What do you need to do to become an animator?

Although I'm not an animator, I found this article contained some really useful information about how to become an animator! http://artbistro.monster.com/benefits/articles/10876-5-steps-to-becoming-an-animator?page=1

Hi I'm not sure how late I am on responding but there's tons of great material out there to help you become an animator. My first suggestion is books. The one I would suggest is the Animators Survival kit by Richard Williams. He produced "Who Framed Rogger Rabbit" and a ton of other awesome animations. The book mainly focuses on 2D animation techniques but there the same techniques used in 3D as well.

As for schooling there's a ton of choices to choose from. I would try and pick the least expensive route since education debt can be huge going through private schools. Look at public schools with good art programs and then supplement it with certificates from www.animationmentor.com or www.gnomon.edu.

Last thing I would say is try and intern at a local studio. Usually when you first think of the animation industry you think of feature film's like Toy Story but there's a ton of work that's not feature film. Work like Commercial, Promotional videos, Litigation animation, Medical Animation and Video Games.

Hope this helps.