With well over 135,000 commercial companies, the city of Atlanta, Georgia is filled with local artists pursuing careers in the field of animation design. Recent global technological advances have created a rapidly widening local economic demand for professional animators.
Atlanta Schools and Training Programs for Animation
Colleges, Universities and educational organizations all over Atlanta, Georgia offer degree programs and certificates in animation arts. Aspiring Atlanta animators typically train at local colleges. Popular accredited Atlanta design schools with animation programs include Everest Institute, American Intercontinental University, South University and Westwood College. Atlanta animation students study computer science, web design and programming languages as well as photography, illustration, sculpture and other visual arts.
Some Atlanta artists acquire animation degrees via virtual art colleges available just about anywhere. Accredited online animation schools include the Academy of Art University, Full Sail University, Stratford Career Institute, DeVry, University of Phoenix, The Art Institutes, ITT Tech and others. Some cyber art schools feature convenient physical campuses. University of Phoenix, ITT Tech and The Art Institutes all have locations Atlanta.
Working as an Animator in Atlanta, Georgia
All kinds of Atlanta businesses recruit the services of professional animators. Local companies in need of such services include advertisers, real estate agents, medical schools, online news syndicates, web designers, software developers and many more. Some Atlanta artists work for nearby animation production companies like Fathom Studios, Primal Screen, Product-M or Radicalaxis, to name just a few. Others land jobs with local movie producers. Acclaimed Atlanta film makers include Craig Miller Productions, Encyclomedia, Holland Video Productions, Matjic Creative, Journey Productions and hundreds others. Some local animators are employed by artist-friendly Atlanta-based IT corporations. Successful Atlanta info tech firms include Delta Technology, ACS, Nova Corporation, Information Builders and Tectonic Network.
Resident Atlanta, Georgia animators who work full time for U.S. companies earn about $55,000 per year on average, with a mean hourly wage of roughly $26.75. However, this data (supplied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics) does not allow for the unreported incomes of freelancers, part time professionals and Atlanta animators employed Internationally.
Skills of a Professional Animator
Animators are talented illustrators of things in motion, but successful animated films require a lot more than talent. The basic technical skills involved in animated productions are drawing technique, innovative digital artwork, photography, lighting and story boarding, as well as combining visual elements with added features like voices and musical scores. Other technical qualifications include fluency in programming languages, familiarity with all major computer operating systems and proficiency with most animation software applications.