I still feel quite worried about choosing the film and TV side of the animation industry. From what I know, many animation teams for film projects are hired when the project starts, and then break up when the project finishes. Then you have to find the next job again. I know I am not the kind of animator who is so good that every studio is fighting to hire me, so this makes me quite scared. That is why I also want to have the game industry as an option. I feel that if I can get a regular position in a game company, at least before I am 35 I should be relatively safe and not reach the point where I cannot afford to live.
In my undergraduate graduation project I worked with effects in After Effects. At that time I was making projection effects for an exhibition hall model. I used a lot of particle animation, combined with hand-drawn small animations and some interactive technology, to make the exhibition space more interesting and easy to understand. During that process, I realised that I was not just forcing myself to finish the task. Instead, I was actually enjoying it. This experience was also one of the reasons why I later decided to study animation at postgraduate level. So if I really enter the game industry, the first role I think of is something like skill VFX or motion design. I would like to use movement, timing and particles to give life to skills, explosions, light rings and hit feedback on the screen.
I briefly looked at some job ads and found that VFX or motion designers in games are usually responsible for skill effects, hit flashes, explosions, magic circles and screen feedback, and they need to work together with designers, artists and programmers to make sure the effects not only look good but also match the gameplay rhythm and visual style, and do not use too much performance. At the same time, 2D film animation in China seems to have less and less space, but 2D in the game industry is still very active. I am also very interested in Live2D, because this technology is widely used now, and it connects well with the side of me that likes to study rhythm, camera and character performance. It also means my previous 2D experience would not be completely wasted.
The realistic problem is that I am still at a very beginner level. I have used AE before, but I have forgotten many of the detailed functions. Without a teacher watching me, and without a project pushing me, I am not sure if I can train my skills to a real “entry level” before I start looking for work. As for Live2D and Spine, I still have not really had the time and chances to learn them. I have only watched some tutorials and finished works, but I have not made any complete piece by myself yet.
So I feel that in the future I really hope to have the chance to at least follow one full AE or Live2D course, and make one or two small demos that I can put in my portfolio, for example a simple skill effect or a looping Live2D performance. Even if in the end I still stay on the film side or continue with storyboard work, I think having one more skill will help me a lot. If I am laid off one day, I could at least work as a freelancer and take some motion or Live2D jobs. And most importantly, I actually enjoy doing these things.