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Exploring Employment Opportunities in the Chinese Animation Industry

In my quest for employment within the animation industry in China, I embarked on a thorough exploration of various studios and companies during the spring recruitment season. While I researched and applied to numerous organizations, including well-established entities like FunPlus, a game company founded in Silicon Valley in 2010, and Light Chaser Animation, a renowned animation film studio in China, I encountered certain challenges and limitations.

The Competitive Job Market:

During my search, I discovered that many Chinese companies, regardless of their size, often required a minimum of two years of work experience for their positions. Even teaching roles in prestigious high schools in major cities now demand candidates with doctoral degrees. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the situation, resulting in a sluggish economy and limited recruitment opportunities. Many companies are facing financial difficulties and are unable to expand their workforce, making the job search for recent graduates like myself exceptionally challenging and highly competitive.

Overcoming Obstacles:

Given the prevailing circumstances and the disadvantage of lacking animation-related work experience, I faced numerous rejections as a fresh graduate. Consequently, I am considering alternative paths to kickstart my career. One option is to embrace freelancing and explore opportunities with animation companies abroad, as my instructor previously mentioned regarding the UK animation industry. Platforms like Fiverr provide avenues to showcase my skills, accumulate commercial projects, and gain valuable experience, ultimately enhancing my prospects for securing a stable job in the future.

The current employment landscape in the Chinese animation industry poses significant challenges for fresh graduates. The demand for experienced professionals and the economic impact of the pandemic have limited job opportunities. Nevertheless, I remain determined to pursue my passion and adapt to the changing circumstances. Exploring freelance work and international possibilities offer potential pathways to build experience and ultimately find a stable position in the industry.

Exploring Potential Studios: A Compilation of Companies that Sparked My Interest

This semester, our coursework introduced experienced professionals from the animation industry, offering insights into the animation production process and enhancing our understanding of the field. Inspired by their teachings, I have compiled a list of studios that piqued my interest. Regardless of the duration of experience accumulated after graduation, this compilation will serve as a guiding goal for my future endeavors. Whether it leads to freelancing opportunities or the possibility of joining these esteemed companies, the insights gained will greatly shape my animation prospects.

Adult Swim: One company that has always captured my admiration is Adult Swim, a renowned animation studio based in the United States. Their distinctive style and humor greatly appeal to me. During my time at school, I discovered that Adult Swim also has a section called “Adult Swim Small,” featuring a vast collection of short animated films. The creativity showcased in this platform is remarkable. If I create compelling and entertaining animations, I would strongly consider submitting them to this platform. I learned from my teachers that selected entries can even receive a $500 cash prize, which, though not substantial, is an excellent opportunity to showcase my skills. https://www.adultswim.com/videos/smalls

Animation Guys UK: Focused primarily on short animated films, Animation Alliance UK offers a platform that aligns with my interests. Their emphasis on 2D animation makes it an appealing workspace for me. I believe it presents a great opportunity to work alongside talented artists and further develop my skills in the realm of short-form animation. https://www.theanimationguys.com/

The Smalls: Specializing in advertising, The Smalls stands out to me with its unique artistic style. I particularly appreciate their captivating stop-motion animations and intriguing live-action videos. Given my experience in video editing, I believe The Smalls would be an ideal studio for me to contribute my skills and be a part of their creative projects.https://thesmalls.com/

Final Frontier: After hearing the company’s founder speak during our sessions, Final Frontier caught my attention. This multinational studio operates in Shanghai, China, and spans across time zones and multiple domains, including animation, advertising, film, and visual effects. With expertise in both 2D and 3D animation, Final Frontier presents a promising avenue for career growth and exploration.https://finalfrontier.tv/?lang=cn

my exploration of potential studios has provided me with valuable insights into diverse opportunities within the animation industry. Companies like Adult Swim, Animation Alliance UK, The Smalls, and Final Frontier align with my interests and offer distinct prospects for professional growth. As I embark on my career journey, I am eager to refine my skills and pursue opportunities in these studios, striving to contribute to their creative projects and make a meaningful impact in the animation field. Join me as I continue to discover new possibilities and embrace the exciting challenges that lie ahead.

Targeted Portfolio Integration and Production: Navigating the Job Search Journey

As China enters the spring recruitment season for recent graduates, I have taken proactive measures to prepare myself thoroughly. To ensure a solid foundation, I have gathered information on job openings from animation-related companies in cities such as Shenzhen, Beijing, and Hangzhou. My primary targets are film and gaming companies. During this period, I conducted research on companies such as Enlight Media, FunPlus, Papergames, and Yotta Games. With this knowledge in hand, I began the process of targeted portfolio integration.

However, I encountered a challenge during this journey. I realized that my portfolio mainly consisted of student works, lacking commercial projects that would align with the requirements of prospective employers. Consequently, I focused on showcasing my strengths in drawing, color composition, and character development. I found myself at a crossroads, searching for effective ways to promote my abilities to potential employers. Through analyzing the positions available, I came to the realization that I needed to tailor my portfolio more precisely to increase my chances of securing a position in a suitable company.

In light of the predominant emphasis on graphic design in my previous portfolio, I decided to explore opportunities in prominent full-animation companies. To accomplish this, I recognized the need to streamline my portfolio by focusing solely on animation design. This involved making strategic decisions to remove non-animated works and highlight the projects that best showcased my animation skills.

Due to the emphasis on commercial aspects in character design and related recruitment requirements of Chinese animation companies, I decided to prioritize my portfolio by including works from my first year of graduate studies. This allowed me to align my portfolio with the demands of the spring recruitment season in China and gain insights into the local animation market. However, my intention was not solely to secure a job at this stage.

I recognized that my current portfolio might not fully reflect my current animate skill level. Instead, my primary focus was to concentrate on completing my graduation animation project and subsequently incorporate it into my portfolio. By doing so, I believed that I could present a more comprehensive demonstration of my abilities and increase the chances of finding a more suitable job opportunity. This approach enabled me to explore the Chinese animation market while simultaneously fine-tuning my portfolio to showcase my evolving capabilities. I understood the importance of presenting a well-rounded representation of my skills and believed that dedicating time to perfecting my graduation animation would be instrumental in achieving my career objectives.

A Comparison of the Animation Industry Markets in the UK and China—Reflections on Career Direction

I recently attended a lecture by my teacher Haemin Ko, who provided detailed insights into the animation industry market in the UK, particularly highlighting the prevalence of freelance work for recent graduates due to the abundance of short animation projects. I also conducted research on the Chinese market and discovered some information about salary levels and current trends, which I will share in this post.

Job opportunities and freelancing in the UK: According to my teacher’s presentation, the animation industry in the UK is dominated by short film projects, which often require freelancers. This means that many graduates initially find themselves working as freelancers, gaining experience and building their portfolios. While this can be a valuable stepping stone, it may also present challenges in terms of job stability and financial security.

Salary levels in China: In my research on the Chinese animation industry, I found that the salary levels vary depending on factors such as experience, skill level, and the specific company or project. As an emerging industry in China, the animation sector is witnessing steady growth, and the demand for skilled professionals is increasing. The salary range for animators in China currently falls between approximately £340 and £2,830 per month, depending on various factors. It’s important to note that salaries may vary in different cities and regions within China.

In the dynamic animation industry, freelancers have the freedom to choose their preferred style and work from anywhere in the world, transcending geographical boundaries. This flexibility has sparked an idea in my mind—to potentially return to China or another country while maintaining connections with international animation projects. As the only child in my family, geographical limitations have been a significant concern for me. On one hand, I yearn for the opportunity to work on international projects and collaborate with exceptional teams to create animation in its purest form. However, such opportunities are scarce in China, with a focus on large-scale film projects or children’s animated series, while the chances to work on intriguing short animations are relatively limited. Therefore, I contemplate the possibility of becoming a university professor in China, where I can teach while simultaneously seeking freelance opportunities with studios worldwide that require my expertise.

Deep understanding of Motion Designer – Hear from Ben Marriott

Ben Marriott is my favorite motion designer on YouTube.

Ben Marriott has been designing professionally for 10 years and animating for 7.

In 2020, he decided to say goodbye to the freelance life so he could focus on his own projects, products & teaching on YouTube.

And now he reaches 637,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Here are some Q&A from Ben on the price of motion graphics:

What is the income of a Motion Graphic, 2D animator career in your country?

In Australia that will vary mostly based on your seniority if you’re a junior I would expect rates to start between 40 and 60000 dollars a year, and a senior animator will be getting around 100000.

What’s considered a starting, mid, and “spicy” hourly rate for freelancing in the industry?

Mainly on where you’re located and where your clients are located but generally in Australia starting day rates going to be around 400-450 dollars, For top levels I’d be going to charge 800 plus but you have to be pretty specialized maybe doing some directing as well, offering a lot to get that kind of payment.

And here are some very useful advice from Ben:

Planning your motion graphics project is the most important part of a production workflow.

If you don’t have time to plan storyboards and make detailed animatics, the most effective planning you can do in under a minute is to ask yourself these 3 questions.

But before I show you the questions, if you’ve got the time, I strongly suggest you prepare your project in advance.

Creating work you’re proud of when you’re up against a tight deadline is no easy task, especially when your clients aren’t afraid of changing their minds.

The key to making great work in this situation, and any situation really, is preparation. Being prepared keeps you in control.

However, if time becomes is a luxury in your situation, then you can get started with these 3 questions:

What’s the message this project/scene/shot is trying to convey?

What are the most important elements on-screen we can use to achieve that?

How can we animate them effectively?

These three questions help you not only help you understand better where to focus on, aka spend the most of your time on, consider other options, but most importantly. It gives you reasons to justify your choices.

From my personal point of view, if I want to enter the industry, it is essential to have a good independent portfolio, to let the client know what I can do and what kind of effect I can achieve, it is especially important to have a decent showreel.

I think the overall salary level is up to my expectations, on the one hand, I can prepare my portfolio as a standard to enter an independent studio, on the other hand, I can also pitch my work to freelance platforms like Fiverr as a freelance option.

I think there is a lot of development in this industry and more opportunities in the future in the era of short videos.

Motion Graphic Designer – Animation Positions in Marketing Companies

My perception of MG animation

MG is often used in the film industry for film credits, logo animation at the end of TVC commercials, as well as in TV packaging for logo interpretation, ID callouts, corner signs, etc.
MG is used in the film industry, at the end of TVC commercials, at the end of logo animations, in TV packaging, in logo renditions, in ID callouts, in corner labels, etc.

In the new Internet industry, such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and other social platforms, MG animation is mainly used in product presentation, branding, motion prototyping, client launch pages and other areas.

The production of Motion Design requires a combination of pre-production (PS, AI), post-production (Cinema 4D, After Effects) and other software to work with each other.

Breakdown of occupations in MG animation

In essence, Motion Design is a design category that has been subdivided due to the development of the whole UX industry.

Therefore, in general, 1. the more developed the UX industry is, the greater the demand for motion design.

2. the larger and more complex the product, the more the demand for motion design (PC > Mobile, OS > App).

3. The larger the design team, the clearer the division of labour, the more dedicated motion designers there are.

Many design teams have dedicated motion designers, such as Google, Apple, Microsoft, etc.

The two levels of function of a motion designer are:

The basic level, which better demonstrates the existing interaction, visual design, conceptual design, service flow, etc. Through motion presentations.

The advanced level, directly involved in the design of the product, the development of the product in the dynamic design style, inspired by the visual design, interaction design and sound design, improve the overall quality of the product and experience.

What I would choose if I would work as motion graphic designer

I personally love to play around with texture, digital arts, remix with different type of style. So, from the perspective of the development of digital art and motion design, Internet companies are my main choice of target, and I would go for something more artistically expressive.

Even though my current skill level may not be sufficient for me to achieve this ambition, I will continue to move in this direction as much as possible in my future studies.

Here are the companies that I have found to be ideal for me.

Helloplayful based in Shanghai

https://helloplayful.com/

https://www.hellomonday.com/

https://tubikstudio.com/

Jelly based in London

https://www.thisisjelly.com/uk

Professional Practice in Motion Animation

Leaves & Flower Draw in Adobe Illustrator

During the production of my ‘Canary’ film, I tried to use After Effect to create a dynamic effect. I drew the flowers and leaves in Adobe Illustrator I and then imported them into After Effect to create the swaying leaves.

Because I didn’t consider layering in AI, I had to use pins in AE to make the leaves skeletal and wobbly, which was quick and easy to do, but the downside was that you couldn’t look at them closely and there were some rigid movements.

Fortunately, the shot is only a few seconds long and is presented as a background rather than a subject, so the final result is satisfactory.

If you need to create a leaf-swaying animation like this in the future, you should try to avoid too many layers in the drawing process, as this will greatly reduce the speed of your computer and will affect your final film.

Area of Interest – The Combination of Digital Art and Dynamic Illustration

Jordan Coelho, otherwise known as @oelhan.tv on his social media platforms, dazzles the art world with his digital and animated illustrations.

Stunning Psychedelic and Digital Illustration by Jordan Coelho

There is a big explosion of color in each of his pieces, and as he mentions more specifically “visual motifs of psychedelia, primarily in depictions of plants and people.” Coelho stated that everything derives from music within his art, with this mindset and technique each piece becomes a short music video.

Stunning Psychedelic and Digital Illustration by Jordan Coelho

I often wonder how amazingly such a fusion of digital art and illustration can be. The daring use of colour, with grotesque ideas, combined with the music. I am just so in love with it.

The learning of 3D software has become a necessity in my future learning journey. Constant learning is the way to survive in our industry, to be more daring in our expressions and keep experimenting so that we can create exciting and refreshing works.

Visit Animation Studio – Blinkink

29/9/2022

Blinkink studio is a world class, london based animation studio. They create short-form video content with our partners in advertising, music, gaming, fashion and broadcast industries.

During this visit, the main person in charge of Blinkink presented us with their animation work, which was based on creative short film commercials, and the work was a good combination of 2D-3D and stop-motion.

I was surprised at how well they were able to produce such a short film in a short period of time, and I was most surprised at how well the music rhythm matched the graphics.

The shooting process of stop-motion animation

I learned that they usually set the music before the animation starts, and then shoot and produce the images afterward. The advantage of this is that the rhythm and tone of the film is set upfront, and the images then complement the music, which is a very quick and clever way of making animation.

The director told us that they usually produce a piece of work in three months and that most people work from home and only come to the studio for stop-motion filming.

I personally like this way of working and have worked in an advertising company so I am familiar with the workflow, I have also worked as a freelancer for a while, and I am very interested in stop-motion animation, which was my final project at my university. I think this would definitely be a career path I would consider in the future.

Working with LIAF project – Blender

Regarding this involvement in the animation of the LIAF short film, my main task was to convert the 2D drawing into a 3D effect and give smooth camera movement, and participate in the animation of some bubbles.

The biggest problem I have faced would be how to make the two-dimensional image look three-dimensional and allow the camera to enter the scene.

At this stage I tried three ways to deal with this problem:

After Effect
Monocular Depth Estimation
Blender

The first method that came to mind was to use AE to map a flat surface into a cube, but this did not produce the desired effect and the camera was only able to make some simple movements, which was not the ideal effect we wanted.

Creating a cube in AE can only move a tiny angle in camera

The second way is to calculate the depth of the image and then imported it into blender, I used blender to create a depth-of-field effect into the image. The results of this image also waste most of the surrounding background and only allow for small movements.

Finally, I find the solution which is to import the illustration as a solid plane into Blender, and then I used the knife tool to go around with the rock shape and manually create a 3d feel for the image in the form of sheets. That works pretty well.