Getting Your Education Has Never Been Easier
When
talking about animation one of the least recognized position outside of
the field is the layout and background artists. Inside the profession
though, it’s quite another story.
By definition, layout
artists plan the action of scenes under the supervision of the
supervising or episode director. They draw both the background and how
the character elements fit within a shot. To do this, they take
information from the storyboard and translate it into a format and size
that can be utilized by the animation and camera departments.
Experienced layout artists will even plot camera moves.
For
example, look at an animated fight scene. In the foreground will be the
principle fighters and their props. In the middle ground one will find
supporting characters and such. The background often is the setting in
which the fight is taking place. A layout artist using a house will
have a very different sequence than one using a street corner or a
sport arena. Replacing that one background completely changes the
context.
In
many ways, the layout design dictates what action takes place. Going
back to that fight, you want a character in the foreground to either
jump over, slide under, run around or even pick up a table in front of
it, not run through it (unless it happens to be a ghost). Because of
things like this, the layout artist usually reports directly to the
episode director.
While
there are a number of ways to become a layout artist, the one thing all
have in common is a love or drawing and painting, particularly settings
and landscapes. One should also be comfortable in using a variety of
tools, ranging from pen to paint on to computer. To top it, a layout
artist must be familiar with the jobs his partners do, if only to make
their jobs easier.
As
for education, any good online or one campus art school will give a
layout artist all the basics of the profession he or she will need.
What is suggested though is to find one that also offers animation
courses, if only to learn how to better blend one’s work with the
others you’ll end up working with. From there, the goal is to build a
good portfolio and see if one can get an assistant’s job at a studio
with an experienced layout artist.
When
one lands an assistant’s job, the average salary usually is around
$25,000 a year. The average layout salary for experienced personnel is
double, at $50,000 a year. If one gets to be a master, or “rough”
layout artist, it’s not unheard of to make over $100,000 or more. Like
everything else in the entertainment field though, it should be
remembered that all work is for-hire. When the project’s done, it’s
time to upgrade the portfolio.
Because
of the special nature of the job, the layout artist with his online education also has two other
advantages. If he’s also a good character designer or story man with the proper stem degree, he can
advance to a director’s chair. Also, because one of their skills is
backgrounds and landscapes, many become pure artists with gallery
exhibitions, too.
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