There are many opportunities for Visual Development in animation. Some roles can be very specific such as prop designer, environment artist, background painter, character designer, etc. Other roles are more general, i.e., Visual Development Artist. In either case, it's great to show a breadth of really well-executed pieces. 

The following are key foundational skillsets looked for in a visual development portfolio.

• Story moments. Do your designs capture visual story moments, i.e. character emotions, relationships, comedic moments, heartfelt moments? 

• Exploratory concepts that set a tone or mood of a story. Can you make the audience feel something with your image through color and light?

• Composition. Are you framing your image like a scene seen through a camera, i.e., where are your characters in relation to the background, foreground, etc?

• Shape language. Are you using shapes to communicate meaning in your work? Different shapes can provoke different reactions. Does your shape language evoke the emotion you want to convey to the audience?  

• Color and Lighting. Do your designs showcase your understanding of color and light to tell a story, i.e., setting tone and mood? Are your designs lit to lead the audience's eye?

• Understanding of Anatomy.  (e.g., posing, expressions, gestures). Can you draw clear facial expressions that convey the character's thoughts, and emotions? Do you understand the skeletal and muscles of anatomy, body mechanics, and how the body moves, shapes, and forms? 

• Technical drawings. (e.g. orthographic turns, line work, breakdowns, color packeting).

• Understanding Perspective. Understanding where your characters and objects are in space and understanding how each object is viewed in relation to other objects will create a sense of depth and size relationship that will make the shot seem real.

• Showcasing a range of versatile styles. Showing versatility in your work lets recruiters know you can adapt to different styles of projects, i.e. 2D, 3D cartoony, stylized, photo-real, etc. Your style is your unique calling card, and it speaks to who you are as an artist!

• Worldbuilding. We want to see your understanding of creating unique, believable worlds that tie character and story together.

One of the key opportunities in animation can be found in story revisionist and/or storyboarding work. 

The following are key foundational skillsets looked for in Storyboard portfolios:

• Storytelling & Story Structure. The importance of visual storytelling & story structure is connecting with your audience to make them feel something! Do your panels clearly communicate to the audience the important ideas being expressed through the action of each scene? Are your boards intentionally conveying the story through each shot, frame, and scene transition? Can you tell a story that is dynamic, memorable, and fun?  

• Strong understanding of character acting. Do your characters read clearly and convey emotions through their expressions and posing? Understanding anatomy and facial expressions are key to acting and performance.

• Strong understanding of cinematic staging and cutting.  Do your boards show an understanding of film language? Are you thinking about how you position your characters in each scene to capture emotional moments? Is there clear readability of actions? How are you directing the audience's attention and making it clear what is of greatest importance in a scene? Are you conveying what is happening and what is about to happen?

• Composition. Are your scenes framed like a camera? Are you thinking through where you position your characters and other elements within their relationship to the camera?

• Understanding perspective. Understanding where your characters and objects are in space and how each object is viewed in relation to other objects will create a sense of depth and size relationship that will make the shot seem real.

• Versatility. Do your boards show a range of story sequences showcasing a variety of genres and emotions (e.g. comedy, action, heartfelt, suspense, drama, musical)?

• Draftsmanship. Does your work show strong gestural drawing? Do you possess the ability to draw very loosely and roughly yet with clarity in character appeal and acting? Do you draw with intent and confidence? Can the audience connect with your characters, ie. emotions, expressions, and gestures? Are you confident in your acting with your gestures, expressions, and lines? Do you understand composition, shot variety, and staging/layout (ie. how characters sit within their environments/backgrounds, perspective, angles)?

• Your unique and authentic voice/style. Does your portfolio showcase your unique storytelling voice? Are they stories you want to see on screen and share with audiences around the world?  

There are many opportunities in the industry for CG generalists, which means you show a little bit of everything, i.e. Modeling, Texturing, Rigging, Lighting/Composting, etc. In some cases, there are opportunities for very specific CG skill sets, i.e. Character Animation, CFX (cloth, hair, fur, etc.), and Visual FX (explosions, natural phenomena, magic). 

The following are good guidelines to consider when putting a CG demo reel together: 

• Keep your reel to 1-3 mins. Be specific on which parts of the pipeline you are passionate about and make sure your work showcases not only your technical expertise (under the hood knowledge) but your creative expertise (visually beautiful images).  

• Put your strongest pieces first. Recruiters and hiring managers are looking at a high volume of reels and most likely will not be able to look at your entire reel. The first minute will need to catch their eye to determine if they will view the rest of your reel. 

• Include Breakdowns. Show the actual breakdowns in your reel! This will vary depending on which part of the pipeline you are passionate about. For example, if you are interested in lighting/composting, show how you brought the different asset plates together to get to the final polished shot. Also include software used in your breakdowns, i.e. ZBrush, Maya, Houdini, Blender. PRO TIP: when putting a reel together, superimpose your breakdown and software at the bottom of the reel rather than keeping it separate.

• Give credit where credit is due. If you worked on a group project, be clear on what part you worked on. If you used someone else's 2D design, give credit to that artist.

• Be creative with how you curate your reel. Not only are you demonstrating your technical skills, but you are also demonstrating your creative eye and your storytelling through CG art. If you include music within your reel, it should be complementary to your work, not distractive. For Character Animation, dialogue should match character lip sync. CG characters are just like actors--make sure you are showcasing their best performance on screen.

• Include your contact info. It's good practice to have your contact info at the beginning and end of your reel.

• Make it easy to find your reels. A website with a link out to Vimeo is great! Your website can include any supplemental work, i.e. visual art, life drawings, etc. Artstation or LinkedIn is great as well.

• Generalist vs. Specialized. Having a variety of skill sets is great--just make sure they are really well executed! 

There are many entry-level opportunities in animation for Production Assistant type roles across productions. Production Assistants work closely with Production leadership and artists supporting day-to-day scheduling of meetings, preparing for daily reviews, taking notes, tracking asset delivery milestones and workflows, etc. This team is made up of great communicators, strategists, and organizers, and they are quick to respond to ever-changing production schedules. 

The following are key foundational skillsets to consider when putting a resume together for entry-level production roles: 

• Fit your resume on one page. Keep it short and concise! Unless you have years of experience in one or more fields or tons of publications, you should be able to keep your resume to one page!

• Write a compelling resume summary or objective. This is especially good for when you are pivoting careers and are able to showcase what you are able to bring to a production. 

• Add your work experience, starting with the most recent job.  Be clear about roles/duties when listing work history.  Be sure to describe your jobs and experiences in enough detail to inform the recruiter about what skills you utilized and specific responsibilities you had in that position.

• Tailor your resume to the role you are applying for. It's ok to be interested in multiple things and some of you may have creative aspirations, but it's always helpful to highlight the skills that align with the role you are applying for. 

• Include academic projects. If you do not have professional experience, include projects that you may have worked on or led while in school. These can be team projects or personal. 

Note: Oftentimes, prospective entry-level applicants will use a large portion of their resumes to list the various student films or personal projects they’ve completed. While you may want to show your active involvement in production, this can usually be accomplished in one or two bullet points. Unless you have provided links to the work you are describing, it is hard for a recruiter to do much with just the name of a short and your title on that production. Simplifying to something like “Worked on x short films in roles ranging from storyboard artist to producer” still gives us insight into how active you’ve been, but saves you a lot of space to further contextualize your strengths and skillset. 

• Software applications. Include software that you have worked in. Provide examples of how you used the software in your work and/or academic experience. This will help highlight your working knowledge of different software applications. 

• Academic or other organizations affiliations. It's great to see how you participate or contribute to organizations, i.e., volunteer to mentor students at XYZ organizations. This will help highlight your soft skills!   

• Research the various Production Management job descriptions. Use them as a guide to help align your experience and skillsets with the role you are considering applying to. 

• Be confident. Most of the time you are going to be submitting a resume to a potential employer without any conversation ahead of time. Because of this, your resume is going to serve as a recruiter’s first impression. Nobody can make a better case for you than you! Make sure you’re showing your skills and accomplishments confidently. If we don’t see them on the page, then we can’t have any way of knowing just how truly awesome you may be!