Art

I have always been interested in art and I am a fan of technology as they were my favourite subjects at school. After working for a website design agency for work experience I knew Design was the ideal career path, as it combined the two subjects I loved. I have been working in the industry for 10 years and enjoy using design to solve problems, whether helping brands attract the right customers or coming up with creative ideas to raise money for charities.

I have always had an interest in art at school. I was keen to get my artwork out there by constantly exhibiting and selling quite a few pieces to staff at school. It then expanded over social media to the wider public where I would do commissions for them too. Just before I started Uni I completed a work experience at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, I would say this has proven to be invaluable as being in the creative industry is quite competitive and this experience my tutors at Uni commended me for. I was awarded a Bronze Arts Award from the Executive Director of the Sculpture Park, Peter Murray which I was proud to receive. I am now at Uni studying art and I have had experience exhibiting my work in Wharf Chambers, Leeds. This was to see how you can display work in a space other than the studio. It was a great opportunity to inspire us as working artists and to think about how we would do our own exhibits and expand ourselves as professionals.

I specialise in creature animation and some character animation. I am currently working on a Dreamworks film due for release next year.

I always wanted to be an animator after I saw the first Toy Story film as a child. It made me realise that you did not have to be the very best at drawing to still animate in movies, but you still need an artistic eye for what looks good. Being artistic and studying art opens many doors to further careers. Sculpture was my favourite form of art after film; sculpting a pose in the computer or in clay uses the same skills, it just uses different tools. A computer in 3D animation is a tool, just like a pencil is to a cartoon artist or paint brush is to a painter. Everything you see by Pixar, Dreamworks, Disney is an artist using a computer to create an amazing film. You just need to study and practise, practise, practise!

Animation as a job is a lot of fun, think of any of your favourite films, tv shows, computer games and even adverts and I guarantee the majority will have some form of animation in them or had render artists, lighting artists and 3D modellers work on them. There are huge teams of people that create these worlds. I am a huge movie fan so I chose to be a film and vfx animator and it is a lot of fun. If you love computer games you may see animating those as more fun, or even the cinematics in the games. You only have to look at Netflix, Apple tv, Disney plus to see how much work there is and how much there will continue to be. Being an animator is a lot of work but when you finish a shot and see it on the big screen you get a real kick out of doing it. Just be ready to take positive criticism and feedback of your work from directors and supervisors but this will only make you an even better animator.

Having a strong art background helps but with 3D animation, being the best artist is not absolutely necessary. Having an eye for appealing posing and weight are best, life drawing and drawing studies help with this.

Try doing some free animation tutorials if you like the idea of animating and see if you think it could be a possible future for you. Maybe you like modelling or building things, you might prefer making fire and liquid simulations, or painting and texturing the models, there is so much to try! I did not study animation at College or University. I have a BA in Architecture which was my starting point.

Animation is a bit of an unknown career for many people and many do not see it as a believable job, but shake off that disbelief and you will find a job where someone will pay you to bring characters, things and creatures to life. Animation is a job with a vast amount of work and a growing job market. The great thing about animation in the UK is there is huge demand for people who have an artistic background and who are eager to learn. You just have to want to do it and work hard for it.

All the best and good luck!

It was a hard decision for me to decide to start University as I was a ‘mature’ student after working in the pharmaceutical department for 13 years. I became bored with my day to day work and fancied a new challenge. I had a lot to consider and also had to pay for the courses I wanted to study full time and give up my salary. I started a Foundation Art course first and after a year went on to study a Fashion degree at Salford University. I am glad I made the choice to start a new career path as I now get to use my creativity designing and cutting patterns for David Nieper. We work hard as a team to bring the designs to the market and I am lucky enough to travel with my job as well. I have recently been to Paris and then Munich to look into fabrics and prints for the new season. If you are a creative person and are willing to put the time and effort in then the job is very rewarding. My advice would be; it is never too late to study. Go for it!

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