> 
> Don Rosa writes:
> > Learning computer programming might be what one should study to be
> > in the future animation bizniz.

> > But then, I do comic books and really don't know much about it all... 
> Would you give that same advice to someone looking to break into the
> comic book industry in the next 10 years or so?
> 
I know some longtime comic-book colorists whose work has drastically
dried up within the last couple of years because the major companies
are moving to 'pooter color. A friend of mine who started a comics
packaging company invested some vast amount of money in computer
equipment so he could do on-line color as part of his services. One
guy sitting at a drawing board with a box full of Dr. Martin's paints
won't cut it anymore for funnybook coloring. As one coloring chum of
mine put it, "Does the Hulk really need fancy computer coloring effects?
Maybe not, but it's getting them."

What seems to be happening is the disappearance of the lone, self-taught
free-lancer who works at home with a few simple tools. The nature of the
industry is changing, with increasingly more sophisticated computer
equipment, and the amount of training you have to have just to get started
is going up. It isn't so much computer "programming" -- that's done by
specialists -- but being able to use the existing equipment, and keeping
up on new advances. A pal of mine is staying on in a staff job at a
funnybook company he's been wanting to leave mainly because the company
is bringing in new computers with programs he needs to learn so he can
find a new job later.

The guy who originally posted the question -- what courses he should take
in college to be an animator...well, I suppose he has to start somewhere
in his research, but it ain't that simple, and if he thinks taking a few
"college courses" is going to be enough... I guess the serious advice,
from everything I've heard, is to have a good grounding in art. Take
drawing courses. Learn perspective and form, anatomy and cartooning.
Take courses in computer graphics. Find a school with an animation
program -- Doesn't Disney sponsor one, California Institute of Art
or something like that? Also, get books on animation, learn about
the business. A lot of things can't be taught in a college course,
but have to be worked out by yourself.

Meanwhile, anybody tried to buy zip-a-tone lately? I've heard it 
isn't being made any more: the architectural and drafting firms that
were the main users of the stuff have gone to computers that lay in
the toning with a click of the mouse button. Artists I know have been
frantically scouring art supply stores for whatever remaining zip
they can find. (For non-artists and our foreign friends: zip-a-tone
is a trade name for sticky-back acetate sheets with dot patterns
printed on them, used by artists for shading effects.) One more sign
that it's going to be harder for the hermit freelancer to stay
competitive without a colossal investment in training and equipment...

--Dwight Decker



