3 lakh content and animation professionals required by 2010. With design consciousness spread lives, designers will be the other hot runners in the prized job category. Going by the current shortage of creative tech-savvy graphic and gaming designers and multimedia animators, you can easily hope to rake in megabucks if you can come up with the next BIG idea.

Nasscom feels that India’s animation industry is set  to enter the big league of global animation with outsourced content, its own titles (given our rich mythological tradition) and big title partnerships growing to $ 869 million by 2010.

Foreign companies like Warner Bros and Pixar are increasingly outsourcing their special effects requirements form India where the costs are less than fifth of that in the US. Characterized by dizzying change, this industry will remain a hot runner in the years to come. Computer-animated 3D films have stared minting money on the box office and winning prestigious accolades smashing popularity ratings across the world. But there is an acute talent crunch in this industry. Against a requirement of 3 lakh content development and animation professionals by 2010, barely 10% of which is likely to be met. Animation and gaming have a range of application across movies, TV advertising, video games and medicine. Mobile gaming is expected to see a one-fold increase with revenues jumping to Rs 260 crore in the next few years.

Anyone who wishes to make a career in design- be it grabhic, digital, product, textile, ceramic, interior, fashion, accessory or communication must have a keen aesthetic sense coupled with loads of creativity and imagination. Although the traditional skills of the hand still remain prized, the computer has now become an indispensable tool for today’s creative wizkids. Arthur Anderson expects the revenue form the use of multimedia in film-marking to go up to Rs. 10,000 crore by 2010.

Candidates interested in this field can do a bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) course and / or a diploma in animation. However, apart from learning the nuances of art and aesthetics through the BFA course, you will also need to learn how to use various animation softwares – Flash and Toon Boom Studio For @ D and Maya, 3 D Studio Max and Softimage for 3D.

India is still at a very nascent stage in the animation industry, and there are very few design colleges that provide a degree in this sphere. It is common practice, hence, for students to pursue the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program first and then make either of two choices – a BFA student can do a diploma / Certificate course in animation to learn the different tools used in 2D / 3D animation, or he /She can take up a job in the animation industry as layout artist or a background artist and learn the tools gradually in the job itself.

The graduate diploma program at NID, Ahmedabad is for four years, while the postgraduate. Program is for 2 – 2.5 years. The duration of courses at other private institutes ranges form a few months to two years.

Animation professionals can work for educational programs. Movies, television shows, news channels and advertisements. Some animators also work individually, providing specific graphic animation for websites or other projects. In the new world of computer games, graphic animators are used to develop characters, backgrounds and storylines in various games. Other areas of interest can be real estate firms, furniture designing, Auto CAD designing, creating virtual environment for  fighter pilots, and in medical training especially for surgeons. One can also work as a freelancer or set up his or her own firm.

There are a number of animation firms in India, providing a large scope for bob opportunities. These include Toonz Animation, Crest Communications, Maya Entertainement, Selvertoom Studio, UTV Toons, Zee Institute of Creative Arts, 2NZ Studios, Pentamedia Graphics, Prasad Studios, Acropetal, Jadoo Works, Colour Chips, Heart Animation and Fusion Toonz to name a few.

Professionals in this industry usually start as junior animator, moving on to become animators in a period of two years and senior animator in five years. It takes around nine to ten years to become a creative director or a production head. An animator is generally involved in developing creating and drawing animated characters, backgrounds and various components of animated film and video, as well as working closely with creative team members. A senior animator or a production head is, however, more focused towards reviewing and modifying the work of juniors. Their output is faster and more accurate, requiring lesser changes. They also meet clients an understand their technical requiremernts

The average salary of a fresher in 2 D animation is Rs.8,000 – 10,000 per month, increases in two to three years to around Rs. 25,000 – 40,000 per month. The average salary of a capable 3 D animator (fresher ) is Rs. 15,000 per month.

The remunerations in this industry are totally based on the quality of an animator’s work, and can increase remarkably if one puts his or her heart and soul into it. As a professional in this field puts it, “It is an extremely performance based industry.�