Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Graphic designer to animation director

A graphic designer already meets 47% of what the animation director role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From graphic designer
47 % overlap
Partial match
To animation director
24 You already bring
10 Still to learn
43 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

55.7/ 100

1 How much of what an animation director is expected to do is already part of a graphic designer’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 director role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

An animation director role treats 5 of its required skills as things a graphic designer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • adapt to type of media
  • finish project within budget
  • follow a brief
  • graphic design
  • motion graphics

What stands in the way is 10 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 24 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An animation director role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a graphic designer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held create 3D environments communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held create 3D characters working with computers
  • already held digital compositing arts and humanities
  • already held create moving images communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held motion graphics arts and humanities
  • already held 3D lighting arts and humanities

All 24 carried skills, including the 5 the animation director role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 19 missing skills fall into 5 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 management skills 6 required
  • still to learn manage technical resources stock required
  • still to learn follow work schedule required
  • still to learn manage budgets required
  • still to learn manage staff required
  • still to learn perform project management required
  • still to learn recruit employees required
02 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn ICT software specifications required
  • still to learn computer equipment required
  • optional, not held augmented reality optional
03 arts and humanities 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn multimedia systems required
  • optional, not held motion capture optional
04 information skills 1 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn analyse the need for technical resources required
  • optional, not held study relationships between characters optional
05 communication, collaboration and creativity 6 supplementary
  • optional, not held analyse a script optional
  • optional, not held consult with production director optional
  • optional, not held help the programmer define an artistic vision optional
  • optional, not held create 2D painting optional
  • optional, not held manage portfolio optional
  • optional, not held render 3D images optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries an animation director 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 24 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held adapt to type of media skill
  • already held finish project within budget skill
  • already held follow a brief skill
  • already held graphic design knowledge
  • already held motion graphics 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 computer graphics knowledge
  • already held create 3D characters skill
  • already held create 3D environments skill
  • already held create moving images skill
  • already held design graphics skill
  • already held develop animations skill
  • already held digital compositing knowledge
  • already held edit digital moving images skill
  • already held graphics editor software knowledge
  • already held manage contracts skill
  • already held operate 3D computer graphics software skill
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held analyse a script optional
  • optional, not held consult with production director optional
  • optional, not held help the programmer define an artistic vision optional
  • optional, not held motion capture optional
  • optional, not held study relationships between characters optional
  • optional, not held augmented reality optional
  • optional, not held create 2D painting optional
  • optional, not held manage portfolio optional
  • optional, not held render 3D images optional
40 held skills the animation director role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role 3D modelling knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Adobe Photoshop Lightroom knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Capture One knowledge
  • not needed by the target role adobe creative suite knowledge
  • not needed by the target role advertising techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role aesthetics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role apply desktop publishing techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role brainstorm ideas skill
  • not needed by the target role convert scribbles into virtual sketches skill
  • not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role create advertisements skill
  • not needed by the target role create animated narratives skill
  • not needed by the target role design greeting cards skill
  • not needed by the target role design management knowledge
  • not needed by the target role design prototypes skill
  • not needed by the target role desktop publishing knowledge
  • not needed by the target role develop an artistic framework skill
  • not needed by the target role develop creative ideas skill
  • not needed by the target role develop digital content skill
  • not needed by the target role digital media knowledge
  • not needed by the target role draw design sketches skill
  • not needed by the target role edit negatives skill
  • not needed by the target role edit photographs skill
  • not needed by the target role identify customer's needs skill
  • not needed by the target role interactive media knowledge
  • not needed by the target role meet expectations of target audience skill
  • not needed by the target role perform ideation activities skill
  • not needed by the target role perform market research skill
  • not needed by the target role photography knowledge
  • not needed by the target role publishing industry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role respect publication formats skill
  • not needed by the target role select artwork developed by staff members skill
  • not needed by the target role translate requirements into visual design skill
  • not needed by the target role use CAD software skill
  • not needed by the target role use creative suite software skill
  • not needed by the target role use digital illustration techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role use photographic equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role use presentation software skill
  • not needed by the target role use traditional illustration techniques skill
  • not needed by the target role use word processing software skill
5 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 ICT software specifications required
  • still to learn computer equipment required
  • still to learn multimedia systems required
  • optional, not held motion capture optional
  • optional, not held augmented reality optional
Index

Other moves recorded from graphic designer

Full index of moves from graphic designer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a graphic designer become an animation director?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A graphic designer already covers 47% of what an animation director is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 5 of which the animation director role treats as required.

What skills does a graphic designer need to become an animation director?

10 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is ICT software specifications.

How hard is the move from graphic designer to animation director?

Its learning distance is 55.7 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.