Our focus at Switch VFX & Animation is on exceptional service work, inspiring co-production and the advancement of education. The latter is a passion we support to ensure the strength and viability of an industry that we love. We strive to spark the interest of the young – they are our future.
On May 29th U of T Schools will hold their Girls in Tech Conference, an annual event of exciting workshops and panels to inspire girls in grades 6 – 8 to consider diverse careers in STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math). Switch Animation sponsors a session each year to build interest in the inventive digital art of Animation. A passion for this craft can begin here at the elementary age level through exposure to something like Girls in Tech and be encouraged through high school.
In high school students can begin to build their animation fundamentals in electives and regular classes:
1) Aspiring animators should always consider an Animation elective if it is offered but these are rare. XOTO Schools in Toronto have been working with our partners at The Animation Lounge to make these more available in school. Many Animation Lounge workshops are online and available to anyone. In one introductory session, attendees will learn the basics and come away with a piece of work for their portfolio.
2) Art courses are usually offered and are beneficial as they teach basic art principles and can be a creative outlet for beginners, intermediate artists and those who can work at an advanced level, all building art portfolios for post secondary.
3) Computer based technology, such as 3D animation software and motion capture, to depict subjects are critical now in the field of animation. Animators entering the industry today will need to have strong computer skills and taking a Computer Science class in high school can give them much of that basic understanding.
4) Each year of high school English courses read and analyze a few of the most important literary works in history. This teaches future creative professionals the basic elements of telling a story and telling it well.
5) Biology is useful for animators because they need to be acutely aware of how living creatures look, move and behave.
Any kind of Film Production or Video Game Development elective can also be taken to gain background information that can only help students as they move toward the post-secondary level.
Ontario is home to some of the best post-secondary school animation programs in the world. The Switch VFX & Animation Scholarship Program offers financial investment in students at Sheridan College, Seneca College, St. Clair College and Algonquin College. Some of the training received addresses the computer technology that is standard in the animation industry, such as 3d animation and rendering software plus students learn about traditional visual art, including color theory, composition and drawing, as well as filmmaking techniques.
We encourage all our studio colleagues to get involved in building our industries future.
Click HERE to learn more about The Animation Lounge
Click HERE to learn about Girls in Tech Conference
Click HERE to see the reels of Switch VFX & Animation Scholarship Winners
Click HERE to learn more about Switch VFX & Animation
This article originally appeared on LinkedIn. Click HERE to view