Jobs aplenty for animation industry

If you have oodles of creativity and are inclined towards a career in animation, exciting times are ahead for you in India. More than 35,000-40,000 jobs are expected to be created in India in the next three to four years, and the demand is only growing.

India has more than 300 animation studios, which employ over 15,000 animation professionals.

"The sector AVGC (Animation, visual effects, gaming and comic) sector in India is growing at a steady pace. Last year, we saw a very positive trend in the industry with consolidation by some good studios, the quality of work and increased support coming from various state governments," says Hanif Mohammed, director corporate affairs, AIGA, an institute that trains students for the animation and VFX industry.

In India, the industry is expected to grow at a much faster pace than the IT sector. From being just a traditional outsourcing model to that of creating own intellectual property, the industry has come of age and has gone up the value chain.

There was a time, not too long ago though, when only part of a game or movies were developed in India. Now, movies like Chhota Bheem, Krishna and Kans, Delhi Safaari are being completely made here.

"There are many drivers of growth for this industry. For instance, digital computing, games, visual effects are contributing towards the growth of the overall industry. there is also demand for people with specialised expertise as more and more high-end work is getting done out of India," says Biren Ghose, country head, Technicolor.

The growth spots:

The industry comprises many verticals like animation, gaming, visual effects, graphics, comic etc. Though a typical course trains students in every vertical, it is the visual effects that is registering maximum growth.

There is a significant demand for highly skilled and trained workforce, which merges technical and artistic skills. The industry has opened up a plethora of opportunities for skillful aspirants. One can work as a character designer, composer, layout artist, 3D modeler etc.

The starting salary for a fresher will be about Rs10,000-Rs18,000. But the growth rate of an animator or a game developer will be much higher than any other professional. This happens because there is a huge demand for trained manpower in the entertainment industry and there is a dearth on the same.

Challenges:

The main challenge the industry faces today is shortage of skilled and talent workforce. This mainly results from the fact that even today not many are ready to look at the industry as a career.

"It is still treated as a hobby. Parents do not encourage their kids to join the industry," says Mohammed.

Many institutes have now started visiting colleges to spread awareness about the industry. "It is imperative for the growth of the industry that it has a pool of talent to chose from. Hence, spreading awareness is vital," remarks Ghose.

Animation movies made in India: