Info on Working as an Animator in Lansing, Michigan

The busy little city of Lansing, Michigan features as many as 18,000 local companies and hundreds of resident artists employed in the lucrative, high tech field of animated film design.  Modern developments in digital motion picture technology have broadened the horizons of opportunity for professional animators.

Lansing Schools and Training Programs for Animation

Several Lansing, Michigan colleges, Universities and trade schools offer courses and degree programs in animation design.  Lansing animators attending local art schools can major in digital graphics, photography, mass communications or even computer science.  Popular Lansing adult schools with programs in animation include Lansing Community College.

Lately, loads of aspiring Lansing animators prefer virtual educational and training options.  Popular accredited cyber design schools include the Academy of Art University, DeVry, Post University, Full Sail University, Stratford Career Institute, University of Phoenix, The Art Institutes and ITT Tech, among others.  Some online animation schools also feature physical locations and resource facilities.  University of Phoenix has a campus in Lansing.
 
Working as an Animator in Lansing, Michigan

Companies throughout Lansing, Michigan and beyond recruit professional animators for various types of animation.  In addition to cartoons and video games, animation is used for advertising, bio tech engineering, legal procedures, software development and website design, to name just a few.  Some Lansing animation artists team up with nearby film studios.  Leading local Lansing movie makers include Ahptic-Productions, Video-Professionals, Vision-Works, Such-Video and Message-Makers-Multimedia.  Other Lansing animators work for graphics-based IT corporations.  Among the highest-rated local info tech firms are Michigan Creative, Center for Business Innovation, Core-Comm-Internet-Service and RAS-Art-Promotions.

According to recent reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, animators living in Lansing, Michigan and working full time for United States commercial businesses earn about $56,020 per year on average, with a mean hourly rate of roughly $26.95.  Artists employed in metro areas like Lansing tend to earn slightly higher salaries than artists similarly employed in more remote areas of the state.

Skills of a Professional Animator

Nowadays, the most important skill required of professional animators is competence with professional animation software.  Most modern-day animation is digitally produced, so most animators are familiar with programs like Adobe Illustrator, Photo Shop, Power Point, Action Script, After Effects and Flash Animation, as well as professional design packages like Toon Boom Digital Pro, Claymation Studios, Maya and 3D Studio Max.  Other imperative qualifications for successful animated film production include illustration, photography, set design and prototyping, as well as non visual skills like fluency in programming languages, web page construction and interactive media design.