1
Sep
2010
The Right Degree Is Just Around The Bend
They are some of the least recognized personnel by the general public, but at the same time some of the most respected inside the animation profession. These people are layout and background artists with their science degrees.
To understand their job, one must realize one animation cell can easily be divided into three separate layers. The first is foreground, where most of the characters and action are set. Then there’s the mid-ground, where secondary action takes place. Finally there’s the background, which is an almost completely different field in its own right.
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.
There are many different roads towards becoming a layout artist. The one thing all have in common is a love of painting, whether it’s in pen and ink, acrylics or even generated by computers. The best layout artists should also understand the principles of animation, so an understanding of things like choreography and character design helps. .
In regards to higher education, a layout artist can get employed with a solid technology degree online. It would be a good idea to find a physical campus or online college that also offers animation courses, so one can refine one’s understanding of the process. After that, most layout artists usually get a job as an assistant at a studio, refining their craft under a master, sometimes called a “rough,” 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.
It’s not impossible for a layout artist to eventually end up a director, too with the proper Online Programming Degrees. One of the greatest of all times was Maurice Noble, who did the backgrounds and layouts of the Roadrunner cartoons for Chuck Jones. He became an award-winning director himself. Also, layout artists can move on to painting and other forms of art, even getting gallery exhibitions on their own.
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