After watching my daughter get a grad degree in animation/ computer art , and asking a lot of questions, I have learned quite a bit about the animation business.
First, most people think that to break into the industry, they need to learn or be good at character animation. This IS NOT TRUE! There is a whole pipeline that goes into making an animated movie, game or commercial. Certainly , character animation is a major component;however, other specialists are needed such as lighters, skinners, concept artists, special effects artists, particles and dynamics experts ( which intern have subspecialties such has hair, fur, water, fire etc.), story boarders, riggers, background artists and more. Since most people who want to go into the animation business major in character animation, there are more of them than that found in any other specialty,which makes for more competition among character animators.
My point is that you really need to know which area of the animation pipeline you will be good at and would like. Going to a broad based curriculum that will expose you to all these areas in my opinion would be critical. It will help you filter out what you want and will give you an understanding of the whole pipeline so that you can both understand and work with other specialists.
With all this said, you have a couple of options, you can go to a trade school like Gnomon that will expose you to many areas of the pipeline. You can go to a grad or undergrad program that would do the same thing. The advantage of a grad program is that if you understand which area of the pipeline appeals to you, you can develop a strong specialization in it with courses and independent study, which may or may not be available to you in places like Gnomon.
Places like Animation Mentor would be great if you only want to master character animation.
Bottom line: Getting exposed to all areas of the animation pipeline would in my opinion be the first crucial step that all future animators should take. Finding which area of the pipeline that would be most appealing to them would be the next crucial step. Finally, getting some in depth instruction in the area of specialization would be the final crucial step.Your education , regardless of whether it was gotten through a grad degree or certificate program, should be geared with these goals in mind, in my opinion.
One final point, some of these programs have faculty that are well connected in the industry. This is particularly true for places like USC, Gnomon, School of Visual Arts, Pratt etc. These are just a few examples and are not meant to be necessarily highlighted over other places.
Picking a school in the area that you want to work can also help you find jobs in that area. Lets face it, you won’t get as many connections from Gnomon if you want to work on the east coast as you would from SVA or Pratt. The reverse would be true of you wanted to work in the west coast. I think the geographic location of the school should also be taken into account especially if you aren’t a “go-getter.”
