Taking the right courses is essential for those considering studying animation. A first degree is usually sufficient, although some students do a postgraduate course, most typically a master’s, to deepen their skills and expertise. Experts recommend that aspiring animators practice as much as possible. Like pianists practicing scales and arpeggios to improve their technique, animators should practice drawing realistic models and characters daily.
Character Design
Students who pursue an animation degree often have a detail-oriented disposition. They also need to have excellent drawing ability and visual observation skills. They should have a willingness to experiment and practice with their work. Then, they must be able to withstand criticism from peers and instructors.
One of the most important lessons in an animation school is character design, which involves figuring out how to make a character look realistic and compelling. For example, a student should understand the anatomy of human and animal bodies to design an accurate body.
The best schools for animation in the country will also teach their students about the different aspects of character creation, such as texturing and lighting. These aspects play a big role in how the characters turn out in terms of their looks. Finally, students should take a course that teaches them how to storyboard. This process is the first step in creating an animation and will help students decide what to animate.
Many of the top animation schools in the country train graduates for careers in the film, TV, gaming, and cartoon industries. They offer undergraduate and graduate degrees, and their alumni have gone on to work at animation studios operated by major companies such as the Walt Disney Company, Warner Brothers, and DreamWorks Animation.
Lighting and Texturing
The lighting and texturing of characters play a huge part in how the final animation looks. Lessons in this subject help students understand the different aspects of creating an animated character. Students who take these courses learn how to make a character look realistic in any environment and how lighting can affect the overall appearance of a scene.
Many schools also offer video game design and development courses that aspiring animators should consider taking, as more and more films feature computer-generated images and characters. These courses also teach students about the process of creating a video game, which is essential to understand because animators are just one part of a larger team that includes programmers, designers, and other creative professionals. In addition, having a strong foundation of creative writing knowledge is helpful, which is an important aspect of any artist’s education, as it teaches them how to craft compelling stories and create unforgettable characters.
Storyboarding
Storyboards are a vital part of the planning process for video production. Whether they’re drawn by hand or diagrammed on the computer, the basic principles of storyboarding are the same. By laying out a video’s key scenes on paper before production begins, making adjustments and reducing costs is easier.
Storyboarding is a valuable skill to learn, whether you’re interested in animation, filmmaking, game design, children’s book illustration, graphic art, or UX Design. The unsung heroes of the film industry, storyboard artists, are responsible for giving visual form to a script. They sketch out how a movie will unfold frame by frame and guide the direction of a large crew.
Students learning to storyboard often focus on how a camera will move and what actions will take place within each shot, which is necessary for creating an effective video. They also learn to outline essential elements such as dialogue, setting, shot size and type, and arrows that indicate camera and character movement. In addition to focusing on 2D, 3D, and 4D animation skills, students learn how to create photo-grade effects, such as smoke, water, sleet, snow, and other environmental elements. They also learn how to use compositing software, which allows them to combine different video clips into one seamless image.
Character Animation
Whether it’s a video of your cat doing tricks or an animation showing what your body would look like if you were diagnosed with cancer, character animation can help bring emotion to any visual media. Creating a video that resonates with viewers and allows them to connect with the subject matter is essential.
It is essential to understand what it takes to animate a character so that the viewer can empathize and relate to it. It is important to remember that the audience will lose interest if they don’t feel connected to the characters being used in a video. This is why it’s essential to break a character into its independent moving parts and design each part independently before proceeding further. This will make it easier to animate them later on. Students will also learn how to rig the character with a skeleton and animate them frame by frame. This will ensure that the character is performing realistically, ultimately making the viewers feel like they are watching a live-action film. In addition to learning 2D and 3D animation, students will likely take general art courses and specific science classes such as biology or zoology if those subjects are offered in their high school curriculum. This is because animators must often be acutely aware of how living creatures look, move, and behave to portray them on screen accurately.
