ANIMATORS AND CARTOONISTS DRAW on their talents every day, bringing colorful characters to life in a world where anything is possible. If you really love drawing, have a vivid imagination, a continuous flow of ideas, a tireless creative streak, and a willingness to work hard, you just might want to pencil yourself in for a career in animation and cartooning. Interestingly, a great deal of animation and cartooning is steeped in reality. Artists who create the best cartoon characters are those who can draw lifelike people and animals that seem to jump off a page or out of a movie screen. The characters appear ready to walk right into a viewer's life. How does an artist accomplish this? By having an eye for detail. These insightful cartoonists study the shape, size, and structure of the human body, as well as the bodies of animals, birds, and all living creatures that they might one day want to capture on the drawing board. In their minds, top animators and cartoonists have recorded thousands of human gestures, reactions, and expressions. They are keenly aware of the way people and animals move. Add to that, meticulous observations about the forms of endless objects around us, and you have the makings of magical creations of a surreal world where animals talk, plants cry, trees move, candlesticks give advice, and people fall off cliffs, get run over by steamrollers, and fall out of airplanes - only to live to tell the tale. This ability to draw reality precisely allows an artist to start distorting that drawing, contributing twists and turns, and blends of fantasy that seem perfectly plausible to the viewer. Elongated heads, stubby legs, pronounced wide-rimmed glasses, strange walks, and peculiar postures - all spring from the imagination of inventive animators and cartoonists as they give their characters distinctive physical attributes that will make them stand out and become memorable. They add movements, actions, and voices done by experienced actors who express the personalities of characters just as the artists envisioned them when these drawings started out as simple circles, triangles, and lines on a sketchpad. The test of an animator is to be able to draw a character that conveys feeling and emotion to an audience. A challenging career with limitless possibilities, the field of animation art requires you to be willing to start at the bottom and work your way up. This could mean years of developing someone else's ideas and concepts before you get a chance to show what you can do on your own. On the other hand, this field is growing so rapidly that there is a chance you can get your breakout assignment sooner rather than later, as artists with a fresh view are sought to create innovative work for multiple media, from magazines to computer games, comic books to commercials, animated television shows to major motion pictures. This new Careers Ebook contains a wealth of unbiased information about an occupational field, based on the latest national surveys. Careers Ebooks cover attractive and unattractive sides, opportunities, education necessary, personal qualifications required, earnings, descriptions of different job specialties, first person accounts by those in the field, and how to get started; including practical advice on what to do now. There are live links to schools and colleges, associations, periodicals and other sources of reliable information.

"A manual of methods, principles and formulas for classical, computer, games, stop motion and internet animators"--Cover.

Highly creative, detail-oriented young people who enjoy visual media may find a satisfying career in multimedia art and animation. Multimedia artists create animation, special effects, and other visual images for a variety of media, including movies, video games, advertising, and the Web. This title discusses the opportunities available to aspiring multimedia creators and the tools of the trade they can begin learning now as a hobby. Readers get helpful advice on developing a body of artistic work and creating a quality portfolio that will help them reach their long-term goals.

"There has never been a better time to have a career in animation and comic books. Jobs for web and visual effects animators, comic book artists, and even graphic novelists are opening up thanks to growing demand in industries tied to entertainment and the internet. What these jobs entail, what they pay, and future prospects are discussed along with insights from industry insiders"--

When artist Natalie Nourigat left her life in Portland to move to Los Angeles and pursue a job in animation, she realized that despite her research, nothing truly prepared her for the wild world that awaited in the studios of Southern California. This autobiographical how-to graphic novel explores the highest highs and lowest lows of pursuing a dream in animation. Brushed with a dose of humor and illustrated advice about salaries, studio culture, and everything in between, I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation is the unique insider experience you won’t find anywhere else.

A Newly Revised Edition of the Go-To Guide for Any Animation Artist! “Your Career in Animation is the most comprehensive and valuable book on animation careers that you’ll ever need.” —Bill Plympton, Animator / Producer Whether you want to break into the animation industry or “toon up” to a better career, this comprehensive guide will show you how. A leading animation professional surveys the field and shares the advice of more than one hundred and fifty top talents in the business of making toons— including Brooke Keesling, head of animation talent development at Bento Box, Mike Hollingsworth, supervising director of BoJack Horseman; Andrea Fernandez, art director on The Cuphead Show! PES, Oscar-nominated stop-motion director of Fresh Guacamole; Linda Simensky, head of content for PBS Kids; Minty Lewis, co-creator of The Great North; Ross Bollinger, YouTube sensation with his Pencilmation channel, and executives from Nickelodeon, Disney TVA, Titmouse, Inc., Frederator, PBS Kids, Netflix, 9 Story Media Group, Cartoon Network; and dozens of others. Learn how to: • Get the most out of your animation education • Build a portfolio, reel, and resume • Keep your skills marketable for years to come • Network effectively • Learn from on-the-job criticism • Cope with unemployment • Start your own studio or build an indie brand online • Pitch and sell a show of your own • And more! Also included are invaluable resources such as animation schools, societies, film festivals, events, Web sites, and publications. Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.