An animator for cartoons, animated feature films, advertising, or video games creates animation. Animation encompasses a wide range of occupations. An animator for a web cartoon may be the only one working on it, whereas an animator for a big-studio feature film may be one of dozens. What a cartoon animator does is determined the position he or she holds.
A lead animator is essentially the animation process’ project manager. This person manages a team of animators and artists and ensures that the project stays on track. The lead animator is in charge of ensuring that the project adheres to the storyboard and may have some input into staging and acting. Several animation units, each led its own lead animator, may be used in a large-scale animation project.
The team’s animators use either hand or computer animation software to convert drawings into two-dimensional or three-dimensional animation. Animators use sketches to create animated figures, whether they are hand-drawn or computer-generated. A “key” animator draws key frames of each character in hand-drawn animation, and other artists known as “inbetweeners” fill in the gaps to give the illusion of movement. Cleanup artists inspect the transitions between frames to ensure that they are smooth and fluid. Animators create key frames in computer animation software, which then fills in the gaps between them.
In order to work in the television or film industry, a cartoon animator must have a high level of artistic ability and, in most cases, a formal art education. The majority of cartoon animators have at least a bachelor’s degree in animation. They have a lot of experience with animation software. Animators are usually part of a creative team, so they must be able to collaborate well and be willing to take direction and make changes.
Few computer animators work a nine-to-five schedule, so they often work long and irregular hours. Many television and film animators work for large animation studios, but an increasing number of them freelance. Freelancers and independent contractors are especially common among web animators, game animators, and some computer animators. Because putting together a large project takes a lot of people, there are usually plenty of opportunities for a new cartoon animator to get their foot in the door. Inbetweener is the traditional entry-level job for aspiring cartoon animators, but many now begin their careers in computer animation, particularly for the web.