When people think of computer animation, the first applications that spring to mind are the most obvious, video gaming and animated movies. But there are many more opportunities for a talented animator.
Here are a few areas that employ animation specialists:
Movie production: Sure, you're thinking Toy Story, but that's not the only thing out there. It's hard to imagine a real life action movie today without animated elements. Groundbreaking animation produced that cool bullet effect in The Matrix and the monster in Cloverfield. As animations get more sophisticated, the line between fantasy and reality blurs, leaving theviewer with a satisfying sense of entering another reality, a different world. Jurassic Park employed a technique known as animatronics, a combination of animation and live-action models.
Television: Watch any news or sports program and see animations throughout the show. Logos, backgrounds, and features, all are animated and colorful to capture and hold your interest. Pay attention and you'll see screen transitions, weather reports, score cards, and myriad other moving, changing widgets aimed at keeping you glued to your seat.
Advertising: Let's be honest, do we really watch commercials if they aren't interesting and funny? That's why big names like Budweiser and Coca-Cola spend so much on those halftime commercials during the Superbowl. And what do the best ones have to offer? You guessed it, animation. Even billboards and advertising trucks have jumped on the animation wagon.
Web: animation is all over the web. Flash designs are popular on many websites and advertising banners are nearly always animated. Viral video production has become a popular marketing tool to build mailing lists and a solid customer base.
Engineering: Some elements of animation cross over into design fields such as engineering, automotive design and architecture. Similar Computer-Aided Design (CAD) programs are used by game designers to create monsters, by architects to create buildings and by auto designers to build cars.
Medical/forensics: Scientists and doctors use 3D modeling and animation to create simulations of crime and accident scenes, to construct models of faces based on skulls, and to calculate bullet trajectory.
Cartography: Maps are no longer flat pieces of paper, they are interactive, animated, and loaded with information about everything from nearby restaurants to traffic patterns.
Animation is everywhere, enmeshed in the fabric of today's society, and this trend will only continue to grow as programs become more complex and offer more options. An education background that includes computer animation could translate well into any number of careers, including advertising, software or web design, fashion design, engineering, architecture, automotive design, medical or forensics fields. Today's animation is not just about gaming. It is a solid career path that can lead in many lucrative directions.
