Can't Draw But Want To Be In Animation?
Have you ever wanted to work on some of your favorite cartoons, but never tried because you feel like you don’t have the best drawing skills? What if I told you that you can work in the animation industry even if you can’t draw, like myself! See! look at this dog that I drew. Not very impressive.
Now you may be thinking, how can I possibly be in the animation industry if I can’t draw? What jobs can I even do? Well, there’s a lot actually! Production is the biggest and main non-artist job in animation, but there’s also development, special events, finance, marketing, executive roles and if you still want to be on the creative side, there’s also writing!
Don’t give up on your dream to work in the animation industry. It’s definitely possible and I am a testament to that. I went to college and graduated with a Managerial Economics degree from UC Davis. I basically learned about the economics of how to operate a farm. Because it’s UC Davis and they’re known for their cows and agriculture. I did not take a single animation course during college, but after graduation, I ended up making a cartoon short with Nickelodeon with essentially, a business degree. I’m sharing this with you all to let you know that it’s possible if you can’t draw that you can still have great ideas for a cartoon and actually can make them. Don’t give up on your dream. If you’re like me and can’t draw, but would like to pursue animation, let me show you how you can.
You’ll want to aim for the entry-level position of a PA or Production Assistant. You absolutely do not need to know a thing about drawing. You just need to be organized, friendly, and help keep the animation pipeline going. In order to be a PA, you need at least a high school diploma to apply. But to be frank, this is nearly impossible if you do not know anyone in the industry because studios like to hire within or from referrals. The chances of getting a PA job from applying on their websites are slim. Unfortunately, most studios don’t have high school internships as they mainly focus on college students for their internship program.
I’d strongly recommend, attending any 4-year accredited college or university and apply for an internship. Your major doesn’t really matter, as long as you show some interest in the field of animation, and have some experience in administrative work, and the know-how to communicate well. This will help your chances of getting an interview when applying for internships at major studios.
With this internship, you’ll better your chances of getting hired for a PA position if you performed well and network. PA positions are scarce so even interns and fellow PAs who show are ending are competing for the limited amount of positions. That’s why it’s so important to be able to intern, network, and keep in touch to first find out of any openings and then to be able to apply and get recommended to that position. Also, with a PA job, you’ll be credited on the show and if you work your way up to a Supervisor Producer level, you’ll have a chance to win awards like an Emmy or an Annie.
If you just want to work for an animation studio and not for a production or a show, you can also enter the industry through other occupations such as development, finance, marketing, special events, and a few other fields. These jobs are still competitive but offer more opportunities for those who are interested in animation but can’t draw. If you’d like to learn more about them, I will be going more in-depth about these non-artist jobs in upcoming videos on my YouTube Channel that you can check out. Be sure to subscribe and hit that notification bell to know when they will be available.
MORE CONTENT
