Info on Working as an Animator in Lincoln, Nebraska

The city of Lincoln, Nebraska supports about 25,000 commercial businesses, a great many high tech firms and hundreds of career-seeking artists.  Lincoln maintains a vigorous, ongoing local demand for talented animation professionals.

Lincoln Schools and Training Programs for Animation

Colleges, Universities and educational franchises in Lincoln, Nebraska feature many various training options in animated design.  Aspiring animators attending local colleges study visual arts, computer science and communications design, among other relevant topics.  Colleges in Lincoln, Nebraska that feature animation-related degree programs include Union College, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Southeast Community College and University of Nebraska at Lincoln. 

Some animators living in Lincoln acquire skills and earn degrees online.  Popular cyber visual arts colleges with animation degree 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.  Many virtual design schools also feature local campuses and supplemental resource centers.

Working as an Animator in Lincoln, Nebraska

Lots of Lincoln, Nebraska businesses recruit the creative professional services of local animators for cartoon entertainment, sports videos, educational media, interactive gaming, courtroom evidence and medical animation, among many other things.  Some Lincoln animators work for local animation studios like Behlen Video, Three Pillars Media, Image Caster, Wildberry Production Group or Longshots Video Creations.  Others team up with local motion picture producers who run their own animation departments.  Acclaimed Lincoln movie makers include the Nebraska Film Office, Darryl Kotanko, Deebee Productions, Shiftworship and Young Cat Productions, to name a few.  Some local animators are employed by graphics-based IT corporations.  Leading Lincoln info tech firms include Insured Image, Dell Perot Systems, Carson Services, Information Analytics and Midland Computer.

Professional animators employed full time in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska average about $40,500 per year, with a mean hourly wage of around $19.50.  Nebraska ranks second-to-last among states (ahead of only South Dakota) in terms of average incomes for professional animators.  However, this data does not reflect the salaries of part time artists, freelance professionals and Lincoln animators employed offshore. 

Skills of a Professional Animator

Successful professional animation involves advanced drawing skills in various genres such as cartoon art, fashion illustration, mechanical drafting and various International styles.  Also essential is full proficiency with computer-generated designs created with mainstream animation-related software.  Among other important qualifications are photography, layouts, prototyping and set design, as well as high-level computer literacy, website construction skills and fluency in HTML.  Project management potential is also appreciated.