Animation - 3D - 2D - Graphics

Animation means, literally, to breathe life into some thing. Animators in this sense, look to breathe life into situations rather than people. They help to build environments and relationships in which people can grow and have a care for each other. It is this latter strand that is closest to informal education.

An animator is an artist or illustrator who creates Special effects or other visual images on film, on video, or with computers or other electronic media. The illustration aspects to this skill cannot be emphasized enough, as animators often use story boards and other venues to create their initial work or even to create the final images. Although animators need to learn how to draw by hand, they also use software that creates vector images for animations.

The animator may develop skills through fine art classes or through classes aimed at increasing skills in the arts. Most visual effects projects completed by a animation studio or advertising studio begin with brainstorming ideas. The people who brainstorm include the creative director, the art director, or the person who heads up the design team, the advertising or marketing department heads, and others who have input into the project. Once the idea is decided upon, the various department heads take the project back to their employees to begin work.

The creative director will make sure that the creative team the layout and design artists, typesetters, illustrators, photographers, and whoever else is involved in a project understand the project and can finish their separate components on time to create the prototype. The creative director may work directly with the copywriters or scriptwriters, but if the studio is large enough, the art director may work with the writing team. These titles are not absolute, as the hierarchy in some studios may vary according to responsibilities.