March 28, 200719 yr Plz excuse me if this is in the wrong forum, but I thought it was in the right one. Hey guys, When i grow up, I want to become an animator, as you should know what one is. I didnt pick art as an potion at school (for GCSE) and i keep on thinking i wont have a carrer in art because i didnt pick it. I ask people this, and they say if i do things outside of school then i will get into a college and get a job as an animator. Can you please give me hlep and advice plz? Ty :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
March 28, 200719 yr Qualifications are only half of it really. If you have a great portfolio, and you work consistently, most employers don't care if you don't have any GCSE's or A levels. You can always take GCSE art at college, and do AS art after. All you need to do now is draw as much as possible, using as many mediums as you can, so you can build up a nice portfolio. Not sure if this is the right place or not.
March 28, 200719 yr with art qualifications like GSCE's in it arent tht important IMO. u just need to be discovered My photobucket
March 28, 200719 yr Don't worry about it. For A-levels you just need to pass 5 GCSE's all C grades and above. Then you can focus on Art, Graphics, Photography, Whatever takes your fancy really. My dA account..retired, as of the 1st January 2008.
March 28, 200719 yr If you are going to an art school then you don't have much to worry about as long as they have an intro course for it witch just about every art school does. Just practice drawling a lot so later you will not have any trouble drawling things and you can focus on getting the animation right. I think terly is planning on becoming an animator too so he would know more then i do.
March 29, 200719 yr Are you looking into 3D animation or 2D animation? They are two completely different fields. ;) You should start reading up on basic art and design theory and get in as much practice as you can, building your portfolio along the way. Try to familiarise yourself with a multitude of programs and mediums. Like the others have mentioned, your artistic ability is the most important part of becoming a professional artist.
March 29, 200719 yr You will probably advance as quickly as others who do art for GCSE if you're really motivated. As long as you have reasonable grades and a good portfolio to show at an interview you should be able to get onto a college course without much problem. Through what I've heard and experienced (I do media at college), in courses such as art/animation, colleges are more interested in what you can do than a certificate.
March 29, 200719 yr Really, if you develop your ability enough, you will get noticed. I'm not too sure about in the UK, but here your level of education will not present a problem if you want to go to an art school, what they look for is talent, potential, and a solid student. ;P
March 29, 200719 yr Are you looking into 3D animation or 2D animation? They are two completely different fields. ;) You should start reading up on basic art and design theory and get in as much practice as you can, building your portfolio along the way. Try to familiarise yourself with a multitude of programs and mediums. Like the others have mentioned, your artistic ability is the most important part of becoming a professional artist. Agreed here. The bigest thing is if you are going into 3D or 2D animation. Anyways, if you are truely serroius about this (and this isn't another one of the 'oh I want to be this this week' threads) than start reading up about it online. If you don't want to take classes than read up a lot about art theory and practice a ton. The next step would be to get a decent starting program, probaly flash for 2D animation and possibly blender for 3D animation (since you won't have enough to get C4D or anything such as that legaly). I also should mention it is quite tough to land a decent job as any kind of artist. I still, luckily, have 4 years ahead of me before I try and tackle looking for a job. Its deffinitly a lot of work but its worth it if you enjoy it. At the least you might end up learning a thing or two if you don't decide to do this. Like wanting to be a pro basketball player, football player, musician, ect.
March 29, 200719 yr Author At the least you might end up learning a thing or two if you don't decide to do this. Like wanting to be a pro basketball player, football player, musician, ect. Basketball player? Thanks for your replies guys. I know ill be able to get onto a course at the college im looking at, because ive seen the entry requirements. The only thing im worried about really is the wages you get as an animator. Are they really low?
March 29, 200719 yr At the least you might end up learning a thing or two if you don't decide to do this. Like wanting to be a pro basketball player, football player, musician, ect. Basketball player? Forgot all the things you have wanted to be at one point >_< Thanks for your replies guys. I know ill be able to get onto a course at the college im looking at, because ive seen the entry requirements. The only thing im worried about really is the wages you get as an animator. Are they really low? Wages entirely depend on how good you are, who you are working for, ect.
March 29, 200719 yr The wages can vary greatly depending on a lot of factors: - Your Country - Whether you use traditional or digial mediums - Whether you are a 2D or 3D animator - Whether you are animating for video, internet, games, etc. - Your experience on projects, and also in years - Your art & design education Certain video game animators -- mostly 3D animation -- can make a lot of money. Here's a snippet from an article on Video Game Salaries back in 2004. Video game animators with 3 years or less experience make an average of $44,778 a year. Animators with 3-6 years of experience average $65,619 a year and video game animators with 6 or more years of experience average $73,031 a year. Traditional animators tend to make around the same per year. source , source , source
March 29, 200719 yr I too wish to become an animator, I've learnt so far is that to be a great animator, you first need to be an excellent draftsman and a superb artist. The animation side of the job can be learnt quickly, but the illustration side must be developed as soon as possible. You'll have no problem getting onto an art course in GCSE's, I personally chose to do a Graphic Design course because it can then branch off into several areas such as Illustration, art, animation, Digital art, photography, media studies, film, journalism, fashion etc etc. Art tends to be too 'fine art' and totally bypasses the technical side of graphics, which means theres almost no working with computers which I personally think is terrible considering today is very much a computer based generation.. And if you want to be an animator you'd want as much knowledge and qualifications as you can get your hands on.. And just because you do a graphic design course does not mean you can't develop your art skills aswell, infact a lot of the time it increases your chances of achieving higher marks. You could even chose to do a media studies course if you want to get further into the film side of animation, because at the end of the day it all starts off as ideas, script, storyboarding etc.. Remember you've got the rest of your life to get to what you wanna be, there's a few college courses you can take which will lead you in the same direction. It's really up to you what you do, don't do something that doesn't interest you. Oh btw Im coming to the end of my 2 year course in Graphic design at college, and in september im off to start another course in general art. The animation course in university I want to go for requires an extra year at college to go along with my 3 A levels. seriously, just do what interests you and keep in mind what you need for university.
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