Animators still have a voice

This is a part of the October edition of The Computer Newsletter focused on Animations, Cartoons & Computer Vision.

Welcome to the October 2023 edition of The Computer Newsletter. This edition is focused on Animations, Cartoons & Computer Vision.

This is the second article in the edition by Babajide Aroyewun.

Enjoy!

If you are ever one of those who are at a crossroads in deciding if taking a gamble on animations is worth the time or if there is any productive career path in animation, you are never alone. I have been there, and I am forever grateful I never dropped it.

Let me give you a short trip about my conundrum back then.

As a student of Computer Engineering (and faced with the deficiencies of not having access to a computer at my disposal - it wasn’t long ago. It was the year 2003), it was very certain that loosening a PC, running network cables or some similar boring thing wasn’t something fascinating for me.

A close buddy of mine barely gave me a walkthrough of Macromedia Flash (I was an absolute PC illiterate), but there and then, it became my turning point. Not only was my interest aggravated by the unlimited possibilities, I was determined to carve a niche with it.

One peculiar phrase that was rampant those days was - Blue Ocean Strategy. It simply meant doing something different in a saturated environment.

If by any means you thought that titles such as product design, PMP, full stack, backend, project manager, and the whole endless list are intimidating, overwhelming, and generally too ubiquitous, I would say you are over-pampered.

Back in my days, it was summarily just 2 - you either aspire to be a Java programmer or engrossed with crimpling cables to be a CCNA expert. These both were not of interest to me productively, career-wise and financially.

But you see that flash … you see that Animation… I have your time.

I got addicted to animation - so much so that the presentation of my final year project was done in Flash. For about three consecutive years during and after I left school, “Jide Flash” became a renowned name among students in the faculty of tech, pharmacy and medicine.

Doubt me? Ask any student who was vested in school events between 2006-2009. Even better, ask about NUPITEN 2006.

With the knowledge of animation, I began my journey to financial independence. I made my first mega-bucks (N1,500). While my technically gifted peers battled it out with their peers for internship positions, I never attempted one interview throughout the roles I got for the next eight years.

Skill was one thing, passion was another thing, but dexterity was something different altogether- I ensured I lacked in none of these.

Beyond the walls of being an undergrad, I have seen how the knowledge of the applications and knowledge of animation gives an advantage.

Irrespective of the choice you make in the myriad of possibilities that animation presents- full-blown cartoons, webtoons, micro-interactivity, AI/VR, gaming and many more, there is always a demand for a skill that would engage customers in a specially visual way.

The best products out there would still need some sort of animated content to drive up adoption and engagement.

It's such a beautiful time to get on board with animation. So many tools get the job done - Rive, Character Animator, Adobe Animate, Toonboom, CapCut, Adobe After Effects, Adobe PremierePro, Procreate Dream, 3ds Max, and Blender.

Finding your niche, honing your skills, collaborating as much as possible and reinforcing your authority in the space would definitely stand you out.

See you at the top!

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Babajide Aroyewun is a life-long passionate cartoon lover. An animator, cartoonist and more, he seeks to keep the fire burning by growing a similar community - KoseesBuddies- a vibrant and inclusive community designed exclusively for young learners!

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