How to Become an Animator in Saint Louis, Missouri

The city of Saint Louis, Missouri features as many as a hundred thousand thriving commercial businesses and many local artists pursuing careers as animators.  Recent advances in digital technology have created an increased, ongoing local demand for animation professionals.

Saint Louis Schools and Training Programs for Animation

Saint Louis, Missouri features quite a few colleges, Universities and art schools that carry degree programs in animation.  Aspiring animators attending Saint Louis colleges typically major in communications design.  Saint Louis design schools with outstanding animation arts programs include Vatterott College, Fontbonne University, Hickory College, Maryville University, Missouri College and University of Missouri. 

Some Saint Louis art students acquire skills and degrees from virtual visual design colleges.  Popular accredited online art schools with animation design programs include the Academy of Art University, Post University, Full Sail University, DeVry, Stratford Career Institute, University of Phoenix, The Art Institutes and ITT Tech.  Numerous online schools also feature local resource facilities.  University of Phoenix has a campus in St. Louis.

Working as an Animator in Saint Louis, Missouri

Many assorted Saint Louis, Missouri companies hire professional animators.  Local businesses that hire animation pros include TV stations, advertising agencies, photo labs, engineering firms, medical facilities, online news syndicates, software developers and  a great many more.  Some Saint Louis animators secure sweet deals with local animation studios like World Events Productions.  Other local animators work for Successful Saint Louis-based graphic IT corporations.  Reputable examples include ADP, Maryville Technologies, National Information Solutions, Outrider-North-America and Regional Justice Information.

The average annual income for Saint Louis, Missouri animators employed full time by U.S. companies is about $51,000.  The corresponding mean hourly rate is roughly $24.15.  Animators employed in big cities like Saint Louis earn higher average incomes than animators employed in less populous regions.  However, no information is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding the incomes of part time artists, freelance professionals and Saint Louis animators employed Internationally.  

Skills of a Professional Animator

Among the basic skills required of animation artists are advanced drawing technique, photography and compelling computer-generated artwork, created using well-known professional animation software.  Animators are familiar with Adobe Illustrator, Power point, Photo Shop, Action Script and After Effects, among others.  Today's professional animators typically use Maya or 3D Studio Max for three-dimensional animation and Toon Boom Digital Pro for 2D images.  More affordable animation software packages include Toon Boom Studio, Claymation Studio, Animationish and Animation Workshop.  The best free, open-source animation software is Pencil for 2D animation and Blender for three-dimensional work.  Most professional animators are also fluent in one or more computer programming languages.