Animation Education - There's More Than One Way To Get Yours!

Animation education should start at an early age. Almost all animators started drawing when they were very young, and spent almost every spare hour practicing. In the early days of animation, most of the greats were self taught, and had to work out how to overcome various animation and filmmaking problems on their own. Many of the animators today will be regularly found reviewing old cartoons frame by frame, so that they can work out what the original animators did. They will freeze a frame and then try to recreate it and improve on it if possible. The animation industry is constantly changing, meaning that animators continually have to learn new skills and methods and refine and occasionally rediscover older methods.

Pixar, now one of the greatest animation studios of all time, with a string of successful films over the past 10 years, recognizes that continuing education is of vital importance and has set up a university at their Emeryville, California headquarters. Every member of staff, from the janitors to the CEO are encouraged to attend 4 hours of education classes per week, and any employee is allowed to attend up to 14 hours of modules per week which are counted as part of their normal working hours. There are over 100 modules available covering everything from fine art to a full range of filmmaking courses. This commitment to education is often cited as one of the main reasons for the continued success of Pixar.

Formal animation education can take the form of short 6 weeks crash courses, online courses, part-time campus courses or a full university course resulting in a degree. You will often find that some of the university modules are taught by practicing animators who teach for one or 2 days a week. For example, San Francisco State University has Pixar animators running some of their modules. If you wanted to work for Pixar, then this would be an obvious choice for a university, as it would give you a better opportunity to get noticed. Careful research should allow you to find the perfect course for your particular circumstances.

The importance of a solid animation education can’t be overestimated, as it is very difficult to get a start in the industry. The more qualifications you have, the easier it will be to get an interview. It is worth your while to check out the websites of all the animation studios both large and small, as they will often post career advice and job vacancies on their sites. Another good place to find information, education tips, and advice is the animation forums, where you will often find current employees who are only too happy to give advice about education and career opportunities to enquiring newbies.

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