Animation director to animator
An animation director already meets 77% of what the animator role asks for. The move turns on 3 required skills not yet in the profile.
30.1/ 100
1 How much of what an animator is expected to do is already part of an animation director’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 animator role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An animator role treats 14 of its required skills as things an animation director already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ICT software specifications
- adapt to type of media
- analyse a script
- computer equipment
- computer graphics
- create moving images
What stands in the way is 3 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 35 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An animator role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an animation director background worth leading with.
- already held help the programmer define an artistic vision communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held motion capture arts and humanities
- already held create 3D environments communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage portfolio communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create 3D characters working with computers
- already held digital compositing arts and humanities
All 35 carried skills, including the 14 the animator role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 13 missing skills fall into 6 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.
- still to learn create animated narratives required
- optional, not held animate 3D organic forms optional
- optional, not held convert into animated object optional
- optional, not held create original drawings optional
- optional, not held create sketches optional
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held manage feedback optional
- still to learn provide multimedia content required
- optional, not held rig 3D characters optional
- still to learn study media sources required
- optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held Capture One optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an animator role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 create animated narratives practise this
- 02 provide multimedia content practise this
- 03 study media sources practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 35 skills that carry over
- already held ICT software specifications knowledge
- already held adapt to type of media skill
- already held analyse a script skill
- already held computer equipment knowledge
- already held computer graphics knowledge
- already held create moving images skill
- already held design graphics skill
- already held develop animations skill
- already held finish project within budget skill
- already held follow a brief skill
- already held follow work schedule skill
- already held graphic design knowledge
- already held motion graphics knowledge
- already held multimedia systems knowledge
- already held 3D lighting knowledge
- already held Adobe Illustrator knowledge
- already held Adobe Photoshop knowledge
- already held GIMP (graphics editor software) knowledge
- already held Microsoft Visio knowledge
- already held SketchBook Pro knowledge
- already held Synfig knowledge
- already held apply 3D imaging techniques skill
- already held augmented reality knowledge
- already held consult with production director skill
- already held create 2D painting skill
- already held create 3D characters skill
- already held create 3D environments skill
- already held digital compositing knowledge
- already held graphics editor software knowledge
- already held help the programmer define an artistic vision skill
- already held manage portfolio skill
- already held motion capture knowledge
- already held operate 3D computer graphics software skill
- already held render 3D images skill
- already held study relationships between characters skill
10 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held Capture One optional
- optional, not held animate 3D organic forms optional
- optional, not held convert into animated object optional
- optional, not held create original drawings optional
- optional, not held create sketches optional
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held receive appropriate permissions for use of recorded audiovisual examples optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held manage feedback optional
- optional, not held rig 3D characters optional
8 held skills the animator role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse the need for technical resources skill
- not needed by the target role edit digital moving images skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role manage technical resources stock skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held Capture One optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
Common questions about this move
Can an animation director become an animator?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An animation director already covers 77% of what an animator is expected to do: 35 skills carry over, 14 of which the animator role treats as required.
What skills does an animation director need to become an animator?
3 required skills are missing, plus 10 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is create animated narratives.
How hard is the move from animation director to animator?
Its learning distance is 30.1 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.