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Animation education can offer students bright career. The specialization in visual effects adds value to the career. Movies, cartoon shows and serial in television are creating big bash in the world of animation. The demands for animators are at the peak. But it often happens that people want to pursue animation education from a particular university or they do not have time to attend regular classes. In such a case, online animation education can also be of great help.

Online sources of animation education

There are a large number of colleges that are offering online courses with certification in animation education:

Westwood College Online - This College has accreditation from Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology (ACCSCT). This college provides course material and detail instruction on animation. The following are the undergraduate degrees offered by the college online:

• Game and design
• Game software development
• Animation

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh – Online Division - The online division of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh (AI Pittsburgh) awards associate of science degrees and Bachelor of Science to the online students. The online version of the website consists of all the degree programs that complete an animation education course. Students are highly beneficial with such courses and degrees.

3D Training Institute – Online - This institute gathers latest information n animation education from various universities and also has an effective instructional facility to provide its students. The online courses offered here are simply effective for students to get quality job. Here are the courses they offer:

• 3D Project Based Course
• Foundation Workshop

Learning-maya.com - This is an effective website from where students pursuing animation education can get details knowledge about the following:

• Modeling & Rigging
• Animation
• Texturing
• Rendering and Effects

3D movies and 2D cartoons seem to have created a niche in the minds of even adults along with children. The popularity of the animated shows in television has leveraged the growth of animation schools, both online and offline. Creative men and women, with fresh ideas and creative skills, want to achieve the peak of the animation world. Students from some of the famous animation schools are actively taking part to build a virtual world that forms the very basis of entertainment. Animation is now one of the fastest changing and rewarding careers. Well trainer computer animators are always in demand. The cutting –edge competition in technology can be effectively answered with a degree in animation education.

Job profiles of animators :

Below are some of the job profiles of an animator.

• Animation programmer - An animator with this profile is responsible for bringing artwork and characters to life, create real movements in 3D digital environments, storyboarding and animation should also be done.
• Game designer - He/she with this profile is responsible for framing the concept of the game and should have knowledge of game design process, level design and animation.
• Game and art design programmer- The game programmer would be responsible for programming games. The animator is responsible for working in collaboration with a team of programmers.
• 3D production artists - Should have a detailed knowledge about 3D animation and need to take active interest in the production process.
• 2D designers- This profile demands that the designer needs to have a degree in 2D animation along with some knowledge in 3D.

Requirements of animation artists:

An institution that imparts knowledge on animation education takes care of the following and these are the qualities that are sought in animation artists:

• The students who pursued animation education should have excellent knowledge in digital animation techniques.
• Creative people who are able to animate characters
• High imagination power and the capability to put them into play
• Attention to detail and the power to draw human characters and figures
• Meet deadline by planning an effective work schedule
• Attend training and seminars to enhance knowledge.

Animation creates an optical illusion of movements that bear a close resemblance with the reality. 2D and 3D images are rapidly displayed to form a sequence that produces a movie. The animation career is booming as new talents are venturing into the field. Adaptation with latest technology and framing of new ideas always keep the animators in a favorable position.

To meet the rising demand of animators, animation schools are mushrooming all over the world at a faster pace. Most of these schools provide a complete package of web designing which incorporates animation education as well. Animation education is often highly priced but the return back in monetary terms, after certification, is higher.

Institutions teaching animation

• Academy of Art University is one of the oldest private art and design universities that offer a large number of certificate courses like animation, architecture, fashion, graphic design, fine arts and photography.

• The art Institute of Pittsburgh has an online division that offers digital design, interactive media design and graphic design.

• Sheridan College , Canada is one of the famous animation schools with ample services and state-of-art infrastructure. This college teaches its students a 2D and 3D course in animation. This is known to be the first animation schools in the world that provides animation education.

• Gnomon Institute of visual effects, USA was founded by Applications Engineers from Alias Wavefront. High end digital content and techniques are used to training the students in animation.

• Vancouver Film School , Canada is known for the 3D animation and digital effect course. This is a wide platform where students can showcase their talents. This school is known for balancing theoretical and practical classes.

• School of Visual Arts , USA is such an institute whose student speaks about the quality of training. Students from this institute are working in Pixar, Disney, Blue Sky Studio, DreamWorks skg, and Nickelodeon.

Animation is now a sparkling career that professional are enjoying. This is a field where the artists get to express themselves and feature their creativity. However, to enjoy a strong career in animation you require strong artistic skills and familiarity with the latest technology. The ability to shape creative thoughts into images can be an enough challenging job for most of the professionals.

Some of the lucrative animation careers ahead for such professionals are:

• Video game animation - The professional has to be well aquatinted with the lighting effects, texture mapping, and other special effects of animation.

• Movie and television production - Films like Finding Nemo, Ice age, Lion king are some of the memorable examples of movie and television animation works. This work demands the creation of logo, cartoon and also special effects.

• Online animation - Flash is the buzzword when you are creating online animation. The advertisement that flashes on the computer screen on opening a webpage is an online animation product. A professional venturing into this field should posses the knowledge of such software and technology.

• Computer animation - Moving wallpapers and screensavers are all created with specialized technology. The computer animators are earns large amount in this profession as the rate of growth of IT is very fast.

Tips to become a successful animator:

1. Practice drawing right from an early age.
2. Study the creations of the previous animators to get a feel of it.
3. Always learn new skill and grow with the technology to stay ahead in the competitive market.
4. 4 hours of education classes are considered essential for every animator no matter what position is he/she holding.
5. Select the animation school after an extensive research work.
6. Look for employees who are working in the same field and question their experiences.
7. Professional degrees in animation are always rewarded.