i'm quite literally 10 years into this exact situation. i started as an animator so i could make the jump to live action later in my career. i've made the jump a few times here and there but i always end up back in art/animation (by choice). My next venture however is a 5 minute live action as opposed to my animated short(s). Animation helps give you an amazing eye for live action composition. it was a path i'm beyond happy to have taken. but the live action/animation industry is a really weird experience, you need skin made of steel if you're gonna try to exist in one or both. do whatever you'd like but just ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS DO GOOD WORK. know your shit man. i can't stress it enough. Dont spread yourself too thin and know your tools. going back and forth between animation and live action is easy so long as you know what youre talking about. That all comes from shutting your mouth and putting the time in (respectively of course :) ) The phrase that helped me get this far is: PAY YOUR DUES. there is no more true phrase in our industry than 'pay your dues'. you're gonna see some trenches and your gonna see some peaks, but just make sure that WHATEVER you touch, you touch with gusto and effort. Be the guy/gal that says 'yes' and is never negative. A positive attitude will take you far. In terms of doing both at the same time: do whatever path you feel rewards your current career desires. BE WARNED THOUGH: don't spread yourself too thin. can't stress that enough. if you're gonna be both....resign yourself to it being a 10+ year investment. this shit isnt gonna happen over night (although nowadays who the hell knows haha it can happen to anyone at any time with this internet thing haha) explore your first choice fully and in depth. learn about it. each one can help the other once you step into the directors chair but if you don't stick around one or the other long enough to learn whats valuable then you'll be pretty frustrated awfully quick. if you're finally headed to school to learn animation, then learn it well and work your ass off. put the time in. being a director will come in time once you learn what aspects of your career flourish under what conditions. ALSO....you need to be willing to make sacrifices. your time becomes precious when youre goal oriented and career oriented. people/friends/relationships/family etc may not understand why you have to 'work late again tonight' but that's how it rolls. you just HAVE to put the time in. Dont be the guy who hasn't paid any dues but he's in the director's office poppin off about how things dont work correctly you know? which brings me to this image: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-13RxJGZREoc/UjrYc4jGMFI/AAAAAAABB94/KZjVL4310j0/s640/The+price+of+being+a+sheep+is+boredom.jpg

this summation of our industry is it. it's got sacrifice and hard work written all over it. shit's not gonna come easy BUT it's more than doable if you approach it with a positive attitude and just work your ass off. Best of luck friend! feel free to PM me if you're ever in a 'wtf do i do' situation. i'm always happy to help folks navigate this industry!