I'm a high school junior and I've known after watching Toy Story for the first time i've wanted to be an animator. From then up til' now i draw just as much, with the same cartoons i've made up.
I love CG movies (my all-time favorite is Shrek). and in the future i plan to go into that field of animation, but I'm not sure how i should start right now. When colleges start asking for a portfolio, i'd like having something to show already in animation. i've saved up and i have the money to spend. I'm a fast learner, but for someone my age should i start to look at different animation software or should i begin practicing on a cell animation table. If it's a good idea to start off with some software, could you give some names? And, what else should I be doing? Could someone point me in the right direction:)
How Do I Start?
By Chunky Monkey | Friday, July 7, 2006 at 8:58am
#1
How Do I Start?
Hi Chunky and welcome to the AWN forums.
Thats great that you know early on that you want to become an animator. I was a senior in highschool when I decided that I too wanted to be an animator. Let me tell you right up front, it won't be easy. It's not an easy road learning animation. My anatomy teacher told us that art students go through about as much schooling as medical doctors do. It's not an easy road getting a job as an animator, and it's not an easy road keeping a job as an animator. It's not steady work. A lot of it is project to project work. Some artist stay at a studio for years at a time, but for the most part, you work at one studio on a project. When that's done you move on to a new project, sometimes at the same studio, sometimes not.
That being said, I love being an animator! Yes it's hard work, and it gets tedeous at times, but there is nothing like breathing life into a character. Seeing them walk around, and act, and think. It's a trip. It's alittle like playing god. You're only limited by your imagination. Oh, and what your director wants. :D
At your age, learn animation. Learn all the principles of animation and learn them well. Whether you learn them traditionally by drawing or on the computer is your choice. Learning traditionally will be faster since all you really need is paper and pencil. Or in your case the side margins of your world history books. All my highschool books had little characters falling down the margins and abulances picking them up and speeding them off. Maybe thats why I can't spell now. Oh well. I'd recomend you get Flash. You can draw in it, and adjust your timing and publish out your animation to be viewed on the web if you want. It's fairly cheap and it's versital. If you want to see what it can do, search the "Show and Tell" forum for Pascal. He can traditionally animate in Flash like nobody's buisness! One thing though. Do NOT focus solely on learning computer programs. More than likely when you graduate art school in 6 years there will be different programs that studios are using.
If you want to get into character animation, don't get bogged down in all the details like effects and water and explosions. Take drawing classes, and sketch and observer people in the real world. How do they react towards one another. How does a person walk? Why do they walk that way? How long does it take a person to grab a cup? Or sit down? These are all things you will want to pay attention to and will help you to become a better animator. Oh, and draw every day. Even if it's just little stick figures. Draw and get gestures across of what a person's doing.
I wrote to much too fast. I hope I answered at least one of your questions.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."