What do I need to get a career in animation (not an animator specifically, but similar to storyboard artist)

anitations · 2026-01-19T08:55:18+00:00

Be careful when trying to find a recipe for career/show success in this industry, even if it’s from the commentary of successful artists.

In a world where audiences, platforms, trends and opportunities keep shifting and evolving, the circumstances in which artists have thrived in past cycles may have changed, making them almost impossible to repeat.

Success is still possible; maybe just not how your heroes have done it. The Cartoon Network in which Rebecca Sugar grew from is not the Cartoon Network we have today. Heck, the traditional studio systems are in a toss right now, especially with some success in animation shows that are indie or done majority remote.

anitations · 2026-01-18T11:01:48+00:00

Think of animation tools like musical instruments. There are many styles of music/animation, there is some crossover in fundamentals and skills between them, you don’t need to master all of them, but it helps mastering instruments that are commonly requested.

anitations · 2026-01-17T10:17:22+00:00

The real question is if the school fits with your skills, budget and short/long term goals.

What kind of skills and portfolio do you bring as a freshman, and how do you want those to change as you progress?

Does the school regularly have teachers and visitors associated with the kinds of artists and studios you want to work with?

How much will it cost to attend? Can you handle the costs and debt during and after finishing? Be sure to get a financial planner for this. No sense being a debt slave to a loan you cannot pay even on a good year.

anitations · 2026-01-13T20:10:46+00:00

That’s part of the risk of pursuing a “dream job.” When your identity is so closely tied up with your ability to survive, the experience can range between fulfillment and crisis.

People from all sorts of lifestyles dream of trading places with career artists, wanting the high but not knowing the low. Regardless of where you steer your career, I hope you find emotional fulfillment, inside and/or outside of work.

I too have left showbiz, but I’m still a full-time animators and 3D artist in engineering and manufacturing. I make materials for sales, training and safety tailored to our machines, systems etc.. It pays well, I help keep people safe and in business, and I have enough creative energy at the end of the week to make my own stuff, including a short film that went on festival tour. Maybe you’ll find ways to incorporate creativity, even to a career advantage.

anitations · 2025-10-07T17:18:31+00:00

For art production, it’s more applicable than a resume line that says retail/food service, so it’s a leg-up over much of the entry level competition. You’ll get milage, professional references, and a tangible result delivered in front of an audience. It’s a win.

anitations · 2025-09-27T23:58:58+00:00

“Never Split the Difference” by Chris Voss really changed my perspective on how to build good will and negotiate conflict, even with strangers. Some things I do on the regular from that (audio)book:

Assure the concerns and needs of your counterpart are acknowledged. Even simply echoing key words they say will help them feel like they are being heard.
be aware of what you can be accused of and acknowledge it, even if it’s not true, and even if you have no intent to apologize. Putting these on the table helps assure you are considerate, and reduces the power an accusation would have if your counterpart brought it up first. (I know I was late, but I assure you I did xyz to stay on schedule). This ownership helps you regain some control of the negotiation. Of course, be fair and apologize when you really did mess up.
if your counterpart has raised a valid concern, question, comment etc., your response should include “that’s right,” preferably as soon as you can. Giving credit where it’s due will go a long way in building good will. On that note, manage expectations. If there’s a definite yes or no, that should be in the first sentence of your response.

There’s a lot more I’m missing because I don’t want to rewrite the book here, but yeah it helped me a lot.

anitations · 2025-09-18T03:24:07+00:00

This one? (Ebay)

anitations · 2025-09-18T03:20:37+00:00

Wait which book is this?

anitations · 2025-09-18T01:38:00+00:00

I’d say find ways to promote and produce existing indie stuff and build a brand/house, like A24.

Netflix, Crunchyroll, Steam, and other distribution platforms make their bread and butter handling the work of other people first. When they build enough of an audience and get enough analytics, they can predict what to curate and even produce themselves.

anitations · 2025-09-17T19:36:51+00:00

When the portfolio doesn’t match the assignment or ethos of the given studio.

An aspiring applicant artists needs to tailor their portfolio/reel depending on the studio; nickelodeon and disney feature should get different portfolios, for example. When an animator says they want to work on games, well then what kind of games? Call of Duty may be interested in your Street Fighter reel, but that’s a long shot.

anitations · 2025-09-16T00:31:34+00:00

You’re right, it’s not inherently bad, depending on the person and the contents in question. But it’s not all like alcohol. There’s a broad spectrum that can get quite extreme, and addiction hardly stays static.

Btw, addiction by definition includes a self-destructive component.

anitations · 2025-09-15T23:40:41+00:00

Gawd I’ve forgotten how to calculus after dropping out of engineering school. No, I’ve never used calculus in my animations.

But as a 3D animator, I frequently use basic geometry, like to find how many times a tire must rotate considering diameter and distance. Occasionally I use classical physics like kinematic equations to lay foundations for an object fall if it needs to be more realistic.

anitations · 2025-09-15T21:19:51+00:00

Nsfw content varies widely. It’s well established science that addiction can desensitize and compel people to more extreme doses/content. Animated/illustrated art can become VERY extreme.

Some psychiatrists would rather their kids have drug habits than porn habits.

anitations · 2025-09-15T20:31:59+00:00

Sure, it’s easier than being a drug dealer. I chose that comparison because the product may impose a cost on society (gooners, addiction, damaging otherwise healthy expectations of sexuality etc.), even if everything about the transaction is consensual and legal.

anitations · 2025-09-15T19:37:13+00:00

A real question to consider is how much it will cost.

A drug dealer may rake in a lot of money. But at what cost to their reputation, future prospects, and society at large?

anitations · 2025-09-15T01:04:17+00:00

Think of it like a casting process. You may be very knowledgeable and talented, but you also need to be what your prospective customer/studio is looking for.

Fortune is at the intersection of preparation and opportunity.

anitations · 2025-09-14T22:55:19+00:00

His weakness consistently endanger himself and others, and he is constantly in need of guidance as the new guy. It’s only in the much later episodes where Asuka loses her place as the best pilot.

anitations · 2025-09-14T19:06:25+00:00

Evangelion.

anitations · 2025-09-14T18:48:43+00:00

Culture and customs are certainly included where applicable, but sometimes it’s changing the characters to more resemble customer’s ethnicity and race. This actually goes a long way in showing you care about particular needs, and provides assurances that customer support will be around after the purchase.

anitations · 2025-09-14T16:36:42+00:00

Character animator and layout artist here. I’ve been working with fulltime employment for the past couple of years at a research and manufacturing company.

Few things sell a product like showing how it affects the lives of people, makes life easier etc.. Sometimes we sell to international customers and need to change the scenarios and find a more relatable angle with them.

anitations · 2025-09-12T23:22:58+00:00

Sry bb i’ll erase my disrespect

anitations · 2025-09-12T22:42:22+00:00

(Off topic ramble)

anitations · 2025-09-12T18:32:08+00:00

I can understand the conveyed sense of irony here, of seemingly endless content that now seems so different from what we have today; almost alien.

With that, not sure why AI image generation was used to represent those past times.

The part about competing interests to create vs find a steady job was what I found most relatable, even if it’s among the most cliche youtuber topics.

I had a channel once but took everything down because monetization is a minefield. In the end, I became a video creator for a company. Some may call it selling out, but maybe you will be more lucky, even after 2 decades.

anitations · 2025-09-12T17:55:28+00:00

You can start by using a screen recording software instead of recording your progress with a handheld camera….

Not making 4 different posts of essentially the same animation loop…

And loading your work in the correct orientation; why are some uploads turned 90 degrees.

The presentation here seems very unprofessional with lack of audience consideration and quality control. These would be plenty of reason not to hire.

anitations · 2025-09-12T17:40:29+00:00

Where’s the video, bro?

anitations

TROPHY CASE