Thiruvananthapuram: The animation industry has become a sought after profession with talented animators taking it to the next level. The market is enormous, said industry experts, who gathered here Friday to share their experiences and to prepare a future roadmap for the sector.
A dozen of the country’s top animators are in the capital city for the next two days to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Toonz Animation, which operates from the Technopark Campus here, and will be interacting with the students of animation.
Master animator Sekhar Mukherjee says events such as these can give a fillip to the industry.
“Even though the experts who have come for the event are into competition with one another in the animation industry, events like these definitely help the animation industry because only when there is open interaction everyone learns…even the budding talents who seek a career in animation, get to learn from experts,” Mukherjee told IANS.
He said “with the first hurdle now crossed, the need of the hour is for industrialists and even the state government to chip in. Every state in the country has a rich culture and these could make interesting topics for stories that could be tapped into and for these funds are required and the industrialists could come for financing animation projects.
“Moreover, the state government should see that the curriculum is revised to bring in animation as this is a combination of art, design and technology besides a fantastic tool for communication also,” added Mukherjee, a product of the prestigious National Institute of Design and who now heads the animation department there.
Toonz Animation is an example of a hugely successful story in the animation industry in the country and today all leading cartoon channels have programmes produced by its staff here.
“There is no dearth of stories in our country and that is the most important element in animation. Now with this industry almost completing two decades and with adequate talent in our country, I strongly feel that the investors should trust the creators and invest with confidence. If it happens, the sky is the limit for the animation industry here,” said Gayatri Rao, founder director, Animagic India.
Sreeja K.Nair, who joined Toonz Animation in 2002 after her post-graduation in economics, has seen her career grow. She is now a key person in the texturing department where the sartorial designs of each and every character that Toonz Animation creates, are decided.
“The prime requisite for an animator is that he/she should be an artiste, an actor and above all that they should take this profession seriously. Today for an animator, there are numerous freelance opportunities available and also work is there online too,” Nair told IANS.