Online Animation Schools - Not An Easy Route, But A Viable One
Attending an online animation school may be one way of trying to get a good animation job. Unfortunately, there are no easy ways to make it as an animator anymore. The big studios and games companies receive thousands of applications from highly qualified graduates each year. They're able to pick and choose from the best talent. However, some of them do realize that not everyone can attend a major animation school, and frequently do take notice of promising graduates from some of the online schools. If there is no possible way for you to attend a regular campus course, either through budget restraints or family commitments, then you may well consider looking at one of the online animation courses - but you need to choose your course with care.
In addition to the basic animation training, you need to choose a school that will allow you to complete a show reel. A show reel is a portfolio of your work. You’ll need to include your best work and ensure it is of the absolute top quality, because if it’s not you won’t even get an interview. Make sure that the college can help you produce it, as it can be expensive to transfer the reel to video. The second thing you should look at is whether or not the college can arrange some intern assignments for you where you can work with an animator. Not only are you there to work, you are there to network. If you can impress the animator during your internship, it may be one further way of getting your first job in animation.
You should check out the online schools as much as possible before you sign up. Try to get details of past students who have successfully passed the course and landed good jobs. If possible, try to see the show reels of recent students and make sure that these are high quality reels. Ask around animation forums for reviews and comments about the course. Make sure the course material is good and up to date. The animation business is fast moving, and techniques and tools that were state of the art 2 years ago are, in many cases, antiquated now.
If you are going to take a course provided by an online animation school, you must make sure that you will have time to complete each week’s assignments. Nothing will put you off animation as quickly as knowing that an assignment has to be done today, even though you have just come home after a hard day at work. By choosing the right school you will give yourself the best chance of making it as an animator.
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