Today’s VFX and Animation industries are part of the entertainment media domain that has dramatically changed the storytelling process in movies, television shows, computer games, and even advertisements. The imaginative worlds of creativity and techniques sweep across the audience through compelling works of creatives and technical effects. Even though people tend to use the terms VFX and animation interchangeably, these two industries are rather different in their focus and functions, not to mention that proper mastery of specific skills is a must. Well, in this blog post, we are going to try and better explain what VFX and animation mean, how they are different from each other, and what employment prospects one can expect to find once they complete a VFX and Animation Course.
Animation can be defined as the process of taking inert objects or characters and making them appear to have movement. So, what is animation? It is achieved by designing a series of pictures or shots, which are displayed repetitively to simulate action. Animators are thus digital storytellers who use their art to bring characters and backgrounds to life, performing in the way they desire.
Animation was originally created through hand-drawn cartons, stop-motion photography and later continuing with modern forms of computer animations and continued with computer graphic images (CGI). The field encompasses various techniques such as:
The technique of creating cartoons or advertisements where graphic images are drawn on paper one at a time in a 2D plane. Movies like The Lion King, The Simpsons, and even high school musicals.
A more modern form is done by creating work in digital models built in a three-dimensional environment The form of animation in which animated figures are created virtually in a three-dimensional space is evident in popular animated movies including Toy Story, Frozen as well as Shrek. This technique is useful as it provides a better representation of characters and settings.
The technique where one physically moves objects across the frame by frame to make an object appear as if it is in motion. Preview Animations like Nightmare Before Christmas and Wallace and Gromit are examples of stop motion.
In an animation course, such an individual may be expected to learn about things like the dynamics of movement, and how to apply timing to animations among other things about the use of common applications of animation such as Autodesk Maya, Blender, among others, and Adobe Animate. They also cover character design, how to approach scene composition, and the animation pipeline — the journey it takes for a project.
Visual Effects (or VFX for short,) is a category of filmmaking that entails imagery shots not captured by live-action cameras but rather crafted digitally or physically for reinforcement or imagining beyond the capability of a camera lens. VFX artists incorporate digital components into real-life scenarios to design scenes that inspire the mind in courses such as flying superheroes and awesome terrains.
This entails designing and developing objects or settings in three-dimensionality and incorporating them into real-life scenes. For instance, all parts of The Avengers franchise greatly capitalize on CGI to build complete fighting scenes that could not occur in real life.
This is the process of collaging different visual itemizations from different sources into one single image. For instance, a green screen will have actors perform in front of it and a background will be inserted later.
This technology captures the movements of an actor and then maps them to the digital avatar. Today’s films like Avatar and video games like The Last of Us rely on motion capture technology.
A VFX course includes knowledge of how to operate with such applications as Adobe After Effects, Nuke, and Houdini, which give students certain tools for creating these effects. The coursework also includes match-moving, rotoscoping, matte painting, and digital compositing.
Despite their close relationship, VFX and animation serve quite diverse purposes and have different applications. The difference between VFX and animation is:
When it comes to jobs and professional opportunities in the animation industry they are 2D/3D Animator, Character Designer, Storyboard Artist, Rigging Artist, and Animation Director.
Some careers related to VFX are VFX Artist, Compositor, Motion Graphics Designer, Matchmover, and VFX Supervisor.
Since streaming services and video games become more and more popular, there’s an increasing need for high-impact VFX and animation; studios creating even more impressive work for audiences around the world.
The introduction of new technologies such as VR and AR are opening up new applications for the execution of virtual and augmented reality-based realistic games as well as training facilitating the need for VFX and animation talents.
Artificial intelligence is used in the production of animations and VFX and tasks such as rigging, rendering, and character animation are fully automated.
Emerging technologies like real-time rendering, like the new generation game engine Unreal Engine 4, are revolutionizing production where directors can simulate scenes and VFX in real-time without the need for expensive green screens.
Thanks to the modern software based in the cloud and the organization of work in teams with the use of modern technologies, you can use the experience and create large international teams of VFX and animation professionals.
Formal VFX and animation courses provide a complete set of tools such as basic skills, background information, and necessary experience that a student needs to cope with this rapidly developing area. Many of the curriculums also include the artistic side as well as the technical, enabling the learners to come up with their concepts while at the same time practicing the use of appropriate tools and technology in the field.
However, taking a course entails the ability to develop projects that replicate actual production environments as a way of developing a portfolio for the students as they showcase themselves to would-be employers. Other experiences include internships and collaborations with industry professionals who provide students with entry to competitive studios.
VFX and animation are industries that are constantly and actively developing and with the largest potential for the author’s further work in expressing themselves through the languages of competitive visuality. If you are curious about the kind of work done in making fully animated worlds or about adding top-notch effects to live-action sequences, a course in VFX and animation can act as the beginner’s bridge to a fruitful and satisfying career. The complexity of defining these two fields will certainly make you well-prepared for the industries where creativity and ideas are the dominant driving forces by getting the formal education needed to shape your creativity.