You love animation! You are constantly glued to the TV set watching Cartoon Network, Animax and Jetix. You own a DVD collection of animated films. You religiously follow the latest Pixar and Dreamworks movie releases. And you dream about creating your own award-winning animated film.
Before you dive into a career in animation, you need to educate yourself on the subject. Any career begins with training. In the absence of university level animation education in India, the only options that aspiring animators have are the tons of Institutes that have mushroomed all over the country, with no way to separate the wheat from the chaff.
So how does one choose the right animation school?
Having fielded this question one too many times, I have listed a few points which, I hope, will serve as guidelines to budding animators.
1. Animation Pro in 3 months? You’ve got to be kidding!
Rome was not built in a day. Beware of institutes claiming they can turn you into world class animators within days. Animation is a high-skill, labour-intensive and time-consuming vocation. It will take a lot of time, effort and patience on your part to become a master of animation. The school can only provide you with the building blocks. After that it is up to you to take up the challenge and succeed.
2. Look who’s teaching!
Make sure that the instructors possess art as well as animation industry experience and are easy to reach out to when you have questions and doubts. A good quality training institute will have arrangements with people from the industry to teach or at least conduct guest lectures. Such people can give you valuable insights into latest industry trends, market needs and practical information that will give you a head start.
3. Been there. Done that.
Talk to ex-students of the Institute. Find out if they had a satisfactory experience with the school and its teachers. Enquire whether the courses are industry relevant and up-to-date.
4. Too much is too less.
If the course is crammed with too many offerings, it may not be such a great idea. Select a course which trains you thoroughly in the basics, followed by specialisation in any one aspect of animation. Do not fall for the all-in-one, “3D Max, Flash, DTP, Maya, Adobe ” Masala-Mix. It is a sure indicator that too many divergent subjects are being crammed together. Ideally, subjects must include – storytelling, layout, character design, direction, design, editing, acting and visual communication.
5. Short is not always Sweet.
In fact, when it comes to education, the longer the course duration, the better. Try to enroll for a complete programme that teaches the ART as well as the SCIENCE of animation. The course should ideally teach drawing, anatomy, storytelling, layout, character design, direction, design, editing, acting and visual communication. Animation skills should include not only a knowledge of fundamentals (weight, movements, timing, reversals, motivational forces and thinking time, etc.), but development in posing, breakdowns, in-betweening, clean-up and special effects (wind, rain, shadows, water, explosions, etc.) as well. Some background in visual communication – design, composition, texture, color theory – is also critical. Creating believable animation requires a keen understanding of the properties and effects of gravity, momentum, inertia, friction, fluid dynamics etc. All this cannot be taught in 3 months!
6. Facilities and Access
Visit the Institute and ask for a tour of their classrooms and facilities. Make sure that the institute has one computer per student per batch. There is no point if u have to share the computer with another person while learning and practicing. Ensure that their equipment, software, hardware and all requisite tools are up-to-date and that students will be given access to all of them. Without hands-on experience, the entire exercise is a waste.
7. Art before technology
Give preference to the institute that teaches the art of animation before the tools. Software can even be learnt on your own with a good book, tutorials and lots of practice. What you need is a guide to take you through the basics of animation, its principles and various techniques. Someone who can correct your mistakes and clear your doubts. A commonly quoted example “You don’t teach Mathematics with a Calculator” applies perfectly to animation. Learn the Art first and then master the Tools.
8. Google ‘em
The internet is an amazing tool to use for research on any topic. Search for information on the Institute, its faculty members and the courses offered. Read articles about them that appear on news sites or blogs. Keep your eyes open. Spend some time on this. Look around for different courses and then choose the one that suits you the best. Go the distance. If the right institute is in another part of town or even in another city, travel. Don’t be lazy. This is what is going to shape your career.
So go on and take the first step. Work hard. Animation is not meant for lazy people. Observe. Practice. And don’t forget to have fun while you do it. Animation needs passion. Lots of it. Aspire to be the best. There is a dearth of talented animators in the Indian animation industry. There are more jobs than people. Fill the gap and do it well. I wish you good luck!
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really written true about searching an institute..
i have already been there, now m a graduate.. fortunately and unfortunately the first batch..
students who r searching for good institutes also need someone who can guide them properly and help them to take up the courses or institute according to their specific interest, which we hardly find someone in india. we should come up wit some kind organization to specially help the students and to make them aware of what they are going to enter in.. because most of the students are shown very pretty pics of their future, with promised salaries and are dragged into it, which is one of the biggest reason of a lack in the quality in Indian animation.. should find a way to stop that.
thanks..