The future of computer animation as a career in India

An animation sequence which creates an illusion of walking
An animation sequence which creates an illusion of walking

While kids are particularly more exited about animation films , even a large number of adults , love to watch them as well. Cartoon characters’ like Mickey mouse , Tom and jerry or the desi cartoons like Chhota Bheem and Motu-Patlu are well known across the country . Hindi films Krish or the recently released Bahubali stayed in discussion due to their 3D effects.

According to the report of FICCI- KPMG 2015 with this increasing demand of Indian animation , VFX and gaming professionals the growth rate of this sector will reach 13.9% till 2019.So , with a proper training and creative thinking an aspiring youth can start a career in the animation industry in India.

There are many Institutes providing quality animation courses in India.C-DAC set up by Goverment of India is one of the top Institutes with affordable fees.

How animation happens !

An animation sequence which creates an illusion of walking

If any image sequence is played front or back in the increasing or decreasing order to the front of our eyes , we feel that the object is walking front or back.If an image sequence is played by the speed of minimum 12 video frames per second , our eyes perceive it as a video.The objects seem to be walking on the basis of this principle of animation.There are two types of animation 2D & 3D.While in 3D we can see height , width and depth of the objects in the scene we can only see height and width in 2D animations.The are different animation softwares used the creation of 2D and 3D scenes.

What animators do ?

Aaron Blaise , one of the most famous animator's in the world , working on wacom animation  tablet.

An animation professional’s general work flow includes an idea development , pre-production , production and post production.As a part of first step a character has to be developed under idea development process.The conversion of an idea into a layout is the followed by script writing , story boarding , character development , background , layout designing and animating .At the production stage , the work of on visualization , background and coloring of the story is done.At the last stage the animation scene is given final touches with the help of editing and special effect ( SFX ).

Since animation is a creative field one always has to do something new and innovative.It is necessary to have creativity and drawing  skill in the person looking for a career in animation. Keeping in view of challenges in the field one has to keep patience because an  animator may have to be seated in the studio in front of a computer for long hours.An animator should always be updated about the changes in the field of animation.

Animation Courses and Qualifications

An view of an animation training Institute in India

There are many courses available in the form of animation ,graphics , multimedia to get into this field. These course can be done after 10+2 . The courses include both full type and part-time in degree ,diploma and certificate programs. Some institutions also provide the facility of internship and placement after the end of the course .

Job designations in animation industry

Jobs in animation industry

On an average , the services of about 500 animators is required in making one animation film .These professionals are associated in graphic , animation VFS and web fields .

1.Animation modeler

Such professionals have good knowledge of anatomy making  model for animation . These model can be in any format like  in 3D or 2D  .

2.Story boarding artist

The drawing skill should be strong in the person for such positions because story board artist prepares the sequence of the whole events .These professional visualize the events of every frame .

3.Character animator

The character animator is expert in showing like alive any object or character. Such people have good knowledge of traditional animation ,stop motion animation and clay animation.

4.Background artist

The back ground artist has the work to prepare background scene of an animation. He colors the background of character and project.

6.Layout artist

The work of such people is like more or less of a cinematographer in any project.He decides  angle of lights and camera as well as the sketches of background design for animation.

6.2D animator

The responsibility to define a sequence with the help of different drawings lies on the 2D animator . He also creates large size drawings.

7.3D animator-

Such professional work on 3D models to look real in a virtual world. The object frames are placed in such a sequence that there is an illusion of movement.

8. Other job title’s

Special effects artists , scanner operator , compositing artist , audio-video specialist , texture artist , ringing artists  , clean-up artist , lighting artist , compositor , key frame animator , image editor , in-between-animator  etc.

Future of Animation in India

The average salary for a starter in India is between RS 15,000 to RS 20,000 while in USA it is $54000

Salary in the animation field in India

The salary of a junior animator in any animation production house ranges from RS 15,000 to RS 20,000  monthly after an in-house training.With experience an expert animator gets salary from between RS 25 000 to RS 40, 000 .The animator can earn more success by working as an entrepreneur.

A large number of American production houses in addition to , Walt Disney and Soni pictures , are outsourcing from India for animation and visual effects. According to a recent statistics  there are more than 300 animation studios in the country having foreign projects in hand all time. No wonder animation seems to be the future of Indian entertainment industry. According to TGC – an animation multimedia college , animation is not only a part of the films today but also being widely used in business , sales , engineering . Fashion designing , interior designing , medical , legal , and insurance companies for presentation.Animations have changed the pictures of the gaming industry as well.Video and mobile games have increased the demand of good animators .There are many opportunities in the field of website designing , graphics designing , CD ROM production , 3D product modeling and other fields.There is also an opportunities in the field of teaching for the experts of animation.You can also start your own work.

The growth rate of visual effects and post production industry in the year of 2014 was 12.4% . According to a report of FICCI of 2014 the market of animation and VFX was Rs 44.9 billion in 2014 . It is expected that the numbers of Indian animation professionals associated with animation , VFX including gaming experts will increase by more than 5 lakhs till the year 2023.

Areas of employment for animators

There will be more demands in private and public sectors for good animators in VFX and Gaming. These are the sectors to provide more opportunities to animators.

  • Film and television
  • Advertising agency
  • News channels
  • Video gaming
  • Cartoon production
  • Production house
  • Online and print news media
  • e-learning