Animation

The best 3D rendering software products are determined by customer satisfaction (based on user reviews) and scale (based on market share, vendor size, and social impact) and placed into four categories on the grid:
Products in the leader quadrant are rated highly by G2. Crowd users and have substantial market presence scores. Leaders include: Cinema 4D, 3Ds Max Design, and Maya.
Good performers are highly rated by their users but have not yet achieved the market share and scale of the Leaders. High performers include: Thea Render, Blender, and KeyShot.
Contenders have significant market presence and resources, but have received below average user satisfaction ratings or have not yet received a sufficient number of reviews to validate the solution.
Niche solutions do not have the market presence of the leaders. They may have been rated positively on customer satisfaction, but have not yet received enough reviews to validate them. Niche products include: ZBrush, LightWave 3D, and V-Ray.

Maya is a proprietary scripting language. MEL is highly customizable, and that is one reason why Maya can be found a lot in the film industry because studios like to be able to create their own set of tools that can help them achieve their job much easier. Maya has really been know as the go-to app for 3D animators in the industry for its robust rigging and animation tools and its animator friendly workflow. You also have the choice of Maya LT which is a huge benefit among new game developers as it's a relatively cheap subscription cost, of course, you don't have access to as many of the features of the full version of Maya, but you still have the most important to a game designer, like modeling, animation and texturing.
Where 3Ds Max shines:
3Ds Max has been known for its powerful modelling tools, allowing you to create complex 3D models with a very fast workflow and robust modifiers, with the entire poly modelling tools contained in one area of the UI. It also has some really great architectural visualization capabilities that Maya really doesn't have. If you're brand new to CG 3Ds Max can be a little simpler to grasp, and can seem a little less daunting than Maya, making it a bit more user-friendly.
The big factor:
The biggest factor in choosing between the two actually has nothing to do with the application's toolset, but your operating system. Maya is available for Windows, Linux, and OSX platforms. 3Ds Max, on the other hand, is only available for Windows operating systems, which means if you're a Mac or Linux user, 3Ds Max is probably not the best choice.
The verdict:
You should really know what you're going to use the app for because this can help you decide which program to choose, and each program has different strengths when it comes to the different tasks, like modelling, or animation. If you want to get into character animation, Maya may be the best choice. However, 3Ds Max still has great animation capabilities, but Maya has a slight edge over it with its deeper list of tools. When it comes to modelling, either software is going to get the job done; it really comes down to which workflow you like more. 3Ds Max has a robust modelling toolset, but Maya has recently enhanced their tools as well. 3ds Max has typically been seen as the 3D app for the game industry, and it is known to have a bit more flexibility and options. However, Maya LT is also a great cost-effective choice when it comes to game development.

Our education system is too old in which students just run for a job. Only a few of students get chance or follow their passion. In this case, as aspirants are getting decent salaries in banking jobs so there is no pressure on them to get a job. At that time he or she wants to follow his/her dream then it is not a bad decision. If he or she has interest in animation and want to work in this field then there is no need to leave their job and join this field. There are many institutes in India who provide distance learning in animation or any other multimedia course. He or she can join any institute in the city in which they are without leaving their jobs. So, I think if all the students follow their passion then definitely they will rise. Just take an example, India is producing, right now, the highest no. of engineers in the world and still India is not able to make motorcycle, smartphone, etc., as India is still using these engineers top assemble the parts rather than making them and I think this problem generated only because of not following their passion and just following the what others are doing. So, following one's own passion after getting a job is the best step because there is no more pressure on them.

About Texture Artists
A texture artists job is to paint surface textures on animated characters, environments, and props. The number of textures animators work with is endless and may include things such as wrinkles, fur, scales, sweat, and mud. In some cases, the textures used in animation cannot be found in real life. In these instances, the texture artist invents his own textures using his imagination and creativity skills.
Texture Artist Jobs
Texture artists use a variety of software, platforms, and rendering environments to create textures for environments, characters, objects, and props for animated films, television shows, and video games. Some of the most common types of software, platforms, and rendering environments used in animation include Photoshop, 3D Paint, UV Layout/Editing, RenderMan, Mental Ray, Maya, Shaders, and Houdini. Texture artists also use digital matte painting techniques to create textures and they work with advanced surface types, subsurface scattering, and global illumination.
Texture artists work in animation studios, film and video production studios, for game companies, web design companies, graphic design firms, advertising firms, and even mobile technology companies.
Texture Artist Salaries
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports salaries for fine artists and animators. These salary averages will give you an idea of what you can expect to earn as an entry-level, intermediate, or senior level artist. Median annual wages of salaried fine artists were $44,850 as of May 2015. The lowest 10 percent earned $19,190 and the highest 10 percent earned $89,720.
In May 2016, the mean annual wage for animators overall was $62,810 per year. The lowest paid animators earned $32,360 per year and the highest paid animators earned $99,130 per year.

Stop Motion Animator jobs:
Stop motion animators combine the art of photography, narrative skill, the ability to manipulate lighting and calculate angles to create stop motion animation without digitally manipulating it. The animator creates pictures of objects, characters, or scenes that show them in various positions. When the pictures run together, it appears that the object is moving on its own. This creates one of the most unique forms of animation, which is neither cartoon-like nor similar to computer-generated animations.
Stop motion animators work for animation studios, film studios, game design and development companies, and advertising agencies.
Stop Motion Animator Salaries
Stop motion animators belong to the broad career group multimedia artists and animators. The median annual wage for this career group is $61,370 per year. The lowest paid multimedia artists and animators earn less than $34,860. The highest paid artists earn $113,470 per year. At $72,680, multimedia artists and animators working in the motion picture and video industries earn the highest median annual wage of the top five industries for this profession.
It is important to note that multimedia artist and animator salaries may vary by experience, type and size of the company, and even geographic location. For example, the average salary of California-based multimedia artists and animators is $88,150 per year, the nation's highest average salary for this profession, while Arkansas-based artists get an average salary of $40,890, one of the lowest.
The top five highest paying states for multimedia artists and animators are California ($88,150 per year), Washington State ($76,900), District of Columbia ($76,110), New York ($72,530), and New Mexico ($70,310).

About Character Riggers:
Character riggers are experts in manipulating the geometry of characters in their interaction with environments. Character riggers accomplish this through a thorough understanding of physics and anatomy, operating systems such as UNIX, and software such as Autodesk Maya, Motion Builder, 3D Studio Max, and XSI.
Becoming a Character Rigger:
The most common degree path for aspiring character riggers is a Bachelors in computer animation with a character rigger concentration. Other degree paths include computer science with a character rigger concentration and commercial graphics with a character rigger or animation concentration. Anatomy and geometry courses are strongly recommended if you choose another related degree path.
In addition to a Bachelor's degree in any of the areas listed above, most employers prefer several years experience in the field. If you are just entering college, do your best to secure an internship or find work at a production studio or design firm in any capacity. This will give you a head start in gaining valuable experience that will help you secure an entry-level position once you have received your degree.
Job trends for Character Riggers:
Character riggers can find work in animation, games, advertising, specialized design services, the TV and film industries, computer systems design and related services, and software publishing. Opportunities in these industries are greatest in the states of California, New York, Washington, Texas, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
Character Rigger salaries:
Salaries for character riggers depend on the industry, experience, geography, and the nature of the position. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not report average salaries for character riggers, but several sites such as PayScale and Indeed.com list average salaries based on reports gathered from job sites and employees from various companies. Average salaries for character riggers, as reported by PayScale, are between $25,585 and $71,415 per year. Indeed reports that the average salary for character riggers is $46,000 per year.
Other sources place the range between $48,000 and $60,000 per year for three to five years experience, and $84,000 per year for six years experience or more. According to some sources, a lead rigger can earn as much as $108,000 per year.

Visual communication field is focused on communicating with clients and customers through any visual means available. That means, students will learn graphic design, illustration, animation, photography, and even the modification, or airbrushing, of photographs to better illustrate a given point. These skills are considered broad and comprehensive, and they prepare graduates to enter a number of exciting fields within the communications industry. Available career paths include graphic design, professional photography or retouching, illustration and professional animation, advertising, website design, and visual marketing departments.
Students in a visual communication program are generally either encouraged or required to choose an area of concentration, which can help them target their skills more broadly. Concentrations do include graphic design, but also include digital animation, professional digital photography, animation, computer illustration, mixed visual media, and advertising.
Graphic Design: A narrow focus for highly specialized skills.
The key thing to remember about graphic design, especially when compared to visual communication, is that it's a narrow, highly specialized field that focuses only on the creation of key graphics for a broader advertising campaign, website, or print materials. Graphic designers do not come with the broad set of skills that covers everything from animation to photography, nor do they produce a completely finished, visual product for clients. Instead, they focus on creating key graphical elements that fit within a broader visual communication process.
As a result, graphic designers typically learn a larger number of key computer applications. They learn how to put their graphics onto websites, print media, digital and print ads, and broader marketing efforts. They also learn the intricacies of colour selection, communications team collaboration, and new file formats that make images smaller in file size and more portable overall. These skills will scale well as graphic design standards and best practices change over time, and will set up graphic design graduates as key, expert advisers to visual communicators without a specialized skill set in this particular field.

There are many colleges in India for 2D and 3D animation which provide better education. In 2D and 3D animation, students mainly learn about character sketching, background artistic animator modular and illustrator.
Here are some of the best colleges for 2D and 3D animation:
1. MAAC-Pune
This is a premier private institute by Andhra Pradesh Tech. established in 2007 affiliated to IGNOU. This college offers better placements to the students and awarded as best the placement college for animation in last 2 year.
2. Arena Animation
This Institute provides the national and international level of learning in 2D and 3D animation. This institute has trained and certified faculty members which provide better education to their student. This institute has better placement scope as in past years almost 5K students got placed.
3. IIFA Multimedia
This institute is one of the best choices for graphics, animation, designing, fashion and jewellery field in Bangalore est. in 1991. This institute has a high tech. lab for students.