Animating without modelling talent?

#1

Hey everyone, my name’s Frank. I’m planning on studying 3D arts on the university, but I’m more interested in 3D character animation/rigging than modelling. I don’t know how to draw, nor do I have the skills; but I’m pretty good at keyframe animation in general, working with motion capture performances, and doing facial animations for human characters (I also know a lot of other stuff too, like 3d compositing, rendering, multimedia editing,etc.).

I noticed that most of the universities around here (Brussels, Belgium) require hand-drawing talents, even for character animation; so I was wondering, [b]is there any way to study 3D animation without touching the modelling stuff? Or do I really need to learn how to draw and sculpt?[/b]

And most importantly, nowadays do 3d modellers and 3d animators work separately, or do the 3d modellers also know how to animate their creations?

Frank
#2

With regards to your last question there, it really depends on the size of the studio. Bigger studios tend to hire specialists, whereas artists at smaller studios are usually expected to have a more generalised skillset.

I do know a fair number of animators who don’t know modelling at all, but again, they work in bigger studios where they don’t need to model. I’d say though that with the way the industry is changing these days, artists should probably try to develop more generalised skillsets just to maximise their employment potential.