Will “Technical Animator” be Automated?

Core Skills & Abilities

• Assemble, typeset, scan, and produce digital camera-ready art or film negatives and printer's proofs.

• Design complex graphics and animation, using independent judgment, creativity, and computer equipment.

• Create basic designs, drawings, and illustrations for product labels, cartons, direct mail, or television.

• Create pen-and-paper images to be scanned, edited, colored, textured, or animated by computer.

• Implement and maintain configuration control systems.

• Create two-dimensional and three-dimensional images depicting objects in motion or illustrating a process, using computer animation or modeling programs.

• Convert real objects to animated objects through modeling, using techniques such as optical scanning.

• Participate in design and production of multimedia campaigns, handling budgeting and scheduling, and assisting with such responsibilities as production coordination, background design, and progress tracking.

• Develop briefings, brochures, multimedia presentations, web pages, promotional products, technical illustrations, and computer artwork for use in products, technical manuals, literature, newsletters, and slide shows.

• Make objects or characters appear lifelike by manipulating light, color, texture, shadow, and transparency, or manipulating static images to give the illusion of motion.

• Use models to simulate the behavior of animated objects in the finished sequence.

• Script, plan, and create animated narrative sequences under tight deadlines, using computer software and hand drawing techniques.

• Apply story development, directing, cinematography, and editing to animation to create storyboards that show the flow of the animation and map out key scenes and characters.