If you want a job in the animation industry, there are a number of ways you can get your foot in the door. With the right attitude and knowledge, aspiring animators could end up working at one of the most famous animation companies in the world – Pixar! Let’s have a look at how you can kickstart this exciting career: 
The Best way to Get Your Foot in the Door
You should keep an open mind at all times. Simply saying you only want to work at Pixar or another animation company with no intention of getting experience anywhere else won’t get you very far. You need to get as much experience as possible, anywhere you can, and do the best you can. If you can get an internship, that’s fantastic and should be taken advantage of. You could even secure it by telling them you’ll do the jobs everyone hates, like scrubbing the dirty loos or packing boxes. Getting an internship in the industry with somebody you respect is a wonderful way to get started and shouldn’t be underestimated, no matter how little you’ll get paid. You need to have a great attitude and constantly think about how you can learn to better yourself. One word of warning: don’t get too comfortable. Some companies, especially the big ones like Pixar, can be very comfortable indeed – sometimes too comfortable for newbies. Of course you should have fun, but at the same time you need to work as hard as you can – no matter how tempting it is to play basketball or hang around in the on-site gym!
Setting Goals and Assignments
For new animators you need to get experience. If you can’t seem to get that, then you need to set yourself goals and assignments. Sign up to a class, or do something where you’re basically working – get feedback on it if you can! The internet is a great tool, so use it. You can then take any feedback you get to the next level.
What About if I Really Want to Work at Pixar?
Then you need to qualify for an internship. They usually look at applications, find out the really good people, and then continually review the applications until they can make a final decision. You’ll need to be really good, and as mentioned before – get experience from anywhere and everywhere. There’s nothing specific that can bag you a place, it’s always simply luck of the draw. Your ideas matter, as well as your talent and potential. You don’t always need to be polished to perfection.
3 Tips for Aspiring Animators
1. Build a solid foundation of traditional art, as this will help you in many aspects of the job.
2. Focus on your work and especially on the aspect you like most. Focus on Architectural CGI if you want to create structural masterpieces, for example!
3. Know exactly where you want to end up in 20 years. Strive to learn new things constantly along with the above advice and you could go far in this industry! Photo Credit
