Computer Animation Careers: Find Your Talent in Animation

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Computer Animation Career Paths for Graduates

Your time in school will be time well spent. In a highly technical computer animation career, education gives you the skills you need to pursue a variety of jobs. Computer animation schools give you the chance to experiment with many different phases of the animation process. You'll be able to get a feel for different careers and decide which one interests you most.

Computer animation often involves a small army of people—especially when done on a large scale, as in a feature-length animated production. Listed below are some types of computer animation jobs you might want to consider as you start your career. While the actual job titles may change from company to company, this list gives you an idea of the kinds of jobs out there and where each one fits into the computer animation process.

Pre-Production Phase

In the pre-production phase, the designs for everything from the characters, to the backgrounds, to the effects must be completed and readied for production. Team members with computer animation careers in pre-production complete the following kinds of tasks:

• Design
• Layout
• Storyboarding
• Tool development

Production Phase

Once the design for each element is complete, the production team can work their magic. They'll produce animated sequences and add effects and textures. In the production phase, the team focuses on the following kinds of tasks:

• Animation
• Character rigging
• Lighting
• Modeling
• Rendering
• Texturing
• Visual Effects

Post-Production Phase

The post-production team puts the finishing touches on the project. Workers who specialize in the post-production end of animation complete the following kinds of tasks:

• Compositing
• Editing
• Scanning

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