7 answers
Cheeky
Student
22
Questions
Asked
1215 views
How can I start my fine arts career?
I wanna head to animation mainly, but I don’t know where to begin, also what are prior requirements and how long it take? What about costs, success rate!? And any careers awaiting me after grad?
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7 answers
Dr H
Dr. H's Research
1334
Answers
Australia
Updated
Dr’s Answer
Hey Cheeky,
Alright, so Firstly you recieved really amazing advices and agree on them too.
Gishan Ali has given you a simple but solid point—your path depends on your goals. Totally true too. Want a quick start? Two years for an associate’s. Want to go all in? Four years for a bachelor’s. Either way, it’s not about how long it takes, but how much you’re willing to learn.
Brian Oliver, the animation veteran, dropped some real talk for you Cheeky. Animation is an obsession, not a hobby. Expect late nights, software crashes, and moments where you question your life choices. But if you love it, you’ll push through—and maybe even sleep on an office floor a few times (it's a rite of passage, apparently).
Tayo Ajakaiye is brutally honest—passion or bust. The animation world is stacked with talent, and only those who push themselves daily make it. Also, if you think drawing thousands of frames sounds exhausting, well… yeah, it is. But that’s the game.
Bright Komor hit you with a step-by-step guide—education, skills, portfolio, internships, and keeping up with trends. Basically, never stop learning, and always be creating. If you’re waiting to feel "ready," newsflash: nobody ever feels ready. Just start. START!
Sydney Arrowood gave a smart move—check local colleges and their connections. Schools want students, so if they have high success rates and career help, they'll advertise it. Use that to your advantage.
Now, let’s throw in some bonus wisdom that wasn’t mentioned:
Networking is everything. Knowing the right people can get you places skills alone can’t. Go to conventions, join online forums, and don’t be shy—your future job might come from a random conversation.
Soft skills matter. Being great at animation is cool, but if you can’t work in a team or handle feedback, it’s gonna be rough. Studios love talented and easy-to-work-with people.
Start now. Seriously. If you wait until you're "good enough," you’ll never start. Even Pixar animators had cringey first projects. The only way to get better is to make a bunch of stuff—some of it will be bad, but some of it will be brilliant.
So, the takeaway
If animation is your dream, go all in, never stop learning, and have fun with it. The road is tough, but if you love it, every challenge is just part of the adventure.
All the bets Cheeky!
Alright, so Firstly you recieved really amazing advices and agree on them too.
Gishan Ali has given you a simple but solid point—your path depends on your goals. Totally true too. Want a quick start? Two years for an associate’s. Want to go all in? Four years for a bachelor’s. Either way, it’s not about how long it takes, but how much you’re willing to learn.
Brian Oliver, the animation veteran, dropped some real talk for you Cheeky. Animation is an obsession, not a hobby. Expect late nights, software crashes, and moments where you question your life choices. But if you love it, you’ll push through—and maybe even sleep on an office floor a few times (it's a rite of passage, apparently).
Tayo Ajakaiye is brutally honest—passion or bust. The animation world is stacked with talent, and only those who push themselves daily make it. Also, if you think drawing thousands of frames sounds exhausting, well… yeah, it is. But that’s the game.
Bright Komor hit you with a step-by-step guide—education, skills, portfolio, internships, and keeping up with trends. Basically, never stop learning, and always be creating. If you’re waiting to feel "ready," newsflash: nobody ever feels ready. Just start. START!
Sydney Arrowood gave a smart move—check local colleges and their connections. Schools want students, so if they have high success rates and career help, they'll advertise it. Use that to your advantage.
Now, let’s throw in some bonus wisdom that wasn’t mentioned:
Networking is everything. Knowing the right people can get you places skills alone can’t. Go to conventions, join online forums, and don’t be shy—your future job might come from a random conversation.
Soft skills matter. Being great at animation is cool, but if you can’t work in a team or handle feedback, it’s gonna be rough. Studios love talented and easy-to-work-with people.
Start now. Seriously. If you wait until you're "good enough," you’ll never start. Even Pixar animators had cringey first projects. The only way to get better is to make a bunch of stuff—some of it will be bad, but some of it will be brilliant.
So, the takeaway
If animation is your dream, go all in, never stop learning, and have fun with it. The road is tough, but if you love it, every challenge is just part of the adventure.
All the bets Cheeky!
Bright Komor
Nurse
261
Answers
Accra, Greater Accra Region, Ghana
Updated
Bright’s Answer
Hey there. Kindly go through this to see if it fits you
Steps to Begin Your Animation Career
Education:
Degree or Diploma: Pursue a Bachelor’s degree or post-graduate diploma in animation or related fields like visual effects (VFX), graphic design, or digital filmmaking.
Duration: Courses can range from six months to four years.
Certifications:
Consider online certifications if you're shifting careers or want additional skills.
Skills Development:
Focus on both artistic and technical skills:
Drawing, storytelling, color theory.
Familiarity with software like Adobe Animate for 2D and Autodesk Maya for 3D animations.34.
Portfolio Building:
Create a strong portfolio showcasing your best work across different techniques (e.g., character designs, short animations).
Gain Experience:
Internships at studios provide valuable hands-on experience and networking opportunities.
Stay Updated with Industry Trends:
Attend festivals like SIGGRAPH for insights into new technologies and techniques.
Costs
The cost of education varies significantly depending on the institution and location.
Online courses can be more affordable.
Success Rate
Success depends on your dedication to continuous learning and staying updated with industry trends.
Building a strong network through internships can improve job prospect
Steps to Begin Your Animation Career
Education:
Degree or Diploma: Pursue a Bachelor’s degree or post-graduate diploma in animation or related fields like visual effects (VFX), graphic design, or digital filmmaking.
Duration: Courses can range from six months to four years.
Certifications:
Consider online certifications if you're shifting careers or want additional skills.
Skills Development:
Focus on both artistic and technical skills:
Drawing, storytelling, color theory.
Familiarity with software like Adobe Animate for 2D and Autodesk Maya for 3D animations.34.
Portfolio Building:
Create a strong portfolio showcasing your best work across different techniques (e.g., character designs, short animations).
Gain Experience:
Internships at studios provide valuable hands-on experience and networking opportunities.
Stay Updated with Industry Trends:
Attend festivals like SIGGRAPH for insights into new technologies and techniques.
Costs
The cost of education varies significantly depending on the institution and location.
Online courses can be more affordable.
Success Rate
Success depends on your dedication to continuous learning and staying updated with industry trends.
Building a strong network through internships can improve job prospect
Sydney Arrowood
Graphic Design
9
Answers
Burlington, Kentucky
Updated
Sydney’s Answer
A lot of these questions differ from place to place and university to university. Double check local colleges' websites and see what information they have relevant to some of these. They want students to come and learn with them, so if there is a high success rate and low prices, they'll want you to know! University may also be able to help with employment after graduation through the connections you'll make with professors and other students, as well as internship programs and co-ops.
Thank you for the advice!
Cheeky
Frank Chirchir
Art Director, Illustrator, Graphic Design, 2D Animator
1
Answer
Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya
Updated
Frank’s Answer
I finished my Bachelor in Criminology and Security studies. Immediately after completing, I interned at a data farming organization before pivoting to pursue what I was initially passionate about, art. At the time, I was 22 and did so by quitting my internship and joining an apprenticeship at an artist collective.
So first, find a community if you possess the passion and relative skill in art. It will help you find the drive and your voice in terms of style as you will encounter diverse artists veteran artists who you will absorb knowledge from. Be in a location that will most favour you - if it means switching towns, hanging out in those spaces where the economy allows for you to exist and grow.
Second, continue to build on your skillset.
Third, be on the lookout for residencies, exhibitions, and workshops within your niche as you continue with your apprenticeship.
Fourth, identify what you want to specify within your interests and hone in by getting more skills, and machines dedicated to the work if you can, and keep seeking opportunities that are more niche to where you want to go once you've tested the waters.
All in all, you have to want it.
Resilience and focus are key, also diversifying within your niche so you are just not stuck looking for a gig in one area and suffering as a result. (You can animate, do character design, layout design, sell stickers, do live caricature, sell prints and various merchandise, etc
All the best!
So first, find a community if you possess the passion and relative skill in art. It will help you find the drive and your voice in terms of style as you will encounter diverse artists veteran artists who you will absorb knowledge from. Be in a location that will most favour you - if it means switching towns, hanging out in those spaces where the economy allows for you to exist and grow.
Second, continue to build on your skillset.
Third, be on the lookout for residencies, exhibitions, and workshops within your niche as you continue with your apprenticeship.
Fourth, identify what you want to specify within your interests and hone in by getting more skills, and machines dedicated to the work if you can, and keep seeking opportunities that are more niche to where you want to go once you've tested the waters.
All in all, you have to want it.
Resilience and focus are key, also diversifying within your niche so you are just not stuck looking for a gig in one area and suffering as a result. (You can animate, do character design, layout design, sell stickers, do live caricature, sell prints and various merchandise, etc
All the best!
Thanks for the advice.
Cheeky
Brian Oliver
Artist/Animator
2
Answers
Los Angeles, California
Updated
Brian’s Answer
3 Excellent responses.
Makes it easier for me- they've covered a lot of what it takes. As a nearly 40-year veteran of the animation industry, my piece of advice ... you have to really want it. As Tayo stated- you need to have a passion- actually more like an OBSESSION with studying, learning, living, breathing animation. For me that term covers a massive spectrum of disciplines, from 2D animation, to 3D, compositing, lighting, motion graphics, visual effects, etc.
And you have to work for it. Mark Twain is credited with the quote "Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life". Well, you better love animation a lot 'cuz it's a LOT of work. In the early days, the machines were so slow it would often take days to render even basic 3D sequences. The computers crashed all the time. I can't even begin to add up all the nights I slept on the floor of my office, so that I could get up every so often to make sure our Render Farm was still rendering. Tight deadlines make for a lot of late nights and all-nighters. But for me, personally, I wouldn't change a thing. I love animation, plain and simple.
It doesn't matter what your 1st animation looks like, only that you learned enough to actually create one and that your next animation is a little better. I have my original demo reel from 1988 on my website. I put it together because I was planning on moving from Kentucky (not too far Sydney in Burlington actually) to Hollywood. Just a stupid kid from KY, heading west to make it big. Everyone in my family, all my friends- thought I was a fool. I was leaving a good paying corporate job and moving to a major city without a job, a place to live, or any connections or friends. Oh, and my 1988 Demo reel was absolutely TRAGIC by today's standards. (you can see it here if you're interested) https://www.xandad.com/post/vintage-kids-wb
I was politely rejected when I sent it to Warner Brothers seeking a job. But I moved to L.A. in 1989 anyway and never looked back. Seven years later, I'm free-lancing for The WB Network, then I was hired, and I ended up working there for 25 years. I've gotten to live the American dream... I went from a nobody from KY to an Executive Director of Animation at one of the coolest studios ever!
There are many different roles/jobs in the realm of "animation", everything from storyboarding (usually requires excellent drawing skills), modeling geometry, lighting scenes, texture-mapping, final renders, and compositing to name a few.
Working on feature films, you will usually be pigeon-holed into one discipline. For instance, if you're a modeler, then you will only model- you will probably never deal with lighting or surfacing. And the opposite is usually true as well. If you're the Compositor, you will probably never have to create the geometry.
However, if you're doing commercial work, you will often need to be able to do a little bit of everything.
People often use the phrase, "Jack of all Trades- Master of None", implying that this is a bad thing. But what most people don't realize is that the whole saying is "Jack of all trades - Master of none, BETTER than Master of one." Being proficient in many disciplines will ensure you have more opportunities for work. At least that has worked well for me.
I work primarily in Maya and Cinema 4D, but only because those are industry standards. That being said, Blender has gotten really good, it's FREE and there are tons of tutorials. It will teach you all the same fundamental techniques, that you can transfer to different apps like Maya without having to cough up the $1600+ for a yearly subscription.
Find a discipline that excites you, then pursue it relentlessly. Good luck!
Makes it easier for me- they've covered a lot of what it takes. As a nearly 40-year veteran of the animation industry, my piece of advice ... you have to really want it. As Tayo stated- you need to have a passion- actually more like an OBSESSION with studying, learning, living, breathing animation. For me that term covers a massive spectrum of disciplines, from 2D animation, to 3D, compositing, lighting, motion graphics, visual effects, etc.
And you have to work for it. Mark Twain is credited with the quote "Do what you love, and you'll never work a day in your life". Well, you better love animation a lot 'cuz it's a LOT of work. In the early days, the machines were so slow it would often take days to render even basic 3D sequences. The computers crashed all the time. I can't even begin to add up all the nights I slept on the floor of my office, so that I could get up every so often to make sure our Render Farm was still rendering. Tight deadlines make for a lot of late nights and all-nighters. But for me, personally, I wouldn't change a thing. I love animation, plain and simple.
It doesn't matter what your 1st animation looks like, only that you learned enough to actually create one and that your next animation is a little better. I have my original demo reel from 1988 on my website. I put it together because I was planning on moving from Kentucky (not too far Sydney in Burlington actually) to Hollywood. Just a stupid kid from KY, heading west to make it big. Everyone in my family, all my friends- thought I was a fool. I was leaving a good paying corporate job and moving to a major city without a job, a place to live, or any connections or friends. Oh, and my 1988 Demo reel was absolutely TRAGIC by today's standards. (you can see it here if you're interested) https://www.xandad.com/post/vintage-kids-wb
I was politely rejected when I sent it to Warner Brothers seeking a job. But I moved to L.A. in 1989 anyway and never looked back. Seven years later, I'm free-lancing for The WB Network, then I was hired, and I ended up working there for 25 years. I've gotten to live the American dream... I went from a nobody from KY to an Executive Director of Animation at one of the coolest studios ever!
There are many different roles/jobs in the realm of "animation", everything from storyboarding (usually requires excellent drawing skills), modeling geometry, lighting scenes, texture-mapping, final renders, and compositing to name a few.
Working on feature films, you will usually be pigeon-holed into one discipline. For instance, if you're a modeler, then you will only model- you will probably never deal with lighting or surfacing. And the opposite is usually true as well. If you're the Compositor, you will probably never have to create the geometry.
However, if you're doing commercial work, you will often need to be able to do a little bit of everything.
People often use the phrase, "Jack of all Trades- Master of None", implying that this is a bad thing. But what most people don't realize is that the whole saying is "Jack of all trades - Master of none, BETTER than Master of one." Being proficient in many disciplines will ensure you have more opportunities for work. At least that has worked well for me.
I work primarily in Maya and Cinema 4D, but only because those are industry standards. That being said, Blender has gotten really good, it's FREE and there are tons of tutorials. It will teach you all the same fundamental techniques, that you can transfer to different apps like Maya without having to cough up the $1600+ for a yearly subscription.
Find a discipline that excites you, then pursue it relentlessly. Good luck!
Tayo Ajakaiye
3d artist
1
Answer
Lagos, Nigeria
Updated
Tayo’s Answer
Hi!
A very interesting question you got there. I'm a 3D artist, who specialize mainly in modeling and sculpting. I have a fairly moderate knowledge on animation too (and this made me pretty interested in your question).
I will keep it simple.
You need passion and drive to thrive in the animation industry. Above every other factor, this comes first. Why? The animation playing field is extremely competitive as talents from all over the world keep showing up with amazing art daily. In the industry, only the best of the bests are considered, as no company wants to fall behind in animation or game quality, so they only look out for people who they perceive are up to the task. If you're not passionate about wanting to be an animator and being a beast in the field, and you only want to go into it because you think it's cool and fun, then you'll be doing yourself a great disservice.
You should also determine what sort of animation you'll like to fully delve into now, so you can streamline your focus and sharpen mainly the skill you'll need. Do you plan to be a 3d or a 2d artist? What style of animation do you intend to go for (is it Pixar, Disney, anime, realistic etc.)?
If you want to be a 2d animator; how well can you draw? How solid is your anatomy knowledge? How often do you draw? If given a target to make a 1000 frame drawing In a week, will you pass out (might be exaggerating there 😂)?
In 3d, you need also a vast amount of knowledge to be considered a pro. I wouldn't want to start mentioning some terminologies you aren't familiar with.
These points I listed are things you should really reflect on before making a decision. Though I'm sure you'll succeed if you put in the work many successful animators have put in.
Thank you.
A very interesting question you got there. I'm a 3D artist, who specialize mainly in modeling and sculpting. I have a fairly moderate knowledge on animation too (and this made me pretty interested in your question).
I will keep it simple.
You need passion and drive to thrive in the animation industry. Above every other factor, this comes first. Why? The animation playing field is extremely competitive as talents from all over the world keep showing up with amazing art daily. In the industry, only the best of the bests are considered, as no company wants to fall behind in animation or game quality, so they only look out for people who they perceive are up to the task. If you're not passionate about wanting to be an animator and being a beast in the field, and you only want to go into it because you think it's cool and fun, then you'll be doing yourself a great disservice.
You should also determine what sort of animation you'll like to fully delve into now, so you can streamline your focus and sharpen mainly the skill you'll need. Do you plan to be a 3d or a 2d artist? What style of animation do you intend to go for (is it Pixar, Disney, anime, realistic etc.)?
If you want to be a 2d animator; how well can you draw? How solid is your anatomy knowledge? How often do you draw? If given a target to make a 1000 frame drawing In a week, will you pass out (might be exaggerating there 😂)?
In 3d, you need also a vast amount of knowledge to be considered a pro. I wouldn't want to start mentioning some terminologies you aren't familiar with.
These points I listed are things you should really reflect on before making a decision. Though I'm sure you'll succeed if you put in the work many successful animators have put in.
Thank you.
Wow, thanks and how long have you been at.? 3d art I mean.
Cheeky
Gishan Ali
8
Answers
Clifton, New Jersey
Updated
Gishan’s Answer
A career in fine arts can go many different ways. It depends on what your passionate about and want to accomplish during your academic and work career. If you are pursuing a associates it will take 2 years or more, and if its a bachelors expect 4 years. Its all on your goals and what you want out of the experience. As for careers you may google it and I am sure their are many career paths you may take. Good luck Cheeky.
Best,
Gishan
Best,
Gishan
Hm. What are tye difference between associates and bachelors?
Cheeky