Thinking about moving east....

[Southernmiss]

A quick google for animation jobs in Seattle bright up a bunch. Your daughter could start right at home before thinking about moving. She should also give the job openings a good look for what the job requirements are. That could give her a good focus for her studies.

https://www.indeed.com/m/jobs?q=Animation+Studios&l=Seattle,+WA

Meeting with someone in the profession who could mentor/guide the op's daughter could be a big help right now, too.

 

[pfalcioni]

I think it would be premature for a mentor/guide unless the daughter has at least a year of higher education in the field under her belt. A mentor is usually going to want to see someone who can show a strong commitment to following this career path, but meeting with someone in the gaming industry or getting a tour of one of the independent game companies would probably be a great way to get a feel for what the work entails on a daily basis. There are lots of indie gaming companies in the Seattle area.

 

[Southernmiss]

I think it would be premature for a mentor/guide unless the daughter has at least a year of higher education in the field under her belt. A mentor is usually going to want to see someone who can show a strong commitment to following this career path, but meeting with someone in the gaming industry or getting a tour of one of the independent game companies would probably be a great way to get a feel for what the work entails on a daily basis. There are lots of indie gaming companies in the Seattle area.

Yes. That's more of what I meant. Talking to someone in the business or shadowing them for a day to get an idea of what day to day is really like. Just an introduction to the profession could be helpful.

 

[Imzadi]

Me again my daughter has wanted to to be an animator since she could hold a crayon that is all she has ever wanted to do and has always been used as an example of for someone who “just knows” what she will do in life.

Yes, following the conversation of the last few posters, OP, I gently want to point out, your DD couldn't possibly have wanted to be an animator since a child, since she doesn't know the skills required to be an animator. I'm saying this, not to flame either of you. But, you both may actually have the wrong description of what her skill sets are, her passions, and what she actually really wants to do.

Since she was holding a crayon, she was probably coloring in printed coloring book pages of the Disney characters. She may love working with and creating cartoon imagery over doing photo realism. Then she learned to draw with markers and paint her own illustrations as well. She may even have made up her own stories about the characters, Disney or otherwise. So, she may be very naturally creative and gifted artistically in traditional artist materials. She may be more into the creative process and working a project from conception to completion.

As PP people have pointed out, Disney animation requires extensive knowledge & time making computer generated images (GCI) and creating digital graphics over creating them with traditional artist materials. It's a highly technical field. Yes, it's creative, but it requires a very technical skill set and temperament to do it that kind of work. Has she done any computer animation yet?

I know zip about animation or what it takes to be a Disney animator. I know about 1% of working with Adobe Photoshop to edit, alter and retouch still photos. I do it as a necessary evil to retouch my portfolio photos. I know I'd hate to be making art that way. It's just not for me. Give me plain old paints and other artist materials.

A previous person mentioned they know a Disney animator that specialized in hydrodynamics. He probably doesn't work on a full Disney movie. They probably just give him the 30 second segments where he needs to animate water. Then when he's done with that project, he's given a different water project to animate, and so on. So, he may not be in on a full project from conception to finished project, but works piecemeal on different ones. Just guessing about this. Disney is so huge. It would be good for DD to find out what all is required and whether she'd like to work the ways animators work.

There are so may different types of artistic jobs and ways of working. The reality of what it's like to be an animator may be far different from how DD likes to work or where her talent lies. I'd hate for DD to get into a good college for animation, then halfway into her second semester realize, "OMG, I HATE doing all this tedious computer imagery over and over and all the layers. Give me back my paints, pastels & markers!" Because she's creative and artistic in different ways. She might not be able to simply transfer into the traditional visual arts & design departments as there may be design majors who've had to submit portfolios to get into those programs. So she loses a semester until she can apply.

 

[cabanafrau]

What is the point of moving to a place with a lower cost of living if the job/career one wants isn't there?

Merely pointing out that So. Cal. has considerations to be factored in as well. Seems to be germane since Orlando was more of a spitball than a fleshed out idea.

 

[cabanafrau]

Depends where she is moving from. The cost of living in Seattle is about the same as Burbank.

Isn't OP considering giving up a nearly two-decade career in the move? Presumably that's being looked at with the idea of a lower COL in Orlando as somewhat of a buffer to the transition. Seems like a rather different plan if COL will be more level during a career transition and moving expenses are added into the mix as well.

 

[RangerPooh]

A quick google for animation jobs in Seattle bright up a bunch. Your daughter could start right at home before thinking about moving. She should also give the job openings a good look for what the job requirements are. That could give her a good focus for her studies.

Agreed! She should also be open to gaining experience through a variety of animation studios. There's no guarantee that she'll be picked up by Disney following graduation it ever, so being open to other studios will be important. As I mentioned earlier, a girlfriend of mine has worked for two studios in Vancouver BC, so not all studios are in California, there are some just across the boarder from you as well.

 

[michellelovesthemous]

Thank u for all of your thoughts and suggestions this has truly been beneficial and I know this was the place to throw this idea out to start off with! My DD Has had some community college classes and the process has started plus she is trying to get into CGI animation learning to draw on her iPad Pro etc. Her medium is most definitely pencil but is becoming quite adept with the programs on her iPad,baby steps right?! Life got in her way there for a while and now we have to get things back on track,school started up winter quarter again Now it’s time for her. Again I much appreciated for any thoughts/opinions that you may have!

 

[pfalcioni]

Baby steps are great, but at her age she should be working with the basic tools of the trade, definitely check to see if your local community college offers Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator classes. She'll also need to have a decent laptop or desktop and digital tablet to learn to work with pen pressure (Wacom makes some decent ones for not much $$). It's great she's transitioning to digital, but it would be better if she's able to learn with the proper tools to begin with instead of having the hassle of needing to un-learn self-taught habits.