Animation interests

I am in studying in FYJC arts. My subjects are sociology, history, economics, political science, English and Hindi. I am also training in classical dance. After looking at my abilities and my interests, plus reading up a little on the field of animation, I have decided that I want to make a career in animation. I am confused which bachelor’s degree should I opt for after my class 12 (HSC). Should I do

my BA (I am interested in sociology) or should I take up mass media since that might be related to animation? – Priya Pramod Dear Priya,

I am glad to see that you are extremely certain about the field you want to make your career in. I'm glad that you have determined your interests and abilities and arrived at the decision. That is the most difficult part for many students like you because often students are not able to gauge their abilities and interests and are lost at the time of making a decision.

Now that you already know what you want, the hard part is over. So, you don't need to worry much as you are right now. You don't need to be so confused, since whichever degree you choose, you will be able to make the career in the field of animation.

You can either continue in the arts stream and pursue your BA with any subject that you like or even opt for Bachelor’s in Mass Media (BMM) if you would like to study that. The degree you pursue will not have a bearing on how well you learn and work in animation. You should, however, know that the admission to BMM is dependent on the marks scored in the HSC exam, so be prepared for that.

For learning animation and looking at and keeping up with the constant changes and updates in the field, you might have to join a specialised course in a computer institute. A wide range of courses is available at various computer institutes across the city. You can carry out some research, figuring out which one suits you the best in terms of duration, eligibility, interest, the subjects and techniques taught, the type and version of software used, as well as the fee structure.

Most of these courses are open to all kinds of students, in terms of education eligibility. You will be able to pursue an animation course along with your college degree. In that case, you might also want to look at the timings of the animation course as well as the location of the computer institute (in addition to the above mentioned factors) so that you can juggle everything well. Just make sure that you speak to or read about a few people in the animation industry regarding which software they use and you learn on the latest version of the most popular software.