Finding Work in the Animation Industry in 2024

The creative industries have hit some headwinds of late, with a "perfect storm" of writers' strikes, actors' strikes, studio cutbacks - and anxiety over the threat from AI. 

But there are jobs and opportunities out there for graduates with strong portfolios and software skills. Below is a list of things to do to maximise your chances of breaking into the industry. Start by making sure that your demo reel is as good as it can possibly be.

Free Rigs and Sets for Animators at Anim-Matt

https://anim-matt.gumroad.com/

We're loving this new source of Free Rigs and Sets for Maya Animators at Animation-Matt https://anim-matt.gumroad.com/.  It's a great resource, packed with free (and low priced) rigs for character animation.  Anim-matt also has plenty of sets for animators to work in, including interior and exterior shots such as street, bars and living rooms, for characters to act and perform in.

How to Animate with "Heavy" in Maya 2024

We've recently updated the "Heavy" rig, one of the free rigs we recommend for learning animation. Heavy can be downloaded from highend3d.com, and you can read all about him here, as well as see how to use him to Animate a Walk Cycle here, and a Run Cycle with Heavy here. 

Why Animators Need Handles

Adobe Premiere

What are "handles", and why do animators need them? "Handles" are a technical term used in video editing to describe the process of adding a few frames to the start and end of every shot. This means that each shot in the film is slightly longer than it needs to be, allowing the editor to adjust the cut by a few frames in either direction to make the edit smoother.

An editor working with, say "four frame handles", has an extra four frames at the start and end of every shot. Working with handles means that animators have to do a little extra work, but it gives the editor flexibility with the final edit. 

Animator's Resource Kit

We're liking this handy blog - The Animator's Resource Kit, a useful one-stop-shop for lots of animation-related stuff.

It has plenty of information on subjects like links to animation forums, communities, animation competitions, Maya rigs, tools - and places to submit work.

Free Maya Character Rigs at Nelson Hurst

We're liking this very useful edit of Maya character rigs, free for student use, hosted at Nelson Hurst.com.

Nelson's collection of Maya rigs is a very helpful edit because it breaks down the free character rigs into sections, such as simple, intermediate, complex and creatures.

Great Free Maya Rigs at Thinking Animation

Thinking Animation is a great source of free animation rigs, including some really fun fan-made resources so that animators can work on characters like Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy or even Elsa from Frozen.

The website, which describes itself as "an online animation portal, blog and learning resource where animators can inspire, share, and study" also has a lot of super useful resources, such as tips on finding work, and some free lessons too.

Some of the rigs you can find elsewhere at sites such as animationbuffet, but others are more or less unique to this site.

Where Do Animators Find Live Action Reference?

Where can animators find useful live action reference? Reference is often a necessary starting point for producing believable animation. Of course, YouTube is a great resource, but it can be hard to find what you want, and you may need to dig within YouTube to find particular channels that specialise in what you need.  Below is a list of some of the best online resources that we are recommending to find the perfect live action reference.