Career in Animation

What:  A career in animation and gaming is a popular trend nowadays. Animation is an emerging field where one can explore his or her creativity or power of imagination. It has not just remained in the periphery of movies and advertisements as the use of animation is being done in different kinds of professional fields.

In spite of the recent global economic crises, animation industry across the world has continued to grow at a rapid pace. In India too, despite its late entry, the animation industry is on the path of expansion and ready to experience a prolonged period of boom. What is more exciting is the fact that this industry would give employment to thousands of prospective 2-D and 3-D animators every year. This boom is further going to be fuelled by the outsourcing of animation project work by Disney and other animation giants to India.

Animation is a satisfying and lucrative profession and is attracting youngsters in droves towards it. Professionals new to this industry generally work in the capacity of junior animators in animation studios and production houses. The starting pay package of these animators can be in a range or Rs.10, 000 to Rs.15, 000 per month. Within a span of three to five years you can become a senior animator and command a monthly salary as much as Rs.30, 000 to Rs.40, 000. If you are really creative and have been a part of some innovative projects you can bag a pay cheque in excess of Rs.55, 000.

How: If you have oodles of creativity, then yes, this is the right career option for you. For being a good animator you need to possess a great deal of zeal and imagination. You must be good at drawing and sketching. An understanding of human, bird and animal expressions and movement is very important part of animation as it will help you express the characters you create in the most appropriate way.

A Bachelor in Fine Arts (BFA) is also a very important course to step in the animation arena. A bachelor’s degree in animation and the BFA are three-year courses whereas the diploma course in animation varies in the range of six-months to one- and-a-half-years. For doing a diploma or degree in animation, the eligibility criteria includes a 10+2 from a recognised board with at least 45% marks

Where: The best way to pursue a career in animation is by getting a graduate degree or diploma in animation. But a graduate degree in animation is not very prevalent in India yet and only very few institutes offer this course at present. On the other hand, a host of institutes are offering diploma courses in animation.

Institutions:

• Arena Multimedia: Delhi, Bangalore, Noida, Mumbai
• Global School of Animation: New Delhi, Chennai
• Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematic (MAAC): Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Patna
• Techno Point Multimedia: Mumbai and Bangalore
• Picasso Animation College: Delhi, Hyderabad, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Udaipur
• Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA): Mumbai and other places
• Toonzwebel Academy (TWA): Kolkata, Kochi and Lucknow