Tips on Becoming an Animator in Portland, Oregon

The city of Portland, Oregon offers a broad range of educational and employment opportunities for local artists pursuing animation careers.  Portland features as many as a hundred thousand business associations and a thriving visual arts industry.

Portland Schools and Training Programs for Animation

Training centers, colleges and Universities in Portland, Oregon offer many assorted animation-related study programs.  Aspiring Portland animators attending local art colleges study drawing, digital design, interactive media and other relevant topics.  Popular Portland colleges with animation degree programs include Portland Community College, Pacific Northwest College of Art and Portland State University.

Many of the newer generation of Portland artists prefer virtual learning environments.  Accredited online colleges with animation courses and degree programs include Stratford Career Institute, Post University, Full Sail University, University of Phoenix, The Art Institutes and ITT Tech, among others.  Some online schools also feature physical campuses and local resource facilities.  University of Phoenix, ITT Tech and The Art Institute all maintains campuses in Portland.

Working as an Animator in Portland, Oregon

Portland employers who recruit professional animators include educational media producers, software developers, game designers, TV stations, advertising agencies, architectural firms, medical facilities and more.  Some Portland animators work for local animation studios like Happy Trails Animation, Jim Blashfield, Smith Group Communications or Wallace Creative.  Others work for local movie makers who create their own animation.  Primary Portland film producers include Backreach Productions, Dawson Media Group, Emery-Clay, Goodwin-Grayzel and Sonic Media Studios.  Some animators work with major graphics IT corporations.  Thriving Portland info tech firms include A-Quantive, CRS Data Solutions, Host-Baby, Integrate Incorporated and Revere Graphics. 

An animator residing in Portland, Oregon and employed full time by a United States corporation earns about $63,000 on average, with a mean hourly rate of roughly $31.50.  However, this data does not reveal anything about the incomes of freelancers, part timers or Portland animators employed by foreign businesses.

Skills of a Professional Animator

Even the most talented artists pursuing animation careers need formal visual arts training to create successful professional animated works.  Animators demonstrate impeccable drawing technique, as well as complete familiarity with animation software and design applications.  The most innovative and successful animated films are usually created using Toon Boom Digital Pro, Maya or 3D Studio Max.  Professional animators are also exceedingly familiar with photography, page layout, set design, model making, film editing, web page construction, programming languages and interactive media design.  Topping off all these technical skills is the animator's extraordinary gift for storytelling.