Quote:Original post by Winning Guy
As technology increases, are we going to see more and more companies looking for Animators as specialists?

The reason I ask is that I am currently studying animation, and only animation. I don't know any other aspects of 3D programs. While the education I'm receiving may seem like it's focused towards film, I'd love the idea of working for a game company some day.

I know that some of the larger studios have dedicated animators. But will this trend make its way to be the norm?

I believe this is already the norm for nearly all companies but indie's and small startups. And even then some may have dedicated animators. However, it can never hurt to learn a new skill, animating is usually accompanied by character modeling.

Quote:Original post by tangent string
Animation is actually usually accompanied by rigging. But your right, many game companies today are looking for pure animators. You will find though, more in the game industry they will also expect you to be able to rig. In the film industry, they will usually only expect you to animate.

Either way, there are many many animation jobs in the game industry. A friend of mine just got one, working on an X-Box title.

Yeah, i meant it is accompanied by character modeling if they are practicing a skillset outside the usual required by animators. Rigging is a given since almost all animators use a custom animation rig (more so a custom setup to manipulate the rig) to animate. I would be highly skeptic of a person who calls himself an animator but doesn't know how to rig.

Quote:Original post by Jarrod1937
Yeah, i meant it is accompanied by character modeling if they are practicing a skillset outside the usual required by animators. Rigging is a given since almost all animators use a custom animation rig (more so a custom setup to manipulate the rig) to animate. I would be highly skeptic of a person who calls himself an animator but doesn't know how to rig.

Most studios will have a technical artist/animator to do the rigging. Unlikely the animators will make custom rigs for studio use, because it also entails maintaining and troubleshooting said rig, which is not the animator's job (in addition to lots of scripting involved with a good rig). They may have to weight models, though.

You should be familiar with the entire pipeline, from modeling to rigging to weighting to animation (probably don't need to texture, though). However, as long as your animations look good, that's really all that matters for most studios. Jack of all trades are, sadly, not all that useful in AAA development. That said, your animations will probably improve if you do understand rigging, and to some degree, modeling and weighting for animating for deformation.

Quote:Original post by Professor420

Quote:Original post by Jarrod1937
Yeah, i meant it is accompanied by character modeling if they are practicing a skillset outside the usual required by animators. Rigging is a given since almost all animators use a custom animation rig (more so a custom setup to manipulate the rig) to animate. I would be highly skeptic of a person who calls himself an animator but doesn't know how to rig.

Most studios will have a technical artist/animator to do the rigging. Unlikely the animators will make custom rigs for studio use, because it also entails maintaining and troubleshooting said rig, which is not the animator's job (in addition to lots of scripting involved with a good rig). They may have to weight models, though.

You should be familiar with the entire pipeline, from modeling to rigging to weighting to animation (probably don't need to texture, though). However, as long as your animations look good, that's really all that matters for most studios. Jack of all trades are, sadly, not all that useful in AAA development. That said, your animations will probably improve if you do understand rigging, and to some degree, modeling and weighting for animating for deformation.

Oh, i see, looks like i am falling behind times :-)
Things are specialzing more than i thought.