ONE of the most-sought-after jobs of the 21st century, Animation, can be defined as the art of breathing life to a character or an object. A blend of entertainment industry and technology, it is concerned with design, drawing, layout and production of graphically rich and attractive multimedia clips.

Aptitude and skills: You need sketching skills and a passion for animation. For better job prospects, a degree or diploma in animation helps. Arena Multimedia offers diploma courses in animation after 10+2 across 80 cities including one that is exclusively focused on animation film-making. 

A two-year diploma in 3D Animation at Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics is also available. Mumbai based Toonz Academy offers a one-year advanced diploma in Digital Arts and Animation validated by the European Carolus Magnus University, Brussels.

Jobs galore: India has more than 300 animation studios, which employ over 15,000 animation professionals. The gaming industry is one of the top employers and they also pay quite well. Though entertainment through film and television is the main area of application in this profession, animation is also needed in other areas such as business, sales, engineering, education and advertising. Animators can also find jobs in print media and publishing firms. Freelance work is another option, particularly for web animators. Animators can also branch into website design, CD-Rom production, graphics designing and three-dimensional product modeling.

Salaries: Junior animators or trainees could get between Rs. 8,000-15,000 per month. With three to five years experience they can earn Rs. 25,000- 40,000. A well-experienced animator who has a good portfolio of excellent animation work could easily get Rs. 50,000-60,000 per month. With US and European studios outsourcing work to India, and Indian companies creating a number of animated films andcartoons, the future looks bright for creative animators.  
 
By Shalini Gupta

Expert Speak: Animation industry Ninad Karpe CEO & MD Aptech Ltd. Animation is  multi-billion dollar industry has generated great employment scope, and offers career opportunities across a range of profiles - from technology-based jobs such as scanning, compositing, digital ink and paint, and game designing to creative guys like visual-effects supervisors, 3D modellers and character animators. Training is the most essential and important aspect for the creation of a skilled professional in the field of animation. To become an animator, the first step is to join a diploma course in animation. There are various diploma courses to choose from like, diploma in Graphic Designing, Web designing etc, which can help them master the suite of technical skills required to pursue a lucrative career in this exciting and dynamic industry. The curriculum for diploma courses are designed in such a manner that over a course of time students get a thorough grounding, expert training and certification in his/her desired topic of specialisation such as Modeling, Lighting, Rigging, Animation, Visual Effects etc. A student pursuing a diploma course in animation and gaming can pursue job roles such as Graphic Designer, Web Designer, 2D/3D Animator, 2D/3D Designer, AV Editor, Technical Trainer, 3D Modeler, Multimedia Programmers, Compositors, Visualizers, Content Developers and Pre and Post Production executives in leading animation studios and entertainment companies. Students get placement assistance from the institute. Most good institutes offer job placement assistance to help place students at leading studios in India and abroad. Arena has placed students with studios like Prime Focus, Toonz Animation, Zee TV, Colour, Google India, NDTV, Discovery Channel etc. Beyond a diploma, if a student would want an extensive technical training and specialisation skills in animation, he can opt for an optional degree programme. An aspirant wishing to pursue a career in animation and gaming can start with the average salary of around Rs 1.2 lakh per annum and can reach up to 7 lakh per annum (depending on the different profiles an individual chooses).  It is rightly said that animation is a career where one can literally ‘draw’ ones salary.

 
Institutions offering Animation programmes