Introduction 

This is the first assignment of the Professional Practice Class in addition to the first assignment of the year to be complete and handed in.  My task is to research and write down two job roles in relation to the animation industry.  The base deadline was a lot earlier but due to Blackboard going under maintenance, the new deadline is now the 13th of December 2021. There is no traditional blog post for the assignment due to the research being the blog page itself, but I will be writing a introduction, a small paragraph on how I did my research and a conclusion covering my final thoughts and ideas about the project.

Research

My research started in class.  Alec and the other Tutors went over the main job roles in animations both at the start of last year in the World of Animation Class and, more recently, in the middle of the Professional Practice this year.  The oversight was useful; however, it was something I would be familiar with given my 4 years of higher education in the field.

The more important elements which would help me is the listed websites as supplied by my tutors as they would contain all the information, I would need to complete the Assignment 1 Task.  These websites will be listed down below as my references.  Out of all the websites I explored, the most useful and important will be Screen Skills, as it is the website that all my higher education (Ulster University, Newry and Banbridge SRC) use when specifying job roles.  It is also used by industry veterans like Sorcha Cartoons. I also used the Job web site “Indeed” to gain insight into what extra skills and traits could be useful in general, even if its not a requirement for the job.

My next objective was to pick which of the jobs I would write about.  I chose both these job roles based on 3 factors: my passion for the role, my confidents in my talent for the role and how much work I have done relating to these roles.  My research is stated down below.

 

Job 1-Animator

 

Job Overview

As stated on the Job Website ‘Indeed’, an animator is responsible for creating a series of images know as frames, to simulate movement.  Their work can take the form of hand drawn, computer made and physical stop motion.  Animation can take the forms of films, TV shows, video games, advertisements which can be fully animated, (Disney’s A Goofy Movie or Dreamwork’s’ How to Train your Dragon) or a VFX elements in live action productions (Ultron from the Avengers: Age of Ultron or the blaster firer from the Star Wars films).

 

Skill Set

Art (Drawing)

One of the most important skill to have as an animator when it comes to 2D is art, in particular drawing skills.  You must be able to repeatedly be able to draw a wide range of characters, objects, environments, and visual effects multiple times in different poses.  Whilst there may be programs of technology to assist you here, you still need the basic art skills of drawing to get over any concepts.  What also assists is a sound understanding of the principles of art which can help create the image of how a scene should play out.

Communication

This is an essential skill for any workplace or indeed any environment.  Humans by nature are very social creatures and we need to talk to each other, expressing ideas, agreeing matters, addressing issues if we are to create an agreed project in a set time.  In respect of animation and due to the diverse nature of the participants combined with possible remote working it is more important to develop good communication skills.  In some of these programs you may relying on simple words on a page, that due to the nature of the receiver not being able to see your expression, hear your voice or fully understand the context cam misinterpret you true intention.  You need to understand the advantages and disadvantages to communication through programs like Discord, E-mails, Zoom etc. and cater for any misunderstandings or indeed language barriers and different cultures so everyone if focused on the same end and that you maintain healthy social relationships.

Organizations

In order to ensure a effective and healthy working environment you must have a good understanding of ergonomics and create a tidy and organized workspace.  Due to the vast amounts of information involved in animation, it is essential that the recording, storage and organization of the data is in a simple and understandable system so it can be easily found and accessed by those who need it when they need it.  An example is ensuring your data drive is sufficient to accommodate your total contribution to the project.  Additionally, workspaces should be free from clutter and large enough to contain the material you need to develop you part of the project.

Teamwork

When working on a project such as a two-hour film, or 24-episode season of a TV animated show, good animation can’t be done by a single animator in the requested time for the deadline. They will be working in a team of other animators as together you will both complete the work on time and help relieve some of the overall mental stress that can be present in the industry through pressurised completion schedules. They also must work in tandem with both the director and the animation director so that the finish animations end up being close to what their vision of the project should look like while giving the animators the chance to have some influences over the project.

Flexibility & Initiative

While you do require to follow the brief as set out by the client, employer and/or director problems can arise, or opportunities can occur during production.  You must be flexible enough to adapt to changes in order to fix any problems or carer for any changes of direction.  In addition, it is essential that you use your initiative where you spot opportunities to enhance the overall work whilst staying within the brief.  In demonstrating flexibility or using initiative you must set and know your parameters and act within them.  When any action is outside your parameters you must discuss with others so ensure you are not deviating from the overall project brief.

Timing

Timing is a key consideration when it comes to animation.  Knowing the time it takes to perform a set of actions is crucial as you need to develop work within strict time limits eg: all Sponge SquarePants’s episodes are exactly eleven minutes long so the complete story must take place in that time frame.  Also, as animators in the western world, the creation means the voice acting element comes first, so our timing of lip syncing the voices combined with facial movement, is crucial otherwise the finished product can be disconcerting, even annoying.

IT Technical

In this digital world, especially when it comes to 3D animation and visual effects for live action, you must fully understand and be competent in a wide range of computer programs.  Also, you require a working understanding of the basic functions of computers, printers, scanners etc in order to carry out minor repairs, connect equipment and replacing essential elements as not every organisation has computer technicians readily available.  Along with the basic programs of Word, PowerPoint etc. an animator must be a professional when it comes to animation industry specific software such as Adobe Animate, Premier Pro for 2D, plus Blender, Maya and Unreal Engine for 3D.

 

Portfolio Knowledge

As part of this section, I must show a series of 2D and/or 3D animations I have worked on, either within a team or created by myself.  I must make sure that if the work was created in a team that I stated which elements were solely my handiwork.  The work should also be of a high quality as any lack-luster work will turn any employer away if the rest of the work is not strong enough to guarantee a job interview.

It should include a mixture of different animations and art styles in order to show that I can cover many different ways to animate and show I am not constrained to a single format. The only time the portfolio should focus on one type of style is if you are aiming to be on a project that is solely working on that particular style.

It should also have separate sections for your work in 3D, 2D and Stop Motion.  This makes the work easier to navigate and allows employers to read over the one animation type they want, instead of having to filter it out amongst other information they may not need to assess.

 

Entry level position or require previous experience?

A popular solution for commencing work within the industry is to take an apprenticeship.  This will not only provide you with a paying job, but you will also be receiving training from experienced animators who have worked in the industry for years.  You will be taught through the latest industry program software by the animators learning their tips and techniques.  Additionally, it gets you into the culture of a working office, where you can see the issues, they face at first hand but as an apprentice you are supported in that environment by your colleagues.  It also lets you see the business side of the industry and in particular the interaction between clients and the organization. It enables you to improve your drawing skills by getting feedback from a range of animators possibly from different backgrounds.

Many people might wish to freelance or start your own studio, but this is not advised at the beginning.  As you lack the necessary experience of working within the industry, and additionally you may be not recognized by clients it is better to start in a good studio, gain experience and develop your skills creating a name for yourself.  This is a safer option as the industry tends to operate on reputation, sometimes by word of mouth.  As you become a recognized animator with a strong portfolio of work, you will increase your employability.

 

Other Insights/my foot notes

  • While animation is split into different areas and can be specialized, having the ability to do both 3D and 2D work will open the doors to a lot more job opportunity. The more skills you can acquire the greater value you have to a company.  Clients may wish their project to be 2D or 3D so you are better placed if you have skills and experience I both.  Equally having skills in both areas means your company can offer more facilities and a greater range to the client.

 

  • No matter how good you are at the craft, the production of good animation still will take a lot of time on your own, so dedication to the project is key. What helps here is a love and passion for the process of animation.  If you have this love and passion for your craft, it is not seen as a job and you enjoy the production process and have pride in the final outcome.  This makes the self-discipline you require when working alone much easier.

 

  • Teamwork is vitally important and essential if you are working in a company and not as an individual freelance operator.  In a business you will have to work, not just with other animators but possibly accountants, business managers and other key staff.  It is essential you understand their positions and requirements, as everyone needs to work together to develop and complete the project.  This means being empathetic to their viewpoints and understanding the pressures they are under in their job.  Listening, understanding, questioning, and having the ability to describe and put forward your position is key.  This will mean you come to an agreed outcome that everyone can live with. It is a balance between finalizing the project whilst maintaining good team relationships.

 

  • The nature of animation means that passion projects can sometimes turn out more about the creation of art over the maxing of profit.  Some projects may not make their money back, like the many 2D animated films in the early 2000s e.g: Disney’s Treasure Planet, but the Disney Corporation with this production could sustain the loss.  However, with the film Titan AE which was an excellent animation the financial loss of the film also meant the end of the production company Fox Animation Studios.  This demonstrates a company taking risks with a production, even for the best of artistic motives, needs to be large or successful enough in other ventures to ensure their survival.  Additionally creeping costs during production can mean assets/characters have to be cut due to the cost with the technology at the time.  For example, the Clone Wars 3D TV show could not use the bounty hunter Dirge due to his alien biology being too complicated to animate for 3D TV at the time.  He was a relatively simple character to animate in 2D however in 3D the number of polygons and complexity of textures rendered it too technically difficult to make it viable for TV at that time.

 

  • Different companies (usually based on countries of origins) have different ways of how the animation process is done.  For example, in the USA and Europe, voice lines would be fully recorded during the animation phase so the animators can tailor their work around the audio (lip-syncing and head movement, etc.), while in Japan voice work is done after the animation, leading to two different methods in how a scene is produced and how it then can turn out.

 

  • Animation does not always just cover television shows, gaming or movies.  As a company that needs to be profitable and survive you could, and probably will have to, work on adverts or PA (pubic announcements) when you get in to the industry.

 

Job 2-Character Designer

 

Job Overview

A Character designers job is to create the looks of individual characters based off the elements like the plot or showrunners’ creative wishes while making sure that the final designs are suitable for animating (i.e. a cape design not going too far so it is ether heavily time consuming to animate or causes problem with getting the movement right).

Skill Set

Art (Drawing)

Concept design is literally drawing figures.  It’s not just one of the essential skills, it is the actual job role itself.  Even if you come up with the idea in your head you still need the ability to draw it on a piece of paper to communicate that idea to others, including sufficient skill you get across characteristics such as movement, facial expressions, moods, etc.  A knowledge of art and the skill of drawing is also important to express movement in a believable way to the character, whilst ensuring it can work in terms of animation.  To give an example, in a human based form where an arm moves across a body the shoulder also has to move to ensure anatomical correctness, but not clip into the body because that process will cause animation problems.

Creativity

Creativity plays an important part in character design.  From the information you are given you must come up with a completely functional design that is able to stand out whilst fitting its purpose.  A good example is the Alien Xenomorph as created by H R Geiger, who used an incredible creative skill not just to design a believable monster, but one which is now iconic, even recognised by those who may never have seen the films.  Another example, this time in the field of animation is Mickey Mouse, whose round face and ears alone, even when drawn as three circles indicate to anyone this can only be Mickey Mouse.  This is known as the silhouette test.  You need to have creativity to come up with great designs to fit the character you reworking on, hoping to make them distinctive, perhaps even iconic.

Teamwork

Unless you are creating the whole project by yourself, you are going to work with other people whether it is in partnership with other designers or as an employee in a large company. It is important therefore to listen to others and take feedback onboard while diplomatically sharing your own feedback and talent to help others in creating the best outcome.

Time management

While good art should not be rushed, all jobs will require work to be done by a deadline to maintain a functional company and production line.  It is important to keep the deadlines organized, and constantly in your head or by way of a work planner with a doable work schedule that you must adhere to.  This will keep your work programmed so you are neither rushing everything, with the consequent loss of quality, or leaving work to the last second and running into all sorts of problems.

Problem solving and Initiative

While you do require to follow the brief as set out by the client, employer and/or director, problems can arise, or opportunities can occur during production.  You must be flexible enough to adapt to changes in order to fix any problems or cater for any changes of direction.  In addition, it is essential that you use your initiative where you spot opportunities to enhance the overall work, whilst staying within the client’s brief.  In demonstrating flexibility or using initiative you must first set and know your parameters with your client and act within them.  When any action is outside your parameters, you must discuss with others so ensure you are not deviating from the overall project brief or making changes that could affect other’s work.

Knowledge of how animation works

Even if you not actually animating the designs you created, you have to have a clear understanding of the animation process and how animators carry out their roles.  The reason for this, is that at the end of the day the final design has to be able to be animated in an effective time period without running into cost issues because it is over-complicated.  For example, lower budget projects tend to have simplistic mouth animations, as they are notoriously difficult to animatic to a high degree of realism.

 

Portfolio Knowledge

A wide variety of designs

While each studio may be known for a specific style or theme for their projects, it is better to demonstrate that in addition to your unique offer, you can also perform a wide range of designs, styles, themes, mediums as story-telling categories.  The wider range of styles and themes you can offer the greater the marketplace in which you can ply your trade.  It is essentially moving with the times and keeping your options open.

High quality control

Although it is important to place an extensive variety of characters, concepts and designs on your blog, they must also be of high quality as clients will judge you not just on the range of your work but also the quality that you can produce.

Show off how the designs move

A strong show of talent is to have multiple drawings demonstrating how some of your concept characters would move and function, including how their facial expressions show emotions to how their body carries out various actions.  If you have skills in Adobe Animate or Premier Pro create a small animatic of the concept art in action.

 

Entry level position or require previous experience?

When commencing work within the industry a good option is to take an apprenticeship with a renowned company.  This will not only provide you with a paying job, but you will also be receiving training from experienced concept artist who will have great industry experience.  You will be taught through the latest digital techniques and equipment for drawing learning.  As important to developing our technical skills, it gets you into the culture of a working office, where you can see the issues, they face at first hand, learn about teamwork, deadlines and work pressures but as an apprentice you are supported in that environment by your colleagues.  It also lets you see the business side of the industry and in particular the interaction between clients and the organisation. It enables you to improve your drawing skills by getting feedback from many other digital artists from different backgrounds.

While you can get a good job within the industry with a strong portfolio alone, it is unlikely to happen.  Tt is a safer and better option to go through the higher education system, qualify with a degree/diploma, and/or apply for a apprenticeship.

Hone your drawing skills by practicing a lot and not limiting yourself to any format or subject matter. Draw people, frequently, as well as non-human characters.   Don’t just draw environments, but open your eyes to what is around you, the changing nature and colours of the sky and clouds, how light can play on mountains and landscapes.  Concentrate on shadows and reflections as the more you draw and the wider your subject matter the better you become. Carry a sketchbook with you at all times, not just to draw what is in front of you if you, have the times but to put down ideas as they enter your heads before they are lost.

 

Other Insights/my foot notes

  • Whilst you should accumulate a wide variety of work in your portfolio it is important to know what designs and styles the studio you are applying to produces as you can tailor your work to suit that application.  This will demonstrate to them you are fully competent in their style and also that you should fit in well to their team as you are both thinking and are interested in the same themes.  Finally, as companies may be inundated with applications and as they may not have a lot of time to analyze them you need to ensure your portfolio is easy to access and stands out from the others

 

  • It is highly advisable that character designers can design using both traditional (pen & paper) and digital (computer aided) techniques.  In the modern world being proficient in digital programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop with a drawing tablet is becoming more essential having traditional drawing skills can still help open a different perspective of how elements are designed. Both methods have a different feel to them that can ultimately feed back into each other both improving the final concept design. Additionally, you may find yourself in a situation, perhaps a social one, where you no access to your digital equipment.  The ability to quickly draw your idea on  a piece of paper is essential.  Many a great design started out on a napkin or a beer mat such as BB-8 from the Star Wars films.

 

  • As much as you want to create as wide a portfolio as you can, not everything should be included and there is some work is best left off the portfolio.  This is because some work may discourage employers from taking you on.  There are several reasons for this.  Two notable examples are: Rule 34 content (XXX adult content) as companies feel it could damage their reputation, and Anime unless you are specifically going to work for an Anime Studio, which is unlikely unless you are working in Japan.  In addition to taking up valuable portfolio space better employed with other work some employers see it as cut and paste design, even lazy or uneven animation.  Finally, the content associated with the Anime medium, teenage angst or the over sexualisation of young girls can be for some off putting for some employers.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, I have learned a lot over my time studying blog research and portfolio creation in association with the job roles of animator and character designer.  I am now aware of the more important skills that are required to carry out these jobs and how to showcase them in my portfolios.  It also helps me realise which one of these job roles I will focus on for the second assignment I this Professional Practice Class, which is Animator, leaning towards 3D.  My rationale for this decision I that now I have better understanding of how animation works as well as more evidence of my work on this topic.   I will be using all the knowledge I have gathered to write my second assignment, CVs and cover letter in addition to my Show Reel with more clarity and precision in relation to the target role and company.

 

 

Electronic SPLD Sticker:

Electronic SPLD Sticker

 

Refences

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