Lesser Known Animation Careers
An animation career can span a variety of jobs in a variety of fields. The software and modeling skills you learn in animation school apply to other design fields too. For three animators, their experience includes more credits than just appear on film.
Landscape Design
Hayao Miyazaki, the director of the successful and critically acclaimed Howl’s Moving Castle, inspired his son’s animation career. His son Goro studied landscape design before creating his own animation features. Landscape design is the art of using CAD, spatial planning, and environmental design to create commercial, residential, and rural landscapes.
Typography and Graphic Design
Tony White’s animation credits span several decades (and countries), including the Jackson 5 TV series and the title sequences for The Pink Panther films. After animation school in London, he began his animation career in typography in graphic design. Every business, big or small, needs a logo, and the U.S. government calls graphic design the fastest-growing design field out there.
2D Animation
Mike Gerard was part of the Disney crowd, at a time when John Lasseter and Brad Bird were learning their craft. He found his career calling in the world of TV, where he’s been told the animation “shouldn’t be good.” The art of 2D animation is alive enough to still provide for animation jobs and careers to those passionate about it.
Sources
LA Times
Toon Zone
KVOA Tucson
About the Author
Joe Cooper is a freelance education and technology writer and edits medical literature. He holds a bachelor’s in American Literature from UCLA.
