Flash Animation Design Career Outlook
By Joe Cooper
joe.cooper@animationschoolreview.com
Animation School Review Columnist
Having Flash animation training on your resume can go a long way in your career. You can apply your expertise as a Flash artist to a web design or animation studio job.
More than the Internet
Flash animation design is common in internet advertising, but its influence extends well beyond e-commerce. Flash animated series, cartoon strips, and branding initiatives all feature Flash animation.
Flash animation has developed into a distinct artistic specialty. Animators develop their own distinct style, just like illustrators. The site “Cold Hard Flash” offers a glimpse into the emerging creative discipline of flash animation design.
Studio Work in Flash
More and more animation studios are dedicating their talents to Flash animation, the demand for which has skyrocketed in recent years. In an article on the west coast animation studio “Renegade Animation,” reviewer Aaron H. Bynum writes, “Finding animators already familiar with the production strategies that need not be trained will be a great advantage” to the studio.
This is why animation school can be very effective in a young animator’s career. If you know how to make Flash animation before you enter the workforce, you will be all the more attractive to studios like Renegade.
Is Animation School Really Needed?
Animation school is the best place to develop Flash skills. Opportunities for on-the-job training in Flash animation are limited. Prototyping software like MotionArtist4 allows users to make flash animation, but it does not develop in-depth skill. MotionArtist4 is to animation like Dreamweaver is to web design: a good tool designed for non-professionals in those disciplines. For a solid foundation in Flash, there’s no replacement for formal training.
Animation school is the first step to a successful career in Flash animation design. This path will allow you to build your job qualifications and take advantage of a broader range of career options.
Sources
Animation Insider
Cold Hard Flash
Thomas Net
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.
Posted on April 23, 2007 at 4:42 PM
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