Hi all,

Am newbie to 3D Animation. Am very much interested in animation career. I have learnt 3D Animation to some extent through online tutorials and through some friends.

I dont know how to proceed further and what all 3d animator should know to start job hunting. Please guide me through this.

Thanks to all,
Raj Prasad

hi guys

If one is going to enter into a career then it is a wise move to learn everything about the industry they are about to enter. All too often individuals will sign into an extensive training program and two things end up happening. The first is half way through the training they decide they do not like it or two they break into the job market and find out they are not doing what they were actually trained to do. Both of these disappointments may have been avoided with the proper research.

Apparently this is something that happens quite often in the animation industry. Aspiring animators have a love for doing animation and proceed to do in depth studies of 3D animation figuring it is the ultimate of the industry. They envision themselves developing such renowned characters like those that took place in Finding Nemo or Shrek 2. After becoming well exposed to the industry they soon find out that they are spending every hour of their working moments on animating characters yet this is what drew them to the industry. Therefore, in summary if this was or is your ultimate goal of getting into this line of work then you needs to determine what a career in 3D animation is.

What you soon will discover is that being as you have chosen 3D you are going to be technically a computer graphics artist. This means you may end up spending more time on lighting, modeling, texturing or perhaps rendering rather than developing characters. So in reality what should be your real job title should you be designated to one of these categories? Let us say you become one of the following...

1. You predominantly set up lighting that pertains to a particular scene for a 3D piece. It will be your job to ensure it is the way it is suppose to look and has the right feel about it. You are then technically a lighting artist.

2. Your job is to make the 3D models that are going to be in the 3D scene. This is a technical assignment where you will have to first design the character in mesh then it proceeds through stages to end up as the finished character. You have now become a 3D Modeler.

3. You spend your days painting and creating the textures that are going to be encasement for the characters. In essence, you are creating the skin so it ends up looking as it was designed to look. You new position is now that of texturing artist.

4. Here is one you may find interesting. You are going to be the person looking after creating the bone system. This is what the animator will use to make the model work as it was meant to. Therefore, you have now become a rigger.

5. You may find being in charge of a rendering farm a little more enlightening as here you will have the responsibility of ensuring each 3D frame image is produced properly by the

6. Last but not least how about the duties of the animator. Do not think that it is going to be a cartoon character. In reality, you may be animating anything that moves like a mechanical action of a motor for example or some movement in the human body such as the heart beating.

So now you know all of the different aspects of the 3D animation industry

Thank you, bainchod!
These are some great tips.
Welcome to the 3d forums btw
_________________
Andyba, 3d artist
skills: 3d modeling, texturing, rendering, 3d character animation, compositing
3d software experience: 3ds max, Maya, Softimage XSI, Deep Paint 3d, Body Paint 3D, Wings 3D, Z Brush
2d software experience: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After effects, Macromedia Flash, Freehand

i have done a 3d character model just the base mesh....i dont know how to proceed further
adding muscle details in maya or should i go to z-brush or mudbox
or how to model a cloth
then how to go for texturing
can anyone help me

Thanks for the info I never attended college or uni for animation but over last 2 years have been solidly using cinema 4d, vue, poser and some 3d max... rigging figures and animating them all day is an answer to my dream job . Calling people trying to sell them IT is not! .... Do you need to have been to uni to get into an animation job?

Well, if you havn't found a job, you could start here...
So you know, you will have competition.

We need a clever animated 'Movie Studio Intro' to be featured at the beginning of each film we produce.
You will receive a screen credit in each film your 'Movie Studio Intro' is featured in (and bragging rights).
Also, when we hire our animators, you will be the first person we go to.

If you're interested, the animation should be between five and twenty seconds in length.
1920 X 1080 preferred but, we will accept 1280 X 720.
The company's name, 1964 Motion Pictures, must be prominent at the end of the animation.

We will need this before March 28th, 2010 for our feature film, "Proper Binge".

Here's a little background:
1.We are an Alaska based motion picture production company.
2.Our name, 1964 Motion Pictures, is taken from Alaska's largest earthquake, second largest in the world, that took place on March 28th, 1964.
3.Our company slogan is “Groundbreaking Entertainment”.

If you would like more information or an idea to get you motivated, just ask.