Re: Should I change careers to 3D animation?

What I am wondering is what professors in 3D animation courses are telling their students about job prospects.

3D Animation is very broad. Find a niche, be it medical, industrial, biological or commercial. It is easier to approach potential clients with "I create 3D simulations of industrial processes similar to your business" vs "Hi, do you need some 3D animation?" See the difference?

We have a full time illustrator on staff. When he started we were doing tons of Maya animation, but as that work dried up, he focused on the 2D work. Now if a client needs animation we find a vendor. There are many but finding a great one is the key.

Make a reel of your best work. Post it on the COW, on Vimeo in HD, YouTube in HD and your own website. If you are not also a web designer, then keep your site simple. Do a google ad words campaign to try to get some traffic, but the market is saturated.

Start a blog and talk about computer animation - both in general and specific to what you do, and do it here on the COW. COW blogs and forum posts get seen by Google and Bing.

Getting hired full time as an animator is probably a slim chance. Rather, put yourself out there.

Mike Cohen