Think of your favourite television programme, film or TV advert – the chances are animation features in one or all of these. From hand-drawn techniques, stop-motion and computer-generated, animation brings some of our most cherished stories and characters to life, creates magical landscapes and environments and enhances our everyday screen experiences.
Whilst drawing and artistic techniques sit at the centre of animation, you don’t need to be an artist to work in the sector and there are plenty of roles that require a wide range of skills and experiences - from Production Coordinators who need to be very organised to keep all elements of the process in check, Composers who provide the audio backdrop to animations by writing music and Effects Technical Directors (FX TD) who use physics to create believable effects such as explosions, smoke and water, plus more.
Delivered in collaboration with Blue Zoo, a multi-Bafta winning animation agency who have created titles including Lego City, The Adventures of Paddington and Superworm to name a few, this online industry insight introduced professionals from across the company who shared a glimpse into their jobs and careers. During the insight, the panellists talked through the various processes behind the creation of their recent TV ad campaign for Playmobil's Back to the Future toy range.
The panellists were:
- Tom Box, Co-founder and Director (Chair)
- Lizzie Hicks, Head of Short-form Production
- Grant Berry, Art Director
- Arthur Tibbett, CG Supervisor
- Sam Potter, Director/Animation Supervisor
We have listed several links to resources below and you can also explore the Animation lesson plans on the ScreenSkills website.
A recording of this live event will not be published due to copyright reasons.
Image: Blue Zoo TV campaign image © Playmobil
Warm-up exercise
This short 10-minute exercise is designed to get your students thinking about the animation sector and the job roles and skills involved – this could be done as a class or in small groups. You can find out more about these job roles and more on the ScreenSkills Animation Careers Map:
- Storyboard artist
- Rigger
- Sound Designer
- Layout artist
Useful links and resources
- Animation lesson plan developed by ScreenSkills
- Careers map for the animation sector, created by ScreenSkills
- An overview of animation job profiles via ScreenSkills
- Animation lesson plan developed by the National Centre for Computing Education
- A curation of online tutorials for 2D and 3D animation creation created by Stoke On Trent based animation studio, Carse and Waterman
- Careers, skills and jobs information via Animation UK
- Prospects information about animation careers
- Information about the Junior Animator Apprenticeship via the NextGenSkillsAcademy website
Blue Zoo was founded in 2000 by classmates Oli Hyatt, Adam Shaw and Tom Box whilst they were studying animation at Bournemouth University. Since its very first project ‘Blue Cow’, for the launch of CBeebies, Blue Zoo has gone on to become one of the UK’s leading animation studios, producing some of the most well-loved kids shows on TV, award-winning commercials, and animated short films renowned for unique visual storytelling and innovation. Find out more.