 Computer Animator Think of all the amazing special effects in movies and computer games. Dinosaurs, monsters, explosions, people who change into something else, time travel, space travel, people flying, buildings falling, ships sinking-the list goes on. This is exciting and fun because we can actually see things that we could only imagine before. But how does this happen? The Real Deal The answer is computer animation. Animators use lasers to scan real people or things into digital form in their computers. Then they create directions to have the image move in a certain way. If a monster is chasing somebody, the animator has to give directions for each part-the tail, the legs, the mouth, and everything else-to move the way it would in real life. Then the animator uses her computer to put in light, shadow, and colors to make the characters look like they would in real life. Other people put together the scenes, background, sound effects, music, and script. The animators add in all these things, then use computer languages to write instructions, called "codes," that run the animation. If it sounds like a lot of work, you're right. Fifty animators worked on the movie Dinosaur. It took over 70,000 CD-ROMs to hold all of the information they used and over 3 million hours of computer time. But they learned a lot and ended up with a fantastic result. The fun is in the creation and being able to make the animation come out just right. Experience and Education How do you get to be an animator? Most people learn computer graphics before they get into animation. If you can show a lot of good animations that you've done, you can get a job. But, to get really good, you should take some courses or get a degree. There are 2-year programs with courses like computer character design, gaming design, shading and lighting, motion study, and 3D. Some animators have college degrees in computer science or fine arts. What You Can Do Now If you're interested in computer animation, you can start by working with computer graphics. And start designing things! Draw! Paint! At school, look for multimedia and computer programming courses. Use graphics in school projects. Join any classes, clubs, or contests that involve art or graphics. Remember, computer animation is new, it's growing, and it's changing all the time. There aren't too many rules, so you can take it wherever you want to go. Besides movies and games, there's a lot of work for computer animators in advertising and business. Links http://www.women.animation.org
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