What You Need to Know to Be an Animator in Charlotte, North Carolina

The city of Charlotte, North Carolina has many local artists and nearly a hundred thousand commercial businesses.  Recent technological advances in visual media have created an increased demand for animators, which amounts to good news for resident artists seeking animation careers.

Charlotte Schools and Training Programs for Animation

Charlotte, North Carolina colleges and Universities feature various certificates and degree programs in animated design.  Local artists earning degrees in animation typically major in fine arts or communications design.  Charlotte colleges with animation degree and training programs include Central Piedmont Community College, Johnson & Wales University, University of North Carolina and Kings College. 

Some Charlotte art students enroll at virtual animation schools.  Popular accredited online colleges with focus on animation include the Academy of Art University, Post University, Full Sail University, Stratford Career Institute, University of Phoenix, The Art Institutes and ITT Tech.  Some of these also feature physical locations near you.  University of Phoenix, ITT Tech and The Art Institute all have campuses in Charlotte.

Working as an Animator in Charlotte, North Carolina

Numerous businesses in Charlotte, North Carolina enlist the services of local animators for the production of cartoons, video games, mobile apps, film segments, medical images, training materials, promotional advertising and websites, to name a few. 

Some animators join local animation studios.  Others contract with local motion picture producers who hire their own animators.  Notable Charlotte movie studios include Corlin Productions, , 20th Century Fox, Greenlight Star Productions, Media-Comm and LEC-Media.  Other Charlotte animators work for top information technology firms.  Successful graphics info tech corporations in Charlotte, North Carolina include ACS, Keffer-Dodge, Perfect-Image, Source-Technologies and Sungard, among others. 

The average annual income for a professional animator in Charlotte, North Carolina is about $57,000, with a mean hourly rate of roughly $28.00.  However, this data is based only on the incomes of Charlotte-based animators employed full time by U.S. companies.  No reliable data exists regarding the unreported salaries of part time artists, freelance professionals and Charlotte animators employed Internationally.     

Skills of a Professional Animator

Aside from raw artistic talent, numerous advanced technical skills are required of professional animated films.  Animation designers are highly skilled illustrators with versatile technique.  They are also comfortable with different computer operating systems and fluent in related programming languages.  Professional animators use software packages such as Toon Boom Digital Pro for flat animation and 3D Studio Max for 3D designs, and they must be entirely proficient in all related applications.  Other essential qualifications include photography, web page construction and interactive media design.