Video Game Animator

 When I grow up I want to do something that is fun for me and that entertains other people. That is why I chose a video game animator as my career chose. It’s fun for me to bring life into things and after the entire game is finished, other people enjoy the work that I have done while playing the game. It’s a very fun career but there are some things you must know to do it.

   I chose this job for 4 reasons; I like to draw, I like video games, I like creating things, and I like working on the computer. Animators have one of the most important jobs in creating games. They bring life into characters, creatures, and objects in the games. In other words they make people and monsters walk, talk, and fight. They make trees rustle in the wind and cars drive down a road. Without an animator, the game would just have pictures sliding across the screen with dramatic music in the backround. There are two types of animation; 3-D animation and 2-D animation. In 3-D animation the animator first creates a skeleton of the character or creature to show how it can move. Then they create a 3-D model of it’s surface and attaches it to the skeleton. After that they test out movement such as running and fighting. 2-D animation is a bit simpler in that it is usually only used for interface elements such as buttons and icons. The pay scale is about $25,000 to $30,000 a year for entry level animators. With two to three years of experience, it’s at about $35,000 to $60,000 a year. With five or more years the pay scale can range for $55,000 to $90,000 or more per year. There are almost always job openings for this job. On different video game company websites you can find advertisements saying that there are job positions open usually including animation positions.

   Here is my interview with video game animator, Daniel Glenn.

 Did you go to college or are you self-taught?
    Im not really self-taught per say, I knew the basic 3-D programs but I learned almost everything I know from many talented people.
 When did you first know that you wanted to be an animator?
    Well I’ve aways loved video games but what really helped me decide to go into animation was when I joined a small video game company, and met a great 2-D animtor, Joseph Fontenot, who pretty much opened my eyes to the many possibilities you can accomplish with animation.
 What were your plans when you first started in animation and did they turn out as you expected?
    I had planned that I would probly do this for the rest of my life and continue to increase my knowledge in animation, but didnt really have any big plans. Yes it has turned out as expected if not a ittle more. I’ve learned more than I’ve ever thought possible and still love my job.
 What advise can you give me if I wanted to become an animator?
    Many people think working on creating games is ike playing them all day but it’s not,that’s the job of game testers who play the same level 300 times a day. To be an animator you must want to do it because it is very time consuming and demanding. But if your truly interested then all I have to say is work hard and be original.

   Some good college choices for this job would be The Art Institutes, Westwood Colleges, and the International Academy of Design and Technology. All of these colleges have good animation classes. You would need to take classes on graphic arts, illistartion, and computer design software. You woud have to maintain a two point GPA or higher.
   After college I was planning on staying here in Houston, Texas. Unless some great epidemic happens, I expect that atleast a couple of jobs will be available. if not I can always move out of state to where some animation job positions are. When I find a job the salary will probly start from $25,000 to $30,000. There is a pretty good chance that my salary will increase as I grow more experienced through the years. Skills that wouls help you in this job are being capable of working under the pressure of a deadline, creativity, communication skills, good perspective, familiarity with the human anatomy, and good artistic abilities. After many years, my friends-who also want to be involved with game development- and I were thinking of creating our own game developing company and creating our own games.

   That is the basic overview of this job and why I like it. Video games aren’t what they used to be. They’re bigger, faster, and vastly more complicated. It’s a huge industry that’s still growing and evolving very quickly. This makes it a great industry to get involved in and is just another reason on why I chose this job.