Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

3D animator to animation layout artist

A 3D animator already meets 21% of what the animation layout artist role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From 3D animator
21 % overlap
Distant match
To animation layout artist
11 You already bring
17 Still to learn
47 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance A rebuild

80.7/ 100

1 How much of what an animation layout artist is expected to do is already part of a 3D animator’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the animation layout artist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An animation layout artist role treats 4 of its required skills as things a 3D animator already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • 3D lighting
  • computer graphics
  • holography
  • operate 3D computer graphics software

What stands in the way is 17 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An animation layout artist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a 3D animator background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held rig 3D characters working with computers
  • already held holography arts and humanities
  • already held animate 3D organic forms communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held create 3D characters working with computers
  • already held create animated narratives communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held 3D lighting arts and humanities

All 11 carried skills, including the 4 the animation layout artist role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 36 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 communication, collaboration and creativity 8 required, 5 supplementary
  • still to learn adapt to type of media required
  • still to learn analyse a script required
  • still to learn consult with production director required
  • still to learn edit digital moving images required
  • still to learn ensure visual quality of the set required
  • still to learn provide input to collaborators to guide their work required
  • still to learn set up animation elements required
  • still to learn follow a brief required
  • optional, not held convert into animated object optional
  • optional, not held create moving images optional
  • optional, not held develop animations optional
  • optional, not held design graphics optional
  • optional, not held manage portfolio optional
02 arts and humanities 4 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn digital arts required
  • still to learn graphic design required
  • still to learn motion graphics required
  • still to learn multimedia systems required
  • optional, not held motion capture optional
03 information skills 2 required
  • still to learn study media sources required
  • still to learn study relationships between characters required
04 management skills 2 required
  • still to learn finish project within budget required
  • still to learn follow work schedule required
05 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 required, 8 supplementary
  • still to learn ICT software specifications required
  • optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
  • optional, not held Capture One optional
  • optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
  • optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
  • optional, not held Synfig optional
  • optional, not held graphics editor software optional
06 working with machinery and specialised equipment 3 supplementary
  • optional, not held operate a camera optional
  • optional, not held select camera apertures optional
  • optional, not held set up cameras optional

2 further areas in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an animation layout artist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 11 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held 3D lighting knowledge
  • already held computer graphics knowledge
  • already held holography knowledge
  • already held operate 3D computer graphics software skill
  • already held animate 3D organic forms skill
  • already held apply 3D imaging techniques skill
  • already held augmented reality knowledge
  • already held create 3D characters skill
  • already held create animated narratives skill
  • already held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples skill
  • already held rig 3D characters skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 social sciences, journalism and information 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held digitization optional
08 working with computers 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held provide multimedia content optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
  • optional, not held Capture One optional
  • optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
  • optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
  • optional, not held Synfig optional
  • optional, not held convert into animated object optional
  • optional, not held create moving images optional
  • optional, not held develop animations optional
  • optional, not held graphics editor software optional
  • optional, not held motion capture optional
  • optional, not held operate a camera optional
  • optional, not held provide multimedia content optional
  • optional, not held select camera apertures optional
  • optional, not held set up cameras optional
  • optional, not held design graphics optional
  • optional, not held digitization optional
  • optional, not held manage portfolio optional
13 held skills the animation layout artist role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role 3D texturing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create 3D environments skill
  • not needed by the target role create storyboards skill
  • not needed by the target role develop creative ideas skill
  • not needed by the target role discuss artwork skill
  • not needed by the target role draw design sketches skill
  • not needed by the target role maintain an artistic portfolio skill
  • not needed by the target role manage schedule of tasks skill
  • not needed by the target role particle animation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role principles of animation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role render 3D images skill
  • not needed by the target role select illustration styles skill
  • not needed by the target role use scripting programming skill
15 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn digital arts required
  • still to learn ICT software specifications required
  • still to learn graphic design required
  • still to learn motion graphics required
  • still to learn multimedia systems required
  • optional, not held Adobe Illustrator optional
  • optional, not held Adobe Photoshop optional
  • optional, not held Capture One optional
  • optional, not held GIMP (graphics editor software) optional
  • optional, not held Microsoft Visio optional
  • optional, not held SketchBook Pro optional
  • optional, not held Synfig optional
  • optional, not held graphics editor software optional
  • optional, not held motion capture optional
  • optional, not held digitization optional
Index

Other moves recorded from 3D animator

Full index of moves from 3D animator

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a 3D animator become an animation layout artist?

Yes, and it is a career change move. A 3D animator already covers 21% of what an animation layout artist is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 4 of which the animation layout artist role treats as required.

What skills does a 3D animator need to become an animation layout artist?

17 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is digital arts.

How hard is the move from 3D animator to animation layout artist?

Its learning distance is 80.7 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.