animation field

[kulthi]

Hello everyone
i try searching for a year and finally i found here with a lot of useful information thanks a lot
and i have some questions for you guys

i finished my bachelor's degree in business english
and i found myself love graphic design and animation
i think career in animation is amazing
so, i completely decided to change my study
I'm considering continuing my master degree in animation and visual effect
but i dont have any related bachelor's degree in the field and dont have much information about it
so, i came up with loads of questions for you guys

i love animation world and moving object but i have no idea about life drawing and i'm not good at drawing even i love drawing
do you think animation and visual effect is right for me?

actually, i really want to continue in this field by taking diploma course
and then apply for master or else i will go for graphic design which is my second choice
can you suggest me any good place for diploma or course that doesn't need any background knowledge?

Sorry for long explaination
Thanks all

[copperfire]

Hmmm, loving animation and MAKING animation is too different things. Some people might even tell you that making animations ruins the love for it! But those are very few I might add. As for your current situation, I can't tell you to go for it, that's up to you! Just really think about it long and hard, what part of animation do you love most, what do you think you'd be good at? Do you think you have enough drive to keep learning it the rest of your life, do you really see a future in animation? What kind of animation? Do you like computers? Can you draw at least 5 hours a day to keep your skills honed? These are all questions you need to ask yourself, switching majors the first time is ok, but the second time it becomes a little unnerving. I hope that helped, and good luck!

[dguy]

Are you interested in traditional animation or 3D? You need to answer that before looking for the right school since they are specialized fields.

Second, do you feel you have any artistic talent? This is a creative field, and much like writing a novel, it takes talents that could very well be innate. Everyone loves to read books, but very few will be successful authors. The same is true for this line of work.

[thesinfulsaint]

Well... those who can animate well in 3D aren't always the best draftsmen. Coming out of college, those who can draw better normally get better jobs. However, if you look at a lot of people who have been in the industry for several years, they are people who are very skilled at one thing. Even animators at Pixar admit to losing a lot of their ability to draw after animating in 3D for an extended period of time.

I would say that if you're interested in VFX especially, don't let your lack of drawing experience get you down. You can always practice and get better, and as long as you're really good at what you're actually being hired for, you can make it. :)

[kulthi]

thanks for all advices, they are very helpful for me
yes i am interested in 3D.
the only think that i am really worried about is my figure, portraits drawing skill
cause i used to draw only the thing that came out of my imagination, no one ever seen it before like a monster in my style. i like computer, love photoshop and illustration.
my creativity drives me to animation and visual effect.

i think i better try a quick course first to find out more about animation and find out if it is suit for me.

once again i am really appreciate your help!! thank you you all

[CatHicks]

Don't toss all your hopes away just yet. The table turns both ways. Just because someone can draw well doesn't mean they know anything about motion. I know professional animators that lack fantastic drawing skills, and likewise, know many portfolio scholarship winning students who cannot animate their way out of a paper bag.

Worry first about your thoughts and feelings on the medium, how you may approach it in your current artistic state, and what you can bring to it. Remember, you are not drawing drawings, you are drawing movement. Think clear action and gesture first, draftsmanship second.

[kulthi]

Thanks a lot CatHicks
really appreciated!!

[Maxine Schacker]

Max the Mutt Animation School in Toronto offers a one month (July) summer intensive called "Learn to Draw" open to the general public, and very fairly priced. Check out "workshops" on our web site (click below). After one month, you'll know if you want to draw and how well you take to it.

The first year of all our diploma programs is a representational, traditional fine art training year. The learning curve is pretty amazing. If at the end of the July intensive, you want to apply, have the portfolio to get in, and we have room...we'd probably let you begin in Sept.'08.

Check out the website and the galleries to get a better idea of what we're all about. Tuition is affordable, quality of instruction is high, class size is small and about 90% of our graduates are working in the industry.

[Maxine Schacker]

Once again, I suggest that you check out Max the Mutt, a Career College in Toronto. We were founded by artists and animators and have a mandate to be available to talent, which means we keep tuition as affordable as possible while offering a very high quality education. We began purely as a classical animation school, added 2D and 3D computer animation, and then Illustration for Sequential Arts (comic books and graphic novels). This year we began a new 4 year diploma program in Concept Art for Animation and Video Games. Just click below to get to the website.

We are expanding our first year once again (although class size will remain low- 15 to 17 in a class), and are still taking applications.

[Bendragon]

If your passionate and serious about this then go for it! Dont worry if you think your drawing skills arent up to scratch. You can learn to draw. Make it your goal and give it enough time.
But do do some research into the animation process. Ive seen a lot of people quit animation in school because they find out that its not what they wanted to do. Its quite a tough thing to do. You'll need patience because it could take a long time to see results. I think someone said animation is like making love to an elephant - its painful and can take months to see the results!
So yeah, visit schools and ask them questions to find out if its what you want to do. Id say drawing skills can always be learnt as long as youre motivated and willing to learn as much as possible.
I think your portfolio should show a lot of observational drawings though. Drawing from life is a huge part of your growth and its something to show youre willing to learning.
Good luck on your quest!

[Mirana]

HELLO! i'm new to the site, i just have a couple of questions is there a school out there that has animation and learning concept drawing. i'm 25 yrs. and i want to get into the animation field and gaming aswell. i'm not going to lie and say that i can't draw, and i'm going to brag either i've gave this way to much thought and i know what i want to do. i would like draw concepts for games and animated films alike. also i would like to model cg. i've worked with zbrush 3.1 alot and little of maya 8.5. but i never really went to any school. i looked into ringling which is very pricey and full sail many say it's just a joke. also i checked out which is a great school but the program lasts only 10wks and you recieve a certificate, so my question is there any schools out there that i could go to that offer animation, game design and learning to be concept artist. thanx a mill for reading this.

Sincerly, Samantha:sungod:

Rubiakiss - Though there is some overlap in technical skill sets, I haven't heard of a school that offers Game Design AND Animation in the same major. Perhaps major in one, minor in the other? Double Major? Get a BA for one and MA for the other? In any event, you'd be spending more than 4yrs in classes. Concept art is going to be taught in both, but there is yet to be a concept art major unless you check out the atelier available through Conceptart.org.

[Maxine Schacker]

Mirana, Max the Mutt has a Concept Art major which includes one year of animation, but aimed at helping concept artists understand the needs of animators! Also, game design is a different animal altogether. It isn't concept art, although many game design programs seem to include some concept art.

Animation is another course of study. There are overlaps, and if someone attending Max the Mutt wanted to complete both programs, courses that are part of both programs would, obviously, not need to be repeated.

It would take about 6 years to do both.

It doesn't sound as if Samantha wants to animate. Am I correct, Samantha? You want to model in 3D, right? At max the Mutt, that would be taught as part of the Concept Art Diploma Program (in year 4).

[Mirana]

I'll be sure to keep your program in mind when responding to kids looking for a concept major, then. :)

[Maxine Schacker]

Thanks, Mirana. Do take a look at the curriculum! We worked for a year putting this program together and had input from many concept artists. Next year, we'll have students in year one and year two. I think more programs like ours will be appearing - may have already- although when we started, we were unique.