r/animationcareer

Hey, everyone! I kinda want to share my story a little about my current experience as a 1st semester freshman student. I’m a 18 years old and last year I got a pretty nice scholarship to SVA. I got it because I was a low income nyc student and it covered 30k of my tuition a year in addition to full tap and fafsa. I was initially going to go to SVA but I let my family scare me out of revoking my acceptance after initially accepting my offer. I started at CCNY for undeclared engineering and I haven’t even taken real engineering classes yet. The commute kills me because I’m from Brooklyn and I also feel so alone. I deleted my art instagram because seeing my SVA animation alumni mutuals succeed made me feel so jealous. I drag myself to do everything now and nothing feels important. I want to animate in my free time but I just end up crying mid way before completing anything. I don’t even know where to post this but it seems like everyone in the subreddit knows the animation industry more than anyone else. Please just give it to me straight is it too late? Will I regret not pursuing art? Am I too poor to live my dreams and get my dream job?

I work in the industry for 7 years and have plenty of friends, but whenever I look for a job nothing ever got further by asking them for help.

All what would happen, they’d forward my contact to the person authorized to hire and I’d never get anywhere further than this. Maybe it’s because I’m a creative exec / producer / art director level and I don’t have friends working in a production leadership 🥲

I know we are ALL struggling here but genuinely how do you guys get jobs now? I was scouted for my last 3 gigs and now it’s been a nightmare with no single replies.

I started asking people on LinkedIn who share new job posts how did they get it and they ALL say it’s through connection / referrals. What am I doing wrong 😭

Something interesting I've noticed is that some people come out of art school with a lot of improvement while others don't see much growth. There are people I know that have gone to big art schools and are behind me in terms of their ability (not to be rude but just to get an idea) but I usually just do online courses, books, and master studies.

Does anyone know why this happens? And if you have gone to animation school what do you think was the difference between students who improved a lot vs not much (I was planning on going to an animation school once I get the money).

I'm a senior in high school interested in 2D animation. I'm applying to 4 diffrent schools right now being: SVA, SCAD, Ringling, and CalArts. i'm looking to major in 2D character animation and maybe minor in creative writing.

so far I have been accepted into SCAD, and I havent submitted by applications for the others just yet.

My overall goal and dream is to be a showrunner one day and make my own animated TV-series, however, I am perfectly ok with any work that needs to be done to get there, as well as working different jobs in the industry.

i've heard and seen lots of opinions for every one of the art schools I have listed from good to terrible, and I think its a given that they will all be expensive, a lot of work, and sometimes a gamble. I'm ok with that. thats just how art schools are.

I wanted to ask about Ringling's new 2D animation program, and if it would be worth going in blind without knowing what it's really like since my class year would be the first to try it out. since I know ringling already has a renound 3D animation program, i'd assume the 2D would be just as good, but that in itself would be a huge gamble. I'm particularly drawn to ringling due to the school's size, reputation, connections, and the alumni scheme. when I learned they added a 2D program, I felt like it was the perfect fit, but seeing people's opinions made me question that. i'm aware of the grueling work, and I'm perfectly ok with loosing sleep or grinding until 4:00 am. I already do that, and i'm also WAY to stubborn and determined to give up on my dreams. I think for what its worth, the heavy workload will prepare me for the industry.

I really love SCAD and was one of the first art schools I toured. from my experience at pre-college programs like "rising star" I found the workload incredibly easy compared to my high school, but take this with a grain of salt as I was only taking 2 courses. I liked SCAD's resources like career support, lots of labs with cintiques and overall really good faculty from my experience. my main concern with SCAD is the lack of notable animation alumni or focas on the animation program. I have no doubt that the school will prepare me greatly, but I worry it may be hard to find a job after graduation.

SVA was my top school for a while but a couple of factors knocked it down, mostly not related to the program itself like the open campus, the lack of a meal plan, and the setting. (i dont like new york) i wanted to ask, would attending SVA still be worth it even if I heavily don't like these factors I just mentioned?

and lastly, CalArts. I know CalArts is like the harvard for animation school, and I know its a long shot. I already know the program is outstanding and there are many, many notable alumni who have gone on the be showrunners. (which is what I want to do.) that being said I wanted to know more about the student life as when I visited the campus it was low-key depressing and I couldn't gather much information of what living there would be like.

anyway, I wanted to get everyones opinions especially if you go to one of these schools or went to one of these schools, I would love to hear what you think and your own experiences. Thank you so much for reading this.

Broo I’m so fucking frustrated with these studios and this whole job hunting thing 😭😭😭

Im a 2d animator looking for a job & Ive gotten replies from like 2–3 studios where they were literally SOooo interested in me. like bro the way they were talking made it feel like I was already hired..then after ONE call… suddenly NOTHINGggg

I follow up once, twice, even 2–3 times and they’re like...yeah yeah we’ll connect with u or we'll get back to u nd then they just fucking disappear, bro just tell me NO, Tell me you’re not interested. Tell me you hired someone else, Tell me ANYTHING..Why keep saying..we’ll connect with u if you’re literally never going to?? 🥲🥲

I’m genuinely so frustrated because u get your hopes up thinking something might actually work out nd then u’re just left waiting nd wondering what the hell happened, Is this just normal in the animation industry or am I just getting insanely unlucky with these studios??? 💀

I'm a bit worried about my situation, and hoping to get some insight/clearity. I graduated with a BFA in 2015 (3d character animation, focus). Since then ive dealt with moving, death in the family and just trying to survive a 9-5 that i hate.

The dream since graduating was to work in games but ive never been picky as long as the company seemed 'real', id work in kids tv but dont have the reel for it.

Ive not spent every moment of my life improving and ive tried to apply to junior/associate/mid roles but never got any luck. Im close to my mid 30s now and im worried i just dont have what it takes. At this point, with everything going on, is it still possible to be an animator without devoting every moment free to improving?

Ive honestly thought about trying to find another career but i still really want to be in games. I fear my demo reel is too mediocre and i dont have a lot of networking. I dont want to be stuck in my current job hoping to get out but never being good enough.

I feel like I'm waiting for a company to take a chance on me, but not sure how to improve without going back to school, which i cant afford.

I guess, is it too late for me to keep going? Any advice to improve? I feel like im drowning solo and have no clear direction.

If my goal is to be animator specifically in Japan...like if I want to work there as animator. (I know it's everyone's dream happens to be mine too). Is learning Japanese heavily necessary and if yes...do we have to take the class and graduate and show the proof of certificate...or self learning is fine?

I'm a uni senior digital media student studying storyboarding and illustration... I've had my eye on the Titmouse NYC storyboarding mentor program for a while but I've always felt like I didn't have enough of a portfolio to even try. My school kinda sucks despite their high standing, I don't feel 100% prepared for anything, so I try to do work in my free time on top of my classes. I'd like to try and get some work out before their November applications open, but I realized I have no idea what they might want to see. Like... if they're all actual storyboards, how many? How long should they be? Do they all have to be original or can I do one for a DND podcast I like?? I'm probably overthinking it, but I don't want to put in a bad portfolio for an internship (even though I know they're not expecting perfect professional work) but I also know its probably really competitive... so I'm unsure what to think. Is now too late to even try if I don't have a lot of stuff prepped specifically for storyboarding? Do I put other character design work too? I feel so unprepared :(

I failed uni due to a huge struggle in mental health and addiction, I left with a degree thats essentially an A level in animation. I've worked so hard to better myself and I've found a new path for me to take, getting my masters. I want to go to Bristol uni and get my masters and live the life I originally wanted to live. Please show me your portfolios and showreels that helped you achieve this, I really need some inspiration and something to aim for. I only have access to 2D software at home

I am an experienced 2D animator for about 10 years now. I love acting shots in particular. I am slowly learning 3D. I am nowhere near a finished show reel, but I am wondering if other 3D Animators can tell me if it's worth pursuing a career in 3D character animation particularly in feature films. I am personally looking at Sony Pictures Imageworks in BC because out of all the anim studios they have the best track record for keeping artists and rolling them on to the next animated feature. I have an old college acquaintance that works there so I do have a connection of sorts. I would love to get some insight from my fellow industry animators.