animation as a career

[tapehead]

I've been curious about choosing animation as a career, however there aren't many articles or websites dealing with the subject, so I decided to come here and ask some of the people here who do it for a living.
What degrees or where should you study to become an animator?
Where should you start once you get a degree?
Do you work on the industry or do you freelance?
Is animation enough to make a living?
is it possible to become an animator if you study something unrelated like history or engineering?
Are you happy you became an animator?
Is it possible to like drawing cartoons but not art?
Are the requirements for becoming an animator for the game industry different than the standard?
What are the branches of animators?
You don't have to answer all the questions ofcource and anyone who believes to have information on the subject is welcome to answer.

[Sekhem]

it's enough to make a living, just don't expect to live in a mansion

[XD0042006]

Animation could definetly work as an career. I would just have another job in mind just in case it doesn't work out. I would just run out of imagination.

[l0vemetal]

Nobody's given this poor kid an answer yet?

Try Google, man. Or post something about it on Yahoo Answers. Doesn't seem like the NG populous is willing to give up much info (obviously), and it seems like a lot of them are people who don't take it seriously, or just do it as a hobby.

Also, for reference on becoming an animator, just watch Freddy Got Fingered.

[EKublai]

It's starting to get really competitive in terms of jobs animation. With the big business animation is getting animators have more freedom to demand higher wages they're getting them since unlike stuff that can be outsourced, in a movie what you SEE is what you get.

[Mizar]

Ask some of the more experianced animators. Their stuff is on the front page.

Actually, you know what? Egoraptor got recognized for his work and has a job with MTV. So it can happen.

[F00D]

At 2/25/08 10:43 PM, tapehead wrote: I've been curious about choosing animation as a career, however there aren't many articles or websites dealing with the subject, so I decided to come here and ask some of the people here who do it for a living.

i don't do it for a living but i'm trying to get into the industry so i know a thing or two about it

What degrees or where should you study to become an animator?

it doesn't matter. in the animation industry, you get hired based on your portfolio or your animation reel. if you want a job, your best bet is to put together your best material and show it to a studio.
if you wanted an actual degree in animation, the best places to look would be art schools like ringling or calarts. those are extremely competitive and expensive though. the way i'm doing it is taking animation classes in the UCLA film school. if i get accepted to the film school this spring, i will end up a film major with an emphasis on animation. USC has a good animation school too, but fuck USC they are pieces of shit. im not very familiar with animation programs outside of southern CA, except maybe vancouver film school... i heard theyre good

Where should you start once you get a degree?

depends on your expertise. if you're good at flash animation, it would be wise to go into an internet based job. if you're good at traditional animation, you might wanna check into a studio like pixar or film roman (does the simpsons). if you're good at 3D computer animation, you might wanna look into pixar or a similar studio. those are the cream of the crop, there are countless smaller companies that you should probly work in first. and freelancing aint a bad idea either

Do you work on the industry or do you freelance?

i do freelance flash work for websites but i would like to be working in the industry

Is animation enough to make a living?

barely. animators need to be prepared to work in borderline slave labor conditions for less than the pay they deserve. but at least you'll have fun doing your job

is it possible to become an animator if you study something unrelated like history or engineering?

yes. like i said, portfolio is all that matters

Are you happy you became an animator?

ask me in 10 years

Is it possible to like drawing cartoons but not art?

absolutely

Are the requirements for becoming an animator for the game industry different than the standard?

no clue

What are the branches of animators?

too many to list, but i touched on some of them above. flash, traditional, 3D, stop motion, anime (blegh), video games, motion graphics, etc etc

[joshylikes2smash]

of coarce you can do it as a career, just look at Tom. He's rich.

[Mizar]

At 2/25/08 11:30 PM, joshylikes2smash wrote: of coarce you can do it as a career, just look at Tom. He's rich.

I wonder how much NG is worth.

[XD0042006]

At 2/25/08 11:32 PM, Mizar wrote:

At 2/25/08 11:30 PM, joshylikes2smash wrote: of coarce you can do it as a career, just look at Tom. He's rich.

I wonder how much NG is worth.

Some million dollars.

[Mizar]

At 2/25/08 11:34 PM, XD0042006 wrote:

At 2/25/08 11:32 PM, Mizar wrote:

At 2/25/08 11:30 PM, joshylikes2smash wrote: of coarce you can do it as a career, just look at Tom. He's rich.

I wonder how much NG is worth.

Some million dollars.

Tom could sell it, but then again, whoever he sold it to would probably fuck it up.

[willobeen]

Are the requirements for becoming an animator for the game industry different than the standard?

yes, file size comes into play.