Hi all, I’m Raymond. I’ve been working as a 3D animator for 8 years, and my portfolio is all about animated featured like cartoon television series. So I tried to apply animator job for VFX companies, and all of them rejected my job application. I was wondering what else should I work on my personal portfolio to get in VFX studio? Since I don’t have prior VFX work experience at all.
Thank you.
You’ll have to add some more VFX oriented content. Everybody who got the jobs you wanted probably had VFX experience already. So start with some VFX oriented tutorials.
Then you’ll likely want to make your own project/shots for your reel once you get more oriented.
Tutorial content isn’t usually enough to get a job.
As you said, I can’t get in any VFX company until I have my own VFX reel, and it takes a long time for sure. Alright then, maybe I should move on to continue searching for cartoon animation studio. Thank you!
Sometimes VFX and Design studios need 2D animators to help out with animatics and projects where 2D animation is needed for a portion of it. I feel like there’s definitely a role in many studios where your skillsets are needed. I heavily relied on my 2D animators for timing and development of FX shots at a couple of places I’ve worked.
Cheers,
-Lu
Hi Raymond, I have been in VFX industry like 3 years, worked in MPC, DNEG, THE MILL, as far as I know.
Since your people animations are more cartoonic people would have rejected you even you might be a best animator there also, most of the time VFX is based upon simulating the real world physics. For Eg) Anticipation, exaggeration etc are more subtle compared to cartoonic animation.
If the animation is happening in the earth then definitely it should follow the gravity 9.8 m/s2, so the point I’m trying to say is the animation should be realistic not cartoonic.
For example, How do you think the Bagheera(Tiger) from Jungle book look so real, the animators had a bunch of hopping, climbing, fighting reference from real world tiger.
To achieve that you had to take realistic video reference, and try to imitate the animation exactly, offcouse you should follow the animation principles but more subtle and realistic especially follow the priciple weight 
(which you guys never follow in cartoonic) . If I just bump in Linkedin there are many people posting their animation works using a reference. Research up for those VFX animators in linkedin gather information from them itself, They would give better suggestions.
So all the best to your carrer… 