How to Start a Career in Stop Motion Animation
Stop motion animation is a niche field that requires specific technical and creative skills. It’s a subset of animation where physical objects are moved and captured after every frame, and the reel is played back at speed to create the illusion of moving images.
If you’re interested in pursuing a career in stop motion animation, here’s how to go about it.
Scope of a Career in Stop Motion Animation
Stop motion artists majorly work in the film, TV, media, and software publishing industries. An average stop motion animator makes around $69,000 per year, perGlassdoor. Pay varies with the industry you’re working in.
The motion picture industry pays higher remunerations to animators vs. the software publishing and digital advertising industry, perChron. It’s an expensive undertaking if you’re working as a freelancer, unless you stick to using your phone and free animation software and post-processing apps.
Educational Qualifications for a Career in Stop Motion Animation
A formal bachelor’s degree in motion graphics, design, illustrations, art direction, graphics design, animation, and relevant media fields is a good starting point for a career in stop motion animation.
Education or experience in media production, theoretical knowledge of animation, working knowledge of the tools and software used in the process, excellent communication skills, and demonstrated ability in the visual arts also help gain a foothold in the industry. Although having a formal degree is not always a requirement if you’ve got a stellar portfolio, it does help you bag better positions in the industry.
1. Get Started With Online Courses
Explore online courses to pad your resume in lieu of a formal degree. Unlike other fields where a free course or two is usually the norm, stop motion animation is an expensive art form, and most courses require payment. Here are a couple of resources to get you started:
YouTube is an excellent resource for learning the basics of stop motion animation. Search for a particular process or tool usage and find free video content on the topic.
2. Build Your Technical Skills
One or more of these technical skills are necessary to pursue a career in stop motion animation:
3. Work on Non-Technical Skills
Stop motion animation is a time-consuming art, and having these non-technical skills is essential to pursue a career in the field:
4. Learn to Work With Popular Apps and Tools
Working with footage, editing video content, adding audio files, and expertise in animation software and processing techniques are necessary prerequisites for making animated movies.
Numerous free illustration and animation software programs likeiMotion,qStopMotion, etc., help you edit video footage, animate your pictures, and more. In addition to thetop animation apps for Android, master a few of these popular software programs to work in this field:
5. Get Ideas and Inspiration
Once you have the software and hardware in place, it’s time for some inspiration to create your reels. Join popular forums and communities likeStop Motion AnimationandBricks in Motionto discuss concepts and ideas.
Explore marketplaces likeStickybones,Animation Supplies, andStop Motion Shopto educate yourself about the equipment essential for the job. Stop Motion Planet has helpful lists forstudios,animators, artists,contests, and challenges that can help you learn more about other artists and opportunities.
Look up Stop Motion Animation Shorts on YouTube, and subscribe to channels likeStopmotion CookingandSHIPto see the best gallery of reels.Pinterestboards on the topic andcreative websites for photography inspirationalso serve as excellent visual concepts and ideas inspiration.
6. Create a Portfolio
Create a portfolio of stop motion animation shorts and movies with the help of free film-creating software likeFlixierand video editing software likeFilmora. Upload them on sites like YouTube, Dailymotion, etc.
Use sites likeBehanceandWix, and the ready-made templates they offer, to create an eye-catching portfolio of your reels and images. Promote your channel via social media campaigns. Use relevant hashtags when posting on social media sites to show up in keyword searches.
7. Get an Entry-Level Job
Almost all online job portals like LinkedIn, ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and so on advertise stop motion animation jobs you can apply to directly. Join freelance marketplaces likeUpwork,Flexjobs, etc., for freelance project work.
Alternatively, look up top studios known for stop motion animation likeBeast Animation,Bix Pix Entertainment,Bent Image Lab, etc., explore their career sections, and pitch your ideas to them where applicable.
Get Your Stop Motion Animation Career Rolling
If you’re passionate about the creative arts, animated storytelling, photography, or design, stop motion animation would make for a great career choice. Work as part of a movie-making unit or be an independent artist churning out creative stories with innovative stop-motion reels. Explore other careers in the field if the visual arts aren’t your forte.
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