Article Response: "ILM Animator Erik Morgansen on What Type of Animator Should I Be?"

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    Usually, there are many different branches that stem off from a specific field of work. For example, if you wish to become a filmmaker in the future, you first need to decide which job in the industry that interests you most. There are hundreds of different paths you could take: animating, script writing, camera operating, directing, producing, acting/voice overs, editing, set designing, etc. Then, if you were to go into animation as your career, what type of animation would you choose? 2D? 3D? Maybe even gaming? The Animation Mentor Crew interviewed Erik Morgansen, an Industrial Light & Magic animator and mentor on advice for people wondering what type of animator they should be. 

    When applying for a job in an animation studio, you need to be able to prove to them that you're absolutely serious about taking the job, and that you'd be ideal for the project that you'd be staffed on. Bringing in sample works of projects you've done in the past are essential. You need to first recognize if the type of project they're working on is considered more realistic, cartoonish, fantasy, etc, and then bring in examples that match the style of the project. For instance, if it was an animation about dragons, you would want to include animations and drawings of creatures you created yourself that shows your knowledge in weight, physics, and character performances. However, it depends on what kind of studio you want to apply for, like animation, VFX, or boutique studios.

   What if you don't know what type of animation you're good at? Try some things out! You could work on creating short films, taking animation courses, watch tutorials online, etc. Getting some sort of mentorship is rather important, and watching tutorial videos made by experienced animators can also help a lot.

    In Erik's opinion, what most amateur animators tend to struggle with the most is the way certain muscles are supposed to move, for example, eyelid muscles are rather quick, while hips have bigger muscles that move more slowly. Also, the direction the character's eyes are pointed in. It's one of the clearest things that gives the audience information about what the character may be thinking or their intentions. It's best to know your character well enough and understand the situations they're in in order to animate them correctly.

    This article, however somewhat long, was interesting and gave very thorough information on the subject, although it doesn't really apply to me since I really have no interest in going into animation. Filming and editing is where I'm most comfortable. Still, though, a very good read for anyone looking to get into the animation industry.