bigger picture when I was a sophomore in high school, and whatever it was I was doing felt very real and right for me. Once I finished my first short, it became a concrete goal that I could be "an animator." So I kept animating because I wanted to, and kept working hard in high school because I had to, and when it was time I filled out applications to schools and scholarships with everything I had and was proud of, artistic and academic, and let whatever happen happen.
What do you hate about doing animation? Uhm. A lot. There's actually a lot of physical pain from sitting/standing for so long, not sleeping, holding a pencil for days, the ridiculous amount of time it takes for anyting to get done, etc. And of course loads of psychological craziness from not sleeping, from losing perspective of the full project amongst all the frames, from having too much time alone to think, and from having too much time alone in general. And for me personally, I always feel like animation is such a passive art form compared to something like dancing or singing.
What do you love about doing animation? Despite all the planning and billions of frames and details and frustrations, animation at the end of it is actually a very intuitive process, and to see the final product move, it's never something you could've have predicted. It's really beautiful to get to see "life" in something inanimate which you crafted on your own! And it's very wonderful to see how much other people enjoy animated anythings just as much, and to see them have a good experience from your work as well.
What is a typical day like at work (if employed) ? For work and for school: depends on the stage of production. During the heat of things, throughout the day I do day-time things like eat, run errands, go to classes if applicable, I talk to anybody I can to get my thougts straight about what I'm working on, try to nap. Then all night and into the morning, I sit/stand in one place and animate.
What skills do you think are most important? Having a soul, I think. Wanting to express that, whatever it may be for you, so that you make art with intent if that's what you're hoping to get out of being an animator. And then: Patience, determination, understanding of physics, and basic technical skills like using pencils and cameras and computers.
Any tips to getting a job in animation/ getting into an animation school? Nobody can tell you what to do to make "good art," so you just have to go with your gut. Be as technically adept as you can without losing your uniqueness, and always stay honest with your intentions whilst being smart about how society works. I was lucky to be part of the YoungArts program in my senior year of high school, which as helped me get to where I am in art and in life. But it's still down to the decisions I make, and the effort I put in, and the dreams I follow, and the person I am. You just kinda' go with it!
Hope that helps. :)
This post was edited by Isabela Dos Santos at June 4, 2012 9:16:02 PM PDT -
