Is Indian Animation Industry Getting Any Bigger?

According to the KPMG India-FICCI Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017, the Indian animation and Vfx industry grew at 16.4 per cent in 2016 to reach a size of INR 59.5 billion, driven majorly by a 31 per cent growth in Vfx, with animation remaining steady at a growth rate of 9 percent.

Firstly we have to distinguish between animation training and animation education. While the former can be acquired in a short period of time, the latter needs a lifetime.

Today, animation has found itself expressive and communicative in various fields like e-education, medical/mechanical information, architecture visualization, web designing and various segments of entertainment such as TV broadcast, animated movies, cartoons, computer games, direct-to-DVD and VFX. Many of these are now being done with the help of computer animation where animated images are generated by using computer graphics.

The animation industry consists of various segments:

3d Animation

The creation of moving pictures in a 3-dimensional digital environment. It is done by sequencing consecutive images or 'frames' in a gradual progression of steps, filmed by a virtual 'camera' & then output to video by a rendering engine.

2d Animation

The creation of moving pictures in a 2-dimensional environment through traditional animation or in computerised animation software.

Web Designing

Designing websites, creating rich media content for the web, viral ads and internet games.

Vfx

Blending live action footage with computer generated characters, objects and effects to create realistic computer generated digital video & film sequence.

Gaming

Designing games for PC, Internet, Touchpads, Mobile & Consoles (such as Playstation or Xbox).

Multimedia

Creating design and audio-visual content using different media & formats such as text, pictures, music, sound, videos, films, animations, and more.

E-Learning

E-learning refers to the use of learning & teaching via electronic technology -computer software, internet, audio/video devices, TV, etc. Creators of E-learning modules use rich media, audio, video & graphics to teach a particular topic.

Educating the Young

Most animated series and short movies in the 1980’s were dedicated to teaching lessons mainly to the younger generation. The Hindi version, of Aesop’s Fables, was one of them. Children love cartoons, and this seemed the best way to get through to them in an educational way. Some folk tales in the form of short films were also transformed into animations for entertainment purpose.

At what age can we start learning?

It is never too late to learn. Arts and Crafts are popular subjects up to std. 6 in our schools and can form a good foundation for expressing creativity. There are resources even for children to learn animation. There are organizations that conduct ongoing programs that initiate young minds into animation. They regularly conduct summer training programs. TASI is actively working to promote continuation of artistic education all the way up to college.

Is the Industry ready to take a push?

The industry has a huge crunch for talent which translates into rapid rise in salary. It is not rare for your salary to double every 2-3 years. There is also a great flexibility of being able to do freelance work. Talented students can start freelance work even before completing their courses.

It is important to remember that animation is first an art-form and because this art-form became so popular it soon became a profession and then a business. Have fun with the art-form and the business will follow you for sure. The more fun you have, more the business!

As this industry is growing so fast, there is a constant demand for skilled professionals from both, Indian studios as well as for internationally outsourced projects.

Demand in India

Many big studios and companies like Walt Disney, Sony Pictures & Turner Entertainment, which make animated films, TV ads & computer games, are off-shoring animation content to India. Many Indian animation studios & production houses are packed with work be it outsourced from abroad or in-house projects for the market in India. Hence, the Indian animation industry is certainly facing a talent crunch.

India is among the largest content makers and there is a demand for varied types of animation genres- comedy, fantasy, edutainment, interactive, preschool and action of shows- from the Indian broadcasters, who are exploring new means to educate, amuse and sustains the interest of Indian kids.

Future of Animation in India

India’s animation education has seen unprecedented growth. The current animation business in India revolves around production, post production and VFX. This is soon to change with the incorporation of preproduction into the production profile. With the increasing confidence of the international community, India is soon to be trusted with the generation of original content, which calls for many new institutes offering courses on animation education.

All in all, the growth of the industry means that the time is perhaps the ripest it has been in recent years for students interested in dabbling with the virtual world.