From TV to game Animation

Gyrz

Any possibilities to switch from TV animation to game animation?
Where i live we don't have Game studios, only TV, a lot of them.

So i really want to work on game, in order so, i need some experience in animation. I want to gain some animation experience by working on TV projects, for about, i don't know couple of years? And then i want to switch to Game animation, but i need to leave/move from my country, which i really want to.

But, what about don't having experience in game animation? Any change to be hired? Does working on TV projects, studios gets in account?

slipsius

Yes, you can definitely switch from tv to game animation. It can be tricky, but its doable.

Gyrz

Thanks, any one other advice?

Gyrz

Couple of more advice won't hurt.
Cmon guys please.

Mark Dygert

1) You don't necessarily need to be within close proximity to a game studio to start building experience with animations for games, practicing on your own or as part of small indy projects can help you build up that experience.

2) At some point you will probably need to move and you should have everything in order. That will be tough because you will be competing with people who are local and come with less hassle.

3) Yea people cross over, its probably going to be more common in the next hardware cycle and the two methods of working meld a little closer together.

Gyrz

So, it's possible for me to switch to game animation? Yea, i know, i keep that in mind that i need to move, and i want to move, and will need to compete with other animators too.

StephenVyas

If you're concerned about Game Animation experience, most people would suggest joining up with a team from the MOD community.
Working with other indie developers is a step in the right direction

Gyrz

What if i don't join indie? Can i just leave,of course when i get experience from TV, and do some training for game animation, i also want to take IAnimate game animation, and then send portfolio?

Sukotto

I can't tell you if game/TV animation experience is interchangeable from a employers point-of-view but there's no reason you can't make the switch artistically.

If you're a good animator, a game studio will hire you. All the principles are the same. Though at a game company you might be working more with cycles and animations of that nature unless you're on a cinematics team.

Both forms follow the same rules and principles of animation

Mark Dygert

With TV/Film you are working on one self contained scene that uses one camera angle and whatever you do makes that one angle look great. You animate the scene all the way through.

In film/TV you can do whatever you need to, to make that shot work. Add more bones, add skin morphs, use deformers, use a lot of post effects to keep it dark and keep it moving. Each rig can be specially designed for the challenges in that scene. But in games you normally have 1 MAYBE 2 rigs to do everything and it is constrained by the engine requirements.

With games you animate in tiny clips and it gets sliced, diced and blended then controlled by the engine and the player. You might do a upper body hit reaction or a full body reaction to an explosion that gets played only on the upper torso while the lower body is in a run cycle, you can only hope that it gets played at the right time and blends correctly with all of the other things going on. Digging in and managing all of that isn't an easy task, it is one of the key differences, but it does come second to being a decent animator. You'll never even need to worry about any of that if you don't get your foot in the door and the only real way to get noticed is to be a great animator.