What You Need to Know to Be an Animator in Lexington, Kentucky

The city of Lexington, Kentucky features well over 30,000 commercial businesses and a great many local artists pursuing careers in animation.  Technological advances in digital art have simplified the production of animated films, thus multiplying the economic demand for local professionals in this creative, high tech field.

Lexington Schools and Training Programs for Animation

Lexington, Kentucky colleges, Universities and other learning facilities offer everything from individual classes to masters degrees in visual animation.  Lexington artists attending local visual arts colleges typically major in digital graphics, film photography or communications design.  Popular animation schools in Lexington, Kentucky include University of Kentucky, Blue Grass Community College, Transylvania University and Spencerian College.

Some Lexington artists acquire skills at home by way of virtual design colleges.  Popular accredited online art schools offering training in animated design include the Academy of Art University, Post University, Full Sail University, DeVry, Stratford Career Institute, University of Phoenix, The Art Institutes and ITT Tech.  Some of these cyber art schools also feature campuses and local resource centers throughout the USA.  ITT Tech has a locations in Lexington.  How much more convenient can it get?

Working as an Animator in Lexington, Kentucky

Commercial businesses all over Lexington, Kentucky recruit professional animators for various reasons.  Animated films are produced for entertainment value as well as for engineering studies, courtroom evidence, medical imaging, public messages, promotional advertising and website design, to mention just a few.  Some Lexington artists land lucrative positions at local animation studios like Isis Media Group and Pinnacle Animation.  Others are employed by any of more than a hundred Lexington-based motion picture companies.  Mention-worthy examples include Prosper Media, Post Time Productions, New Idea Video and Shangri-La Productions.  Some local animators are employed by graphics-based Lexington IT corporations like Netsource Technology Group, Pronet Technologies, Somnium Interactive and Swiftfox Technology.

A full time professional animator residing in Lexington, Kentucky and employed by a U.S. company earns, on average, about $56,000 per year, with a mean hourly rate of about $27.00.  However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not provide data regarding the incomes of part timers, freelance professionals and Lexington animators employed by foreign companies.  

Skills of a Professional Animator

Marketable qualifications of professional animators include advanced drawing technique, photography, layout, lighting, sculpting, set design and digital graphic software expertise.  Animators are experienced with all major animation-related software applications.  Popular animation programs currently in use are Adobe Illustrator, Photo Shop, After Effects, Flash Animation and Dreamweaver, to name a few.  Major motion pictures and virally popular interactive games are often made using Maya or 3D Studio Max.  Non-visual skills of a professional animator include website construction, fluency in programming languages and interactive media design.  Proactive self-starters with project management potential are always appreciated.