Junior animator

This occupation is found in the British and International animation industries, providing animated content for film, television, advertising, games, corporate and immersive reality industries. Animation companies and studios vary in size and the number of employees they have, and are described as small, medium or large companies. They are to be found across England and the UK. The output and remit of an animation studio is varied, and they will produce work for a range of clients across advertising, film, television and commercial. Some studios specialise in one area, particularly children’s media, which is the largest area of the industry.  There are a number of studios who also provide service work to other creative industries to diversify their revenue streams, providing visual effects, animated content, live action or interactive content production.

Animation is the process of displaying still images in a rapid sequence to create the illusion of movement. The animation the Junior Animator is required to create may vary and can include dialogue or non-dialogue. These images can be created using various process including: hand drawn, computer generated, or pictures of 3D objects.

The broad purpose of the Junior Animator’s role is to create animated assets and content, by producing the motions, gestures, expressions and performance of two or three dimensional characters and objects.                          

This is a junior level role, in their daily work, an employee in this occupation works closely with the Animator, Animation Lead, Supervisor and Director, along with clients and team members. They must be able to take direction and feedback, in order to create the actions of their animated character, according to the story and the director's wishes. To support this, they must also be able to interpret a storyboard and any character layout/scene planning that has been done in advance.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for animating characters or scenes.  The junior animator should have an excellent knowledge of timing and spacing within the story being animated and have excellent drawing skills. Using model sheets, and any given reference material, they will be able to visualise the character/object/creature in any number of poses, and stage the character/object/creature effectively according to the layout/scene plan.

Junior Animators must also know and understand how characters develop, and their role in that development, the principles of anatomy and how these affect movement, shot construction and composition, shot breakdown and continuity. They must also be aware of the brand guidelines, design or subject matter of the animation being created.

They are a highly creative individual who must be able to focus on their own work for long periods, but also be able to work in collaboration within a team. 

The Junior Animator should understand their place within the production workflow process, and be able to organise their animation files and filing system accordingly. They should be able to use the equipment required of a given project, learn and keep up-to-date with animation software, and be able to use traditional techniques such as hand drawn as required. They should be able to export their work for review, and to work within a given schedule. This role may include out of hours or irregular working patterns when collaborating on international projects.