A cover E-mail is sent to a potential employer to inform them on what you can bring to the studio you are applying to. A good cover E-mail is an expansion of the “about me” section on a CV and is tailor made for the job you are applying for where you say what you can bring to the position and studio you are applying for. I researched a lot of animation jobs and wrote my cover E-mail as though I was applying for that position.
I pretended as though I was applying for a 2D character animator position at Jam Media. I used language that the job descriptions use, as that increases the chances of the CV being looked at by a hiring manager after going through a company’s system.
Below is a screenshot of my cover E-mail.
Next, I moved onto my showreel. A showreel should include the best examples of animation that someone has, along with a variety of types of animation, such as character movements, dialogue and loops. The content of the showreel should be tailored to the position that you are applying for, so someone applying to a 2D animation job should only really include 2D animation in their showreel. The music choice in a showreel is important, as it should not clash with the visuals and should be used to guide the visuals in some way. Editing the clips to the best of the music is usually a good method.
Below is my showreel.
I checked plenty of places where one can find jobs in animation. Some places include animatedjobs.com, indeed.com, NIjobs.com, LinkedIn and some animation studios have jobs sections where you can apply. Although a big part of being able to secure careers in animation is to network with others in the industry.