t is hard to imagine in
the age of CGI animation a time in the not-to-distant past when
animation was done in stop-motion photography. These films included
small scale models that were moved slightly with each frame. Usually
the motion was irregular and jerky because everything was done by hand.
Stop-motion (or stop-action) animation was done in the late 1920's with
The Lost World and King Kong in 1933. One of the early famous animators
was Ray Harryhausen. You can read more about Harryhausen and the early
days of animation in our art news section.
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Ray Harryhausen with two of his stop-motion sculptures from the movie,
"Clash of the Titans."
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In the late 1980's, the California Raison commercials made claymation popular. Previous
to this, the only major claymation done was on Gumby. [Download the PDF history of Gumby 
] CGI came into play with animated
movies such as Toy Story, Toy
Story 2
in the 1990s made Pixar Animation
Studios a household name. With Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo, they
broke box office records for an animated film. Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar have merged and are now the largest employer of animators. Jobs at smaller studios can also be found, however. The
Clayman's 3D Cartoon Communications
specializes in commercial animation.
Animation and Special Effects are
closely related and jobs frequently overlap each other. As with jobs in
Special Effects, the pay is good and qualified employees are in demand-
especially in California, Florida and New York. Because everything is
now computer generated, strong computer skills are essential.
Many animators are creating animated gif images and Flash
animations for website design. Some freelance and others work on a web development
team. 
How Do I Become a Newspaper Cartoonist?
Bill Amend, the cartoonist for Foxtrot,
recommends reading the book, Your
Career in the Comics
by Lee Nordling. He says it took him three years of submitting strips
to Universal Press Syndicate before he was offered a contract. Becoming
a newspaper cartoonist is next to impossible in the current world
recession. Many newspaper companies are closing down. See this article for details.
Job titles in Animation and Cartooning
Story artist
Sketches movement and ideas through a film.
Background/layout artist
In charge of the background of the feature.
Studio Background artist
A non-production background prepared by the
studio for publicity or presentation purposes.
Technical Director
Establishes direct and
reflected lighting and shadow for individual shots. The technical director needs
knowledge of UNIX and programming.
Director of Photography
Directs the
shooting of film sequences.
Photoscience Engineer
Makes masters from the finished film to film negative and digital cinema to
high definition video.
Editorial Cartoonist
This artist frequently creates cartoons for the editorial sections of
newspapers. Jobs for this profession are dwindling as newspapers fold.
Production Background
An original background painting used in the final version of an animated film or short.
Pencil Model Sheet Artist
A
group of original pencil drawings on one sheet that illustrate an
animated character in a variety of poses and expressions. Model sheets
are lithographed and distributed to the animation team to ensure a
uniform look and feel to a character throughout a production.
Morph
An artist who
creates animated pictures transforming one image to another.
Background Drawing/Layout
Colorist
Animation/Cartooning Journals
Animation Jobs Available
Animation Artists and Companies
There are thousands of artists and companies in the
world and the list is too comprehensive to include here. You can do a
search for companies on major search engines.
- P.T. Pie, which creates digital cartoons.
Networking
- The Animation Guild-
Local 839's website. You can apply for grants and network with many
members who are currently working for major production companies.
