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Animation Film Design

The word ‘animation’ comes from the Latin verb ‘animare’ which means to “make alive” or “fill with breathe.” Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images to create an illusion of movement. The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion picture or video program. A career in animation can be described as the art of breathing life into a character or an object. A blend of entertainment and technology, it is concerned with design, drawing, layout, and production of graphically rich and attractive multimedia clips.

Animation Design at a Glance

Animators are artists who use sequential images of drawings, puppets, and models to produce films for commercials, computer games, pop music videos and websites. Much of the work involves pitching and being proactive in selling your ideas to prospective clients.

Regular tasks typically involve :

Drawing in 2D to create sketches, artwork or illustrations
Designing models, backgrounds, sets, characters, objects, etc.
Developing the timing and pace of the movements of a character or object during the sequence of images and ensuring that they follow the soundtrack and audio requirements
Using technical software packages, such as Flash, 3Ds Max, Maya, LightWave, Softimage and Cinema 4D
Building accurate and detailed frame-by-frame visuals
Dealing with diverse business cultures, delivering presentations and finding funding

One needs the following skills for a successful career in Animation :

Creativity & innovative ability
Good technical & software knowledge
Artistic talent
A knack for storytelling
Attention to detail
Ability to work under pressure
Ability to meet tight deadlines

About Animation Design Schools

Sr No.	College/Institute	Location	Courses
1.	National Institute of Design (NID)	Ahmedabad	4 year GPD 2.5 year PGPD in Animation Film Design
2.	IDC, IIT Bombay	Mumbai	2 year M.Des in Animation
3.	MIT- Institute of Design	Pune	4.5 year GPD in Animation
4.	Whistling Woods Institute	Mumbai	2 year Diploma in the Art & Technique of Animation
6.	Srishti School of Design	Bangalore	2 year Advanced Diploma in Animation & Gaming
7.	Graphiti School of Animation	Mumbai	1 year Diploma course in 3D Animation
8.	TOONZ Animation Academy	Trivandrum	12 months’ Advanced Diploma in Digital Arts and Animation 6-month Advanced Certificate course in 2D animation 6-month Advanced Certificate course in 3D animation 4-month Advanced Certificate course in Inbetweening (Entry level Animation)
9.	TOONZ Webel Academy	Kolkata	One year Diploma course in 2D Animation One year Diploma course in 3D Animation
10.	ICAT Design & Media College	Chennai	12 months PG Diploma in Animation, Visual Effects and Game Development
11.	Animation Training School	Bangalore	6 month Diploma course in 2D and 3D animation 12 month Advanced Diploma course in 2D and 3D animation 6 month Foundation Course in 2D Animation
12.	Zee Institute of Creative Arts (ZICA)	Mumbai	3 Years Diploma Course in Animation
13.	Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC)	23 Centres across India	15 months Professional Diploma in 3D Animation and Visual Effects 6 months short term course in learning software: Maya, Discreet, Character Studio, etc. 200-300 hours special courses on compositing, editing, and 3D
14.	Animaster Academy	Bangalore	3, 4, 6, 12 and 18 months Certificate Courses in 2D/3D Animation
15.	RACE Animation College	Hyderabad	3, 6, 9, 10 and 15 months Certificate Course in 2D/3D Animation, Editing, Complete Animation
16.	Academy of Animation Arts & Technology	Kolkata	3, 6, and 12 months Diploma and Certificate Course in Classical Animation, Editing, Digital Animation
17.	Toonskool	Bangalore, Mangalore, Mumbai	6, and 12 months Diploma and Certificate programs in 2D and 3D,Web Animation
18.	Explora Design School	Ahmedabad, Delhi, Pune	3, 6, and 12 months Diploma and Certificate Course in 2D and 3D animation
19.	Arena Animation	Mumbai, Bangalore , and 80 other centres	3, 6, and 12 months and 5 semesters Certificate courses, Professional courses and Career courses in animation and multimedia
20.	Takshaa Academy	Delhi	3, 6, and 12 months Certificate Course in Animation, Modelling, Game Creation, Visual Effects and Light and Shade
21.	Picasso Animation College	Delhi	3, 6, and 12 months Certificate Courses Bsc and Msc programs in Animation, Game Design, Multimedia, etc.
22.	Anitoons Institute	Delhi	4, 6, 8, 12 and 18 months diploma Course in Digital, 2D, Cell Animation and illustration
23.	Caba Innovatives	Delhi	6, 12 and 15 months diploma Course in Multimedia Animation
24.	Pixelloid Animation Studio	Hyderabad	3 and 12 months Certificate Course in 3D and Special Effects
25.	Meteor Institute of Digital Design Studies (MIDDS)	Kerala	16 months Diploma and other short duration Certificate Courses in Animation Design
26.	Auriga Academy	Chennai Bangalore Madurai	Short duration certificate Courses in Digital Imaging, Web Designing, 2D & 3D animation, Video Editing, Visual Effects, Multimedia Programming and Sound Editing
27.	School of Audio Engineering	Chennai Delhi Mumbai Bangalore	1 year diploma and 3 year degree program in Audio engineering, Filmmaking, Animation, and Creative media
28.	TGC Animation & Multimedia	Delhi Gwalior Trichy	Diploma Courses in Animation, Multimedia, Graphics, Web Design

The programs in Animation focus on the following areas :

Artistic talent and technical skills
Communication and storytelling skills
Ability to work with others
Networking skills and commitment to projects through previous work experiences
An engagement with the industry by submitting work to festivals and competitions

About the Work Industry/Job Market

Following are the roles in which one can work after studying animation :

VFX designer
2D/3D Designer
2D/3D Animator
Game art Designer
Stop Motion Animator
Pre-production Designer
Flash Animator
Technical Animator
Lighting and Rendering Specialist
Video Editor
Art Director
Production Designer
Sound Designer
Visual-effects Supervisor
3D Modeller
Character Animators
Production Controller

Following are the recent trends dominating the animation industry :

With its use across a range of media channels, from apps to advertising, websites to music videos, and the changing mindset of the audience, animation has the potential to become one of the most sought-after mediums for entertainment and storytelling in India
The movie-making value chain has undergone a metamorphosis, and it is indeed encouraging to see that mainstream Indian filmmakers plan their production schedules to accommodate the VFX component
Going forward, the trend is expected to catch up even further and thereby become the standard operating procedure. That would also pave the way for further integration of VFX within the script, which may eventually lead to creating a film like ‘Gravity’ in India.

Some of the notable trends mostly likely to dominate the future are :

Use of 3D printing
The rise of Non Photorealistic Rendering (NPR)
Projection mapping
Merging reality with-Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
Growth of brand licensing and merchandising

An aspirant wishing to pursue a career in animation can start with the average salary of around Rs 1.2 lakh p.a.
Experienced professionals can earn up to 7 lakh p.a.

Following are the best companies/studios for animation in India :

DreamWorks Animation
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Pixar
Pentamedia Graphics
Crest Animation Studios
Toonz Animation India
UTV Toonz
Anibrain
Reliance MediaWorks

Associations to Follow :

International Animated Film Association
NYFA
Vancouver Film School
Ipixio Animation School
Pixar
Aartissan Academy

Links to Follow :