Today, getting an animation degree is the best way to obtain a prosperous career in the animation industry. The animation school that you choose, and whether you decide to go to online animation school or on-campus, will help you to determine the type of career path you wish to take. With so many talented animators in the business, obtain a degree that will provide you with the necessary knowledge and skills to be a competitive candidate is vital.

The magic of animation has long enchanted audiences and made it possible for illustrated stories, that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to tell, to be brought vividly to life. Animators are the passionate artists whose imaginations drive the images that captivate millions.

Animation is the rapid display of 2-D or 3-D artwork to create an illusion of movement. This type of production is not a new concept to the film industry. Animators who contributed their talents to this field in the early 1900s include Stuart Blackton, pioneer of stop-motion techniques, Winsor McCay who set the animation standards used by Disney, and Emile Cohl, known as the “father of the animated cartoon.”

In this official video clip from the never released documentary, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Charles M. Schulz (November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) discusses the famous animated character and his inspiration in creating him. Schulz’s world-famous comic strip Peanuts debuted in 1950 and lasted until 2000. Many newspapers still publish classic Peanuts comic strips. The iconic Charlie Brown and his fellow Peanuts characters have been considered to be the most widely influential and popular animated figures of all time.

If you are passionate about art and animation, you can pursue a creative and lucrative career—and the first step to getting there is earning a degree in animation. By doing so, you will acquire the skills in technology and experience necessary to embark on your career path in the animation industry. There are many options you can choose from in obtaining your degree in animation to suit your schedule and work/life balance.

3D animation is a growing phenomenon: you’ve likely noticed all of the newest animated movies now being offered in theaters in 3D. Audience members put on the characteristic 3D glasses and get even closer to the characters, stories and landscaping the film provides: for example, the much awaited and high-grossing final film of the Harry Potter series released earlier this year. The 3D film experience improves with every new release, which proves that the 3D animation artists are hard at work behind-the-scenes perfecting their art.

3D animation is a relatively new field that has dramatically impacted the animation industry. It’s the successor to traditional animation’s stop-motion techniques, where tiny increments between each frame played in sequence create the illusion of motion. 3D animators are responsible for giving “life” to animated scenes. They manipulate characters and backgrounds, adding depth, texture and movement to create the appearance of reality.

Visual development artists are essential to a media projects creative team. They identify and create the overall visual concept, including unique environments, characters, lighting, and even props. The perfect candidate for this career is someone who is an idea machine, often labeled as a “daydreamer” during adolescence. Visual development artists should be able to clearly articulate all the details of the fictitious “world” the animations are going to play out in.

Becoming the animation director, also known as an creative director of animation, art director or lead animator, is an exciting career path for anyone who enjoys the art of animation and has strong leadership and organizational skills. Creative directors are in charge of directing an animation project, overseeing and assigning jobs to a team of skilled animators and achieving the goals of completing the project on time and within budget. It involves a lot of time management and utilization of each member of the team. Individuals can forge their way through animation school to earn an animation degree in order to begin their career in the industry.