If you are into 3D animation things, have graduated from a university recently, or are enthusiastic about it, it can be intimidating for you to break into the animation industry. Like any industry, nothing can guarantee you to grab your very first dream job no matter how talented you are, how many high-level qualifications you have, or if you have vast industry-related experiences.
Overall, the animation industry around the world supports thousands of jobs, and with more people opting for a career in 3D animation each year, this sector is hot these days.
But the basic question is how to break into the animation industry. How to be on top? How to make 3D animation? What should be the career path and what to expect while on the journey of the animation industry?
In this blog, we will guide you all through this.
7 Practical Tips To Make a Career In the 3D Animation Industry
Here are 5 tips that are stating helpful for you to settle yourself in the animation industry without much effort.
1. Improve Your Drawing, And Life Drawing Skills To Next Level
Drawing skills are of utmost necessity when it comes to a creative field like 3D animation. Even though you do not end up being an animator, you can opt for 2D animation, motion graphic designing, or work as a storyboard artist with polished drawing skills. Keep drawing again and again and make a daily habit of daily practice sessions to become a pro.
It ensures a significant improvement in your illustration and design tasks and will keep you intact to your passion so that you can stand apart from the others.
2. Focus on More In-demand Software Skills
Maybe you know any particular software while learning or studying at university. But limiting yourself to 1 or 2 software may result in a reduction of your value and opportunity chances overall. So, research a little bit more and focus on improving your software skills. You can go through the job advertisements and go through the requested software skills to choose one software, to begin with.
There are, of course, an extensive range of software applications to consider. Different animation techniques require specific tools and areas of industry (which cater to different production budgets) often have a preference too.
We have a few suggestions for you to work on:
For visual FX, and movie production field.
If you love VFX and want to work for big-budget movies, learn Maya or Houdini.
For Traditional frame-by-frame animation:
Toonboom, Rough Animator, and TV Paint are best if you want to learn traditional animation frame-by-frame.
For Storyboard Illustrations:
For storyboard illustration skills, Photoshop is best. Pair it with any graphic tablet and you are good to go. iPad’s Procreate illustration app and Boords.com are also helpful tools to use.
For social media marketing or businesses:
Adobe Creative Suite is the need of the time if you want to work as a freelancer or start your own business for social media marketing. You can use Adobe Illustrator and After Effects for design and animation respectively.
3. Build your portfolio
Showing off your capability through some work is necessary in any industry that required creativity, be it graphic designing, writing, or 3D animation. That is why it is better to build your portfolio to show companies what you are capable of.
It may require you to spend your time doing internships, freelance work, or even a few free favors for companies. It is necessary to get some better recognition in the animation industry and companies consider your work before hiring you. It also helps you sustain a long and very successful career in the animation industry.
4. Show Your Capabilities and Provide Some Value
No matter what industry you are dreaming to work with, having a teacher or mentor is necessary to polish yourself and get positive criticism. Use LinkedIn to find your role models for 3D animation, learn from them become capable enough. Evaluate yourself and know what unique value you can bring to the table.
Providing some value through your incredible capabilities is necessary to get recognition and be noticed. It will surely make you stand out from others in this highly competitive era.
5. Trust In Your Abilities
If you want to achieve something, you got to believe in yourself and your abilities. There is always a risk involved in every business any profession. And you will definitely face failure at first. But that does not mean you are not capable or cannot attain success. The Starbucks CEO, Howard Schultz, worked as a barista part-time to fund his café venture, and look where he is now. Similarly, Ralph Lauren worked as a sales associate before penetrating the men’s tie market.
That’s how businesses grow, and that’s how you can grow in the 3D animation industry. Do not get yourself hold back from the fear of failure. Trust in yourself, your capabilities, and your abilities, and bring that glow to your work.
6. Keep Patience
If you are opting to make an entry in the 3D animation industry, keep in mind that there will be a lot of competition you have to face. So be ready to be beaten up any better by you. But do not let yourself down if you get rejected because rejection is not the end. Use rejection as your chance to improve. Keep patience, keep trying and you will be succeeded one day.
7. Be Enthusiastic And Be Passionate
Your enthusiasm and your passion are of utmost necessity in any career, especially in animation. Maybe this is a lot harder and a lot more to it than it sounds. Be ready to get criticism and judgment of your work from others.
But your enthusiasm should be on the next level to keep you going and take those comments with a positive approach. Keep your passion alive and learn something new every day to achieve the level of expertise you have always wanted.
Conclusion
If you are struggling to start your career in the 3D animation industry, follow these tips first and then penetrate the market with patience to get successful results. Remember, the field in itself is highly competitive so you have to focus on learning, skill polishing, and evolving as an animator.
