Since graphic designers and animators both work in the same industry, it’s simple and frequent for people to confuse the two. Although graphic designers and animators share the duty of collaborating with a client to assist them in informing or entertaining their audience, they are not the same.
Graphic design and animation are not the same, despite their similarities, and graphic designers and animators have different jobs. Although distinctions between the two might be hazy in this area, we’re here to clarify them for you. Continue reading this article to learn to fuel creativity with graphic design, animation courses after 10th and unleash your imagination and learn essential skills for captivating visual storytelling.
Table of Contents
- Who is an Animator?
- Is Animation a Good Career?
- Who is a Graphic Designer?
- Is Graphic Design a Good Career?
- When to Use Animation and When to Use Graphic
- Are the Fields Swappable?
- Conclusion
Who is an Animator?
The primary responsibility of an animator is to give life to all of the drawings and images created by a graphic designer. In the end, the output that is produced is mostly composed of a thousand pictures, effects, and other harmonious visual components. Traditional animation, also known as cel animation (frame-by-frame animation), 2D animation, 3D animation, motion graphics, and stop motion animation are the basic categories under which animation may be separated.
How Does Animation Work?
The field of animation hardly stands alone. It is a component of a lengthy production chain that also includes:
Pre-Production: The animator creates the plot, the backdrops, the concept art, storyboards, and combines the story and concept art into one final product during this phase. All of them need much preparation and thought. The production of original tales or material does not occur in a single day.
Production: This stage entails giving each idea art, background story, and visual identity of their own. It is divided into Modelling, where each character and environment, whether 2D or 3D animator, is given a structure, Texturing, Lighting, Rigging, and Animation.
Post-Production: All of the scenes, shots, and sequences that were created during production are edited and composited during this phase in accordance with the screenplay and the director. Special sound and visual effects are also used during this stage.
After all of this labor and labor, an animated film or episode is created. A determined specific artist and a qualified professional are employed at each of the components and stages that were discussed above. Each of these several processes might result in a different ultimate product. As you can see, animation is simply one step in the process.
What are the Tools Used by Animators?
The process of making motionless images move is called animation. In media like film or video, motionless pictures that are shown quickly provide the impression of motion.
Digital artists known as animators have skills in conceptual design, drawing, creative growth, and curiosity. They also employ software and equipment for animation. The list below provides an overview of the equipment used by animators:
- 3ds Max (AutoDesk)
- After Effects (Adobe)
- Blender (The Blender Foundation)
- Cartoon Animator 4 (Reallusion)
- Character Animator (Adobe)
- FlipBook (DigiCel)
Is Animation a Good Career?
Even after going into great depth, the issue remains: Is Animation a better career choice than Graphic Design and other well-established fields like engineering, medicine, and MBAs? Another concern that can arise is if the Indian animation sector can provide you with a well-paying job. Well, the answer is yes if it’s a question of a steady income! You can find many solid career prospects and in demand job opportunities in the Indian animation sector, but it won’t be able to provide you with a position with a big salary.
Who is a Graphic Designer?
A very rewarding vocation with many prospects and a high employment rate is graphic design. No matter if you work as a freelancer or for an employer, it’s one of the most in-demand abilities. It is now essential and necessary. Every firm has to have a name, a logo, and a design that distinguishes it from other businesses and helps clients remember it. This work is done by graphic designers once they complete their graphic design course. Even security forces like the Army and Police require graphic designers. More than any other sector, businesses need designers.
What is the Work of a Graphic Designer?
Every sector, whether it’s a one-time project or a typical daily job, needs a graphic designer. The following are some of the fundamental positions and duties of a graphic designer:
- Creating Vector Images
- Creating Illustrations
- Making Prototypes for Websites
- Creating Blueprints & Mock-Up Samples
- Making Logos, Color Palettes for a Brand
- Creating Banners, Flyers, Social Media Posts
- Creating Advertisements
What are the Tools of a Graphic Designer?
To pursue a profession in graphic design, every graphic designer has to be familiar with these programs and equipment. You must understand these four fundamental tools in order to work in this industry. Although there is a tonne of other software available if you want to go more sophisticated, the bulk of graphic design tasks can be completed with these fundamental tools:
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe XD
- Adobe InDesign
Is Graphic Design a Good Career?
Graphic design is an art form that requires you to use visuals to convey your message to your audience. For creative people who appreciate art, technology, multimedia, and communication, it is a terrific job. By 2030, the employment rate in India’s graphic design sector is anticipated to increase from 3 to 8 percent.
Since there will always be a demand for graphic design as long as businesses are being established and expanding, there are many possibilities and chances accessible. Even though it requires a lot of effort, practice, devotion, and perseverance, if you have a knack for aesthetics, this may be the ideal vocation for you. If you wish to start a career in this field there are many graphic design courses that you can pursue to start with.
When to Use Animation and When to Use Graphic Designer
There are several graphic design and animation courses that you can pursue which will also help you understand when to use graphic design and when to use animation. It might be difficult to choose between animation and graphic design for marketing purposes if you work in the business sector. It’s no secret that people adore videos. They are effective at grabbing customer’s attention, and you can typically include more information in a video than you can with a standard design.
Although graphic design is often employed in business-related areas, animation may be a significant tool in the marketing sector if applied properly.
Do you wish to establish an emotional connection with your audience? Describe a story? You ought to think about employing animation. Animation may be a terrific tool for engaging and retaining your audience. It may be utilized to evoke feelings and show a sensitive side of your business that graphic design would not allow.
On the other side, you could want to go towards graphic design if you’re making marketing materials that merely showcase your company. Sometimes a simple, elegant image might better represent your firm than animation ever could. For your marketing requirements, such as brochures, logos, and minor design modifications, you should work with a designer.
Whether you should employ animation or graphic design will mostly rely on your business and marketing plan.
Animation can be the best option for your business if your marketing plan relies on emotionally engaging your audience. Maybe you’ll discover that to effectively represent your brand, your business has to combine the two. Because every business is unique, flexibility is necessary.
Are the Fields Swappable?
Well, there are two possible answers to this question: Yes and No! Is it feasible for an animator to switch back to graphic design since becoming a graphic designer is the first step in becoming an animator. An animator will be familiar with color theory, composition theory, and other design tenets. He will already be pretty familiar with the majority of graphic design software and has used it extensively. So, it’s extremely simple to go from being an animator to becoming a graphics designer again.
However, switching from a Graphic Designer to an Animator may almost be terrible. The designer may be skilled at creating single shots, but turning those same photos into films and adding motion is a whole different matter. It just doesn’t make sense. He won’t even be familiar with the fundamentals of the animation program.
Conclusion
The nature of both the graphic design and animation industries is very creative and artistic. While the animation is intended to tell a tale and entertain viewers, graphic design is more or less the art of communication and is mostly used to market content.
Meeting with customers to create logos or advertisements that appear in many media requires graphic design. Films, video games, television, and other media all employ animation. These two job paths need a lot of creativity and design, yet the results are drastically different.
Even though both have a wide range of potential applications and prospects, and individuals succeed in terms of their careers, earnings, and job happiness, animation continues to be the best. This is due to the fact that animation has evolved significantly over the past several years and has diversified into a number of different sub-parts or divisions within the entertainment business.
Compared to the graphic design profession, where anyone can learn a few tools and call oneself a graphic designer while only scratching the surface, animation has far higher demand and many more work opportunities.
Therefore, think things out thoroughly before making a choice. Never forget that pursuing a diploma in animation and vfx, paired with your enthusiasm and other natural talents, led to your job. We hope this article has given you a better understanding of what it entails to pursue a profession in animation or graphic design.
