How to Become an Animator

Video Transcript

"To become an animator you are going to have to learn how to draw and draw really, really well. Because if you think about it you've got to draw lots of drawings of the same character in various positions. Be able to turn them anywhere you can in space so it takes a lot of skill, a lot of draftsman ability to be able to do that. And once you learn how to draw very well you have to learn how to move a character in space and learn how to space the drawings apart to make them go fast or slow. And then beyond that you have to be able to put yourself in that character's shoes to create an emotion and to create a performance for the audience. If you are going to be a computer animator, it's much the same skill except using, instead of using a pencil you are going to be using a mouse and a computer and using pixels to create these same emotions. Almost like a , like the old puppet animators where you'll be manipulating a body and the facial characteristics on a puppet, you do the same thing in computer animation with 3D characters that exist inside your computer. And while you can learn a certain amount of these skills at home, it's best to continue at school. You'll be able to interact with other students and get training from people who have been in the industry for awhile."