What You Need to Know to Be an Animator in Memphis, Tennessee

The city of Memphis, Tennessee has a gigantic musical entertainment industry and a thriving, tourist-based economy.  With as many as 65,000 commercial businesses, Memphis is a favorite locale for many thousand visual artists pursuing careers in the field of animation design.

Memphis Schools and Training Programs for Animation

Many Universities, colleges and training centers in Memphis Tennessee offer courses and degree programs in animated film design.  Merit-worthy Memphis design colleges include Vatterott College, University of Memphis, Tennessee Technology Center, Southwest Tennessee Community College and Strayer University.

Many modern-day Memphis artists acquire animation skills and degrees online.  Popular accredited virtual art colleges include University of Phoenix, ITT Tech, The Art Institutes, DeVry and Stratford Career Institute.  Many online design colleges also feature local campuses.  ITT Tech and University of Phoenix have campuses in Cordova, which is near Memphis.

Working as an Animator in Memphis, Tennessee

Various commercial businesses in Memphis, Tennessee hire local animation artists. Associations in need of animation include game designers, website consultants, advertising agencies, medical facilities, educational media companies, engineering firms and more.  Some Memphis artists create visual media for local animation studios.  Others team up with local film makers who produce their own animated clips.  Major Memphis motion picture makers include Memphis Digital Arts Coop, Latinos del Medio Sur, CFA Productions, Crescent Communications and JSL Studios.  Some local animators are employed by successful Memphis info tech corporations like ADP, Axciom, Emerald Business Solutions, Fiserv and Tascor, to name only a few. 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, professional animators living in Memphis, Tennessee and employed full time by U.S. businesses earn, on average, about $52,500 per year, with a mean hourly wage of around $25.25.  This amount is slightly higher than the overall state average.  

Skills of a Professional Animator

Currently, the highest-quality professional animation software programs are 3D Studio Max and Toon Boom Digital Pro.  Professional animators are completely proficient with these, as well as other related software such as Adobe Illustrator, Photo Shop, Power Point, After Effects Action Script and Flash Animation, among others.  Animators are also highly skilled illustrators, able to translate abstract verbal concepts into recognizable visual forms.  Professional animators are also handy photographers, having snapped many thousand photos for their productions.  Other applicable skills include editing, model making and set design as well as web page construction, programming and interactive game design.  Finally, project management potential never hurt anyone, so be sure to add it to your resume.  Never mind what it means.  Cross that bridge when you reach it.