2D Animator Requirements

While every position will differ slightly, there are a few things you can expect to be required for every 2D Animator job listing you will apply for. This article will go into greater detail on each element of the job application process, but you’ll need to demonstrate to prospective employers that your work is strong and it fits the needs of the company looking to hire a 2D Animator.

What is a 2D Animator?

2D Animators are creative professionals who plan, design, and build two-dimensional animated assets in everything from traditional animation and video games to digital advertising and user interfaces. As long as a digital asset is made to move, it is likely that a 2D Animator was involved in the process. 2D Animators may also be involved in the development, design, planning, or storyboarding phases of a given project, depending on their level of expertise and the kind of project in question. On the whole, 2D animation is a versatile skill used in various industries and fields, making it an ideal career path for anyone interested in a creative career.

In today’s world, unless a project consciously uses the unique affordances of hand-drawn animation, almost all 2D animation work is computer-assisted. This shift means most animators have begun using computer design applications such as Adobe After Effects or Premiere Pro to add the illusion of motion to a set of static images. 2D Animators may also use tools like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to construct certain kinds of specific animated assets, such as moving digital logos or online GIFs. This emphasis on digitally aided animation tools means that your training as a 2D Animator will cover a lot of technical training.

Read more about what a 2D Animator does. 

Education

Most 2D Animators enter the field with a college degree, with the most common majors being computer animation, media arts, illustration, or digital arts. While most 2D Animators will have a college degree in animation or another related field, like visual arts, it isn’t a strict requirement to get your motion graphics training through a four-year degree program. Many successful 2D Animators got their start without a college degree, and you shouldn’t be turned off from pursuing a career in animation if you didn’t major in it. Whether you have a degree in an unrelated field or no degree, there are still viable paths you can take to build your career in 2D animation.

Students without college degrees will need a significant amount of supplemental training to demonstrate that they have comparable skills to prospective candidates who did graduate from a college computer animation program. This training is most commonly acquired in a career-focused skills development program, such as the career-certificate programs offered through Noble Desktop. These accelerated programs will teach students how to work as 2D Animators and set them up for success on the job market with targeted professionalization seminars. Students without degrees will still lag in terms of things like networking opportunities, and they will need to do more work to build their portfolios and job materials. Still, they will be well-positioned to enter the job market as competitive candidates for 2D Animation jobs.

Read more about if you need a degree to become a 2D Animator. 

Experience

Many employers will want you to demonstrate that you have some measure of experience in the field of 2D animation before hiring you. This will vary depending on the position. Still, you can generally expect that an entry-level 2D Animator position will require minimal working experience (usually none to less than two years). However, you will need to use other job materials to demonstrate that you have practical experience working on 2D animation projects, either in your degree program or your professional skills training history. 

Skills

2D Animators rely on many technical skills to bring their designs to life, though the importance of these tools will vary depending on the project you are working on. The most commonly used tools include Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Cinema 4D. They may also use Illustrator and XD to work on animated designs for web applications. 2D Animators will use Photoshop and Illustrator to create basic visual assets that are given motion through the traditional process of creating the illusion of motion using sequential images, and After Effects and Premiere Pro are used to alter film files to include more elaborate animated assets digitally. The amount you need to use each skill will vary depending on the job title and firm you are working for, but most 2D Animators will be expected to learn all of these tools in some capacity.

2D Animators must also demonstrate several soft skills to succeed in their long-term career goals. 2D Animators must have a creative eye that helps guide them through their design process. It doesn’t help to use a tool like Photoshop or After Effects if you aren’t making informed decisions about your design choices. Building off of this, 2D Animators should have a background in animation theory and history. The art form has developed its lexicon and theories over the last 100 years, and while you don’t need to be an expert, knowing broad trends is an important skill. Finally, since most animation work is done by teams of animators working together, it is important to master basic teamwork skills like communication, deadline management, and responsiveness to feedback.

Read more about what skills you need to become a 2D Animator.

Portfolio

The single most important aspect of your job application materials is your demo reel, the sample portfolio you provide employers so they can see what kind of animator you are. This is used to demonstrate that you are a proficient 2D Animator and that you have a creative voice or style that suits the needs of the company doing the hiring. You’ll want to spend a lot of time and energy constructing your demo reel, since it is the aspect of your materials most likely to influence a hiring manager’s decision after they have begun to evaluate your work. Demo reels need to be tailored to the job to which you are applying, and you need to spend time ensuring that they are the best representation of your work possible.

Resume & LinkedIn Profile

The resume serves as a brief explanation of your work and education history, professional skill set, and accolades and accomplishments as a 2D Animator. Your resume will be the first thing that most employers look at when examining your job materials and it is often the most important element of the application for getting them to continue paying attention to your application. In the modern job market, many job listings are getting hundreds of applications sent to them, meaning that hiring managers need to find ways to cull their options to avoid becoming overwhelmed. One way many managers do this is by reading over a resume to see if an applicant looks like a decent fit for the position, which means that a weak resume can get your materials discarded regardless of how good the demo reel is. Thus, it is very important that you carefully build your resume if you want to increase your chances of landing a solid job in 2D animation.

In almost all circumstances, a resume should be no more than about two pages long, which means that the process of building your resume is likely to require judicious cutting. Applicants who still want a space to collect their professional backgrounds and accomplishments should consider creating a professional online profile page on a platform such as LinkedIn. This will be a less vital part of the application process, but it can be invaluable for supporting your job materials with a deeper professional history and simply organizing and collecting resume lines for your own purposes. Having a space online to present your professional self is a good way to communicate your talents and experiences without cluttering up your other job materials.

References

The final significant aspect of your job materials you’ll need to prepare is a collection of professional references who can speak to your abilities as a 2D Animator and collaborator. There are a lot of soft skills, like deadline management, responsiveness to feedback, and communicate, which are vital to the work of a 2D Animator. These skills are hard to demonstrate in a resume, so you’ll want to build a network of professional contacts who can serve as references for your intangible abilities and soft skills. The best option for a professional reference is a manager or supervisor who can speak to your ability to work on a team, communicate with others, and manage your time. Beyond that, professional instructors or professors are good choices, as are established animators you’ve worked with. Non-animation-centered professionals are best avoided, and you should never list a friend or family member as a reference.

Learn the Skills to Become a 2D Animator at Noble Desktop

Once you’ve committed to learning the skills necessary to become a 2D Animator, Noble Desktop is available to make that dream a reality through professional skills instruction. Noble offers a wide array of 2D animation classes, available in person or online, and all of these classes are taught by expert instructors with years of on-the-job experience. This structure means that regardless of how your course is delivered, you’ll receive real-time instruction and be able to ask questions and receive personalized feedback on your work. Similarly, no matter whether you take the course in person or online, you’ll benefit from small class sizes and all of the professionalization support options, including one-on-one career mentoring in the career-certificate programs. Finally, every Noble class comes with the option for a free retake within one year, meaning that you’ll have the chance to build your portfolio and get even more hands-on experience in preparation for entering the job market.

Students interested in a career change may consider enrolling in Noble’s Motion Graphics Certificate program. This class aims to teach students how to use tools like Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro to create evocative 2D and 3D animated assets for many practical projects. In this class, students will be guided through the process of using After Effects to animate text, photos, and videos, and they will learn how to modify these animations in subtle but perceptible ways slightly. Students will also learn how to create animated images using layered Photoshop and Illustrator files (this course does not include instruction in either of these tools, they are prerequisites for taking the course). Finally, students will learn how to use Premiere Pro to edit their animated assets into video files. All this work will culminate in a series of professionalization seminars, including a portfolio-building workshop and a one-on-one mentorship session, intended to prepare students for a career as a 2D or 3D Animator.

Students who aren’t ready to make a significant career shift but do want to learn 2D animation skills may want to consider one of Noble’s many motion graphics bootcamps. These classes include the Adobe After Effects Bootcamp, which provides students with guided instruction in the use of After Effects for creating animated digital assets and the Adobe Premiere Pro Bootcamp, which teaches students how to use that program to compile their animated assets into a completed project. These courses are excellent starting points for new animators looking to learn the trade. However, they don’t provide students with any of the professionalization services offered through Noble’s career certificate programs.

Finally, students who aren’t sure that they want to start learning 2D animation but are intrigued by the possibility should consult some of Noble’s free training resources to learn more. Noble’s Learn 2D Animation page, as well as their Learn After Effects and Learn Premiere Pro page compiles a weird range of articles, free seminars and resources that students can use to help them on their 2D Animation career path. Noble also provides prospective 2D Animators with a career information hub to help them decide if a career change is right for them.

Key Takeaways

• While every job listing will be different, there are a few different job materials that will be required for more or less any application.
• The most important aspect of the job material is the demo reel, a sample of animated designs that communicates your style as an animator and your proficiency as an artist.
• Nearly as important is the resume, a document that details your professional and educational background. Many hiring managers will quickly look at a resume to see if it is worth continuing to examine the job materials. Building a compelling resume is important for getting your application noticed.
• Professional references serve as a way to demonstrate your soft skills and your ability to work in a team-focused, deadline-oriented environment.
• If you want to build any of the professional skills you need to become a 2D Animator, consider enrolling in one of Noble’s comprehensive motion graphics courses, available in person or online.