The word animation is derived from a Latin word anima, meaning soul i.e. when life breathes into characters. The art of animation started with the cavemen who used to draw pictures on the rocks surfaces. Then who can forget Walt Disney for the creation of his cartoons especially the Mickey Mouse! In the present sense it means linking the series of drawings and simulating their movements together. It is a rapid display of 2D or 3D images to create an illusion of motion. It is an art form in which inanimate objects are brought into life by sequencing the drawn images.

Animation is emerging a special form of media now days. Animation is growing into a multi-billion dollar industry generating a great scope of employment for those who ready to try their skills into it. From a simple flick book to the computer 3D animation of stories, animation involves a lot of hard work and long hours of meticulous planning. This field being new to the Indian sector has a lot of hidden potential and talent, which needs to be properly groomed and exploited according to the international standards. There are many companies like Walt Disney, I Max and Sony who are ready to outsource their cartoon characters and are ready to invest heavily in this sector in India.

3D animation is a complete teamwork and works on the creative ideas.3D animation itself is a combination of wide variety of career combinations. The various steps included in the making of a 3D animation movie consists of:

Story → Story Boarding → Character Sketch → Concept creation → Modeling → Environments → Rigging → Character and Mechanical Animation → Storyboard Animation → Lighting → Texturing → Dynamics → Voice Recording → Digital Editing → Vfx → Final Film

So one can work as a

• Modeler
• Layout artist
• Clean-up artist
• Scanner operator
• Digital ink and paint artist
• Compositor
• Key frame animator
• Background artist
• In-between animator

Every role is crucial for the successful creation of the Animated project.

Animation is a creative thing and one needs to have creativity while handling it. It not being a mechanical subject needs lot of passion and imaginative skills. One should have flair for sketching/drawing. It needs long hours of continuous work with a whole lot of dedication. One should be good at visualizations, choice of colors and acting too. Though this profession seems to be quite unglamorous, yet it is very exciting and unless one has the complete dedication and interest in it one should not enter this field.

For a diploma and for a bachelor degree in animation one needs to have passed 12th standard from any recognized board with minimum of 45% marks. For postgraduate program one should have a bachelor's degree in any discipline preferably arts. One should have a basic knowledge of handling computers.

Some of the institutes like Industrial Design Center (IDC), Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Indian Institute of Design (NID) have a strict eligibility criterion-only graduate of architecture, technology and engineering, fine arts can apply for this course.

There are various diploma and degree programs in animation and multimedia. These courses focus on teaching and equipping a person in various styles and techniques of animation, which may include:

• Traditional animation
• Stop-motion animation
• Rotoscoping
• Computer generated 3D and 2Danimation
• Clay-mation
• Photoshop
• Human anatomy
• Drawing

• National Institute of Design (NID (www.nid.edu.com)
• J.J School of Arts.
• Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA) (www.zica.org)
• Industrial Design Center (IDC), IIT Mumbai and Guwahati
• Arena Multimedia (www.arena-multimedia.com)
• Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (www.maacindia.com)
• TOONZ Animation India Pvt. Ltd. (www.toonzanimationindia.com)
• Academy of Digital Arts and Communication (www.killickchallenger.com)
• RAI University (www.raiuniversity.edu)
• ANIMASTER (www.animaster.com)

One can specialize as a 3D or 2D modeler, special FX Creator, Animator, Character Designer, Games Designer, Interaction Designer.

NASSCOM says that India's gaming industry (computer games and mobile games) is expected to generate $424 million by the 2010. There has been a US$14 million deal between Italy's Mondo TV, Europe's No 2 cartoon producer and distributor, and India's Padmalaya Telefilms. This is expected to boost India's creative reputation. NASSCOM has projected a creation of an additional 300,000 jobs in this sector in next few years. Indian animation industry though a late starter is on the threshold of a boom period and so has a great career potential. India has great mythological stories and characters, good artists and technicians.

Animation application areas include myriad avenues in the following areas

• Entertainment (movies and television)
• Business (product promotions and marketing demos)
• Sales (presentations)
• Education (Computer Based Tutorials/Web Based Tutorials)
• Publishing (graphics and printing)
• Virtual reality in Defense
• Web designing
• Engineering
• Advertising (commercials and print ads)
• Fashion designing and interior designing
• Development of computer games/mobile games
• Medical, legal and insurance industry (presentations and models)
• Leading studios and training institutes

Animation is a sparkling career option even though it is at its nascent stage in India. It is rightly said that animation is a career where one can literally 'draw' ones salary. The training institutes help the candidates in their placements. After finishing the in-house training in some leading animation production studio, you can be a junior animator and can start earning between Rs.12000 to Rs.14000. A senior animator with an experience of 3 to 5 years can take home a sum of Rs.25000 to Rs.35000. But if you have a portfolio of some good and outstanding animation work you would even be able to earn more than Rs.50000 to Rs.60000.So in just a few years one can draw a salary of six figures.

The article has been contributed by Ms. Abha Kheterpal. She has been an educationist for past 15 years and runs her own Tutorial Center. She is double M.A. in English and Economics and being diverse in her interests, she also holds a Diploma in Computer and Software Applications. She regularly contributes Career Related articles on CareerAge.com and does Career Counseling.

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