"3D Animation and VFX offered all that I loved"

By Ruchi Shrimali

A shot from 'Ozzmosis' - a short animated movie made by students of MAAC Chowringhee, Kolkata on 'saving water'. The movie won the prestigious FICCI BAF award. The team was led by Alamgir Islam.

Alamgir Islam from Guwahati, Assam is a case right off the shelf of the famous Aamir Khan movie ‘Three Idiots’. A student of Don Bosco School in Guwahati, his fate was decided on the day he was born – he had to follow the footsteps of his father and become an engineer. Though, he initially followed his destiny faithfully, he soon realized that his success awaits him elsewhere. Today, he is recognised in the industry as a talented animator and has won several awards for his animation movie. This movie called ‘Ozzmosis’ that he produced with his team at MAAC Chowringhee won the prestigious FICCI BAF Special Jury Award for short animated film made by students.

A computer geek at heart, Alamgir often loved to play with electronic and mechanical stuff. In fact, even before he completed his Class XII in 2007, he was already building custom bikes and selling them off too. “My custom bikes gave me the taste of creative satisfaction that has ultimately led me to the field of animation”, says Alamgir.

On being asked about his educational qualifications and achievements, Alamgir gives a coy smile. 

“I did B.E. in Computer Science from Bangalore but soon realized that it is just not my piece of cake. I decided to experiment a bit. Since I was good at sketching and painting, I decided to do a Diploma in Interior Design from Exterior-Interior Pvt Ltd, Kolkata. I won the National Gold Medal in Interior Design in the year 2008-09 as well as an Excellence in Design award at The EX IN Annual Convocation. 

For a few months, I worked with Salient Pvt. Ltd – one of the major customers of Ambuja Reality, as an interior designer. There, I got fascinated and more and more involved with 3D Animation and Visualization. For a few months, I practiced self-learning with the help of Internet and moved into 3D visualization for the same company. 

Then, came a moment of self-realization and I decided to quit the job and devote myself to everything I had loved so far – art, creativity, computers, and technology. I joined a full-time two-year Diploma course in 3D Animation and Visual Effects (VFX) at MAAC in September 2009, which provided me with some wonderful opportunities to showcase my talent.”

When Shiksha.com asked Alamgir about career options available in the field of animation, he got excited. 

“Career opportunities in this field are endless. Usually, when we talk about animation these days, we refer to 3D Animation along with VFX. These open up opportunities in fields like CG animation, game design, VFX, advertising, and graphic design.

Animation experts may become modelers, animators, CG or VFX compositors, lighting artists, shading/surfacing artists, rigging artists, or texturing artists, according to their specific skills.

If you are good at sketching and drawing, you may become a pre-production artist. If you are very artistic and have great design concepts, you can start out as a concept artist and may even become an Art Director.

Then, there are video editors, logo designers, web page designers, digital painters, digital Integration or colour specialists, stereo or 3D artists, roto artists…the list is never-ending. 

However, if you want to stick around for long, you have to be the best in any field you choose. Animation is growing very rapidly and the cut-throat competition in the arena is already flashing red signals for all those who are not very creative, passionate, and artistically inclined. So, beware!”

We nudged Alamgir about software skills animators need today and upcoming technologies in the field, but he becomes evasive and tries to play safe.

“You have asked a difficult question. Look, each software fulfills a specific role in the vast machinery of animation. What you need to learn depends on which department or designation you want to join.”

But we have learnt one important thing – let the experts talk and they will surely come up with a few good tips. 

Alamgir continues, “For Modelling, you should be good at Maya, Zbrush, 3dsMAX etc. For Compositing after-effects, there are Fusion and Nuke.

But remember, SOFTWARE IS NOT IMPORTANT. One should emphasize on real skills, not just the software-oriented ones. One should inculcate deep understanding of the animation arena one has entered into. 

Besides, different production houses use different software. Some of them even use in-house proprietary software.

3D stereo films are becoming quite popular these days. So, new technologies and processes are rapidly coming up to create 3D films. 

Motion caption is also being increasingly used in CG Animation and live action films. It is a process where actors wear a special dress equipped with sensors and wires and dozens of cameras around to record their movements. These movements are then transferred on to the computer characters.

4D is also showing slow but constant growth in the market. It involves the use of 3D goggles, aura lights, smells, mechanical experiments like moving and shaking seats, and other effects to match the scene in the movie. 

Technologies are developing so rapidly that you never know what will come up next. So, you always have to study the trends and keep up with them by updating your knowledge and skills.”

Alamgir has some tips and advice for the new entrants in the field:

• Honestly, the field of animation is growing rapidly. But at the same time it is also getting very hard to get a job in this field. In the end, most of the aspiring animators end up doing nothing. My advice is to join this field only if you have the interest and passion for this field. The work is grueling and you have to be very good to match the industry level of work to get a good job.
• Creating a network with the professionals working within the industry is very important to keep updated with the latest technologies, software and job requirements. The most difficult part is to get into the production pipeline or various departments as freshers. Training in companies is quite rare. Hence, you have to be self-motivated and a quick learner. 
• Freshers should not expect huge salaries right at the beginning, and must be patient. The pay packages get fatter with experience and talent.
• Learn to harness the Internet. Be a good researcher and use social networks for your advantage. Dedicated, passionate, calm, and hard working animators who can churn out good quality work are respected in the field. So, if you have all these qualities, you will surely end up in a reputed production house with your name in some of the movie credits.

Other interesting reads: