We had some guest speakers come online to talk to us about their job role and experiences within the industry.  This was very helpful and it was interesting to see how they got to the position they are currently working in.

The first speaker was Zoe Woods who gave us an overview of her job as a layout artist.  We were shown the differences between 2D and 3D animation as well as visual effects.  It was especially interesting to see the significant difference between working in each studio and how the pandemic has now changed the industry.

Zoe had originally hoped to work in the gaming industry but completed her placement year in Enter Yes as an animation intern.  She has worked at Jam Media, Blue Zoo, BBC Blackstaff and Framestore doing live action, visual effects and worked on a CG kids show.  Her first job going into the industry was a runner and from that  she has been in many different job roles, now currently working as a layout artist.

It was very reassuring to hear that she didn’t have anything planned before she graduated as I am still very unsure of which path I would like to take going forward.

Our next talk was hosted by Aishling Mcelroy who has experience working at Sixteen South, Blackstaff games and has now been working for Italic Pig for two years.  They spent the first few years working at a bar before they got their first job in the games industry.  She is currently working on a project called Paleo Pines which is going to be released soon.  I’ve seen this advertised recently on Steam so it was really cool to be able to hear from someone who was working on it.

The last person to talk to us was Greg Woodcock who wend to university with Alec.  His work was incredibly impressive – He’s worked on many different advertisements, console games, casino games and mobile apps.  Some examples being Until Dawn and Call of Duty which he worked doing the facial animation for.  He left university with a general skill set of modelling, rigging, texturing and animating, but hadn’t specialised in a specific area which caused him problems trying to find a job in the first few years.  Greg also spoke about not receiving payment for three of the freelance jobs he worked on and warned us to look out for this, making sure we research the person beforehand.

He told us the first job is the hardest to get and spoke about his first contract with a start up company where he had to animate boxers in a ring.

https://slapstick-studios.com/

It was really useful to listen to each of their experiences and their journey to get to their current positions.  It’s made me a little bit nervous though about trying to find a job after I leave university.  I want to try and build up my portfolio as much as I can to show projects aside from just the work given from uni.

Chasing Hearts Regular

For this interview we had to pick a job role and pretend we were applying for it.  I chose a 3D animator as it’s the role I think I’m most interested in.

https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/3d-animator

The responsibilities of a 3D Animator may include:

  • Liaising with animators and concept artists regarding the requirements of the project
  • Working from concept art to create characters, objects, layouts, backgrounds, etc
  • Researching visual style, genre and technologies to produce each individual project
  • Sketching storyboards based on the script
  • Identifying key scenes and sequences
  • Transforming storyboards into animated sequences
  • Recreating real world environments and layouts
  • Creating illustrations, scanning and photo retouching
  • Animating characters, creatures, props, vehicles, weapons, objects, etc
  • Developing animation composites
  • Calculating and enter algorithms for final renders
  • Amending artwork as per instruction from designers and developers
  • Working with programmers on software and design issues
  • Adapting to software upgrades and stay up to date with new technologies
  • Managing files, asset libraries and update procedures documentation
  • Working to a tight schedule
  • Integrating sound, sync dialogue and add sound effects to visuals
  • Collaborating with compositors to deliver all assets required for final render
  • Applying motion capture to animation

Employers may look for the following skills in 3D Animators:

  • Strong artistic skills
  • Ability to visualize 3D iterations of two dimensional sketches and artwork
  • Good instinct for timing, movement, editing cuts
  • Training in animation, computer graphics, graphic design or fine art
  • Experience in 3D modelling
  • Understanding of acting techniques, cinematography, interactive storytelling and graphic art
  • Understanding of movement of limbs, the effect of weight, and the behaviour of skin and flesh
  • Talent for visual storytelling
  • Knowledge of film and animation genres, and ability to create within their styles
  • Advanced concept of visual language – perspective, point of view, proportion, colour, composition, framing, etc
  • Basic knowledge of anatomy, how humans and animals move
  • High level knowledge of lighting, shadows and textures
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Ability to work under pressure and deliver to tight deadlines
  • Basic understanding of aesthetics of visual communication
  • Knowledge of character rigging
  • Working knowledge of the laws of physics – gravity, acceleration and the laws of energy

Readings:

During my interview I mentioned past projects, my work flow and how I’m able to work in a group to create successful outcomes.  My feedback was mostly positive, but they mentioned that I should try and give longer answers as I had only answered the question and hadn’t given much insight into my personality which is something else the interviewer will be looking to see.  Overall, I’m happy with the how it went and I know now what I should be working on to improve for next time.

After coming away from this, I wanted to do some more research into other people’s experience working in this job.  I found some really interesting videos of people talking through some of the more negative points.

After spending time looking through various sites for junior animator roles, I found one that I liked the look of.  Supermassive Games currently have four permanent positions available, one being a junior animator.  They have worked on games such as Little Hope and Until Dawn which I love.

This is the job I plan to aim my CV and cover letter towards.

Chasing Hearts Regular

I created a playlist on Youtube for all of the showreels I came across that I really liked the flow of.

I liked how this showreel had an example of their animation on the title card which then lead very nicely into the first clip of their reel.

This one is also similar – The creature almost looks as though it breaks through the title card.

In this showreel many of the clips lead very nicely into the next, such as when a character falls and transitions to the next shot where another character is falling.