Animation design refers to the art of developing special effects, animations, and creative designs for a variety of media forms ranging from video games, social media sites, and movies to assets such as major apps and websites. Now these special effects and animations can be either 3-dimensional or CGI or 2D. It can be a simple loading icon to a full-fledged animated video with a story and voice-overs.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), most animation designers place emphasis on only one aspect of animation designing and focus on working within their specialized domain. This specialty could either be creating animated movies or shows, making special effects, CGI for video games or other purposes, or designing background scenes and special effects.
What do Animation Designers do?
Animation designing is a field that pairs technology with design and creativity. The tasks that animation designers undertake are diverse and multi-faceted in nature. Therefore, a range of skills is required to undertake these responsibilities. Primarily, the tasks of animation designers include:
- Drawing: Whether it be for 2D animations or CGI imagery, animation designers primarily need to draw their designs on paper or create them digitally to serve as the foundation for actual animations later on.
- Animating: After the creation of the initial model, the next task of animation designers is to animate it as per their requirements. Animation software is generally used for this step, with different processes for 2D and 3D models and animations.
- Editing: As an animation designer, one is usually a part of a team of writers, UX designers, editors, and a director. There is no unique ‘task’ of the animation designer as the work can range from a variety of related creative fields, or helping their team with their tasks.
- Storyboarding: Storyboarding refers to the process of mapping out the animation sequence visually through a series of digital or hand-drawn sketches. This process involves using their creativity to generate a complete animation from a concept they receive from their clients or directors.
- Brainstorming: This, again, is a task that requires animation designers to work with their team to brainstorm new ideas for individual projects or clients.
- Conceptualizing: While brainstorming, animation designers also need to quickly design sketches and create mockups to conceptualize the ideas that were developed during the brainstorming session.
