Online Visual Communication Degrees

For example, look at an animated fight scene. In the foreground will be the principle fighters and their props. In the middle ground one will find supporting characters and such. The background often is the setting in which the fight is taking place. A layout artist using a house will have a very different sequence than one using a street corner or a sport arena. Replacing that one background completely changes the context.

There's more than just the context, too. The layout defines what action takes place. In many ways, the layout dictates what action the animators will end up depicting. You want the character in the fight to jump over, slide under but not run through a table in the background. So layout artists and their bachelor science degree end up working closely with the supervising director.

While there are a number of ways to become a layout artist, the one thing all have in common is a love or drawing and painting, particularly settings and landscapes. One should also be comfortable in using a variety of tools, ranging from pen to paint on to computer. To top it, a layout artist must be familiar with the jobs his partners do, if only to make their jobs easier.

In regards to higher education, a layout artist can get employed. It would be a good idea to find a physical campus or online college that also offers animation courses, so one can refine one's understanding of the process. After that, most layout artists usually get a job as an assistant at a studio, refining their craft under a master, sometimes called a "rough" layout artist.

When one lands an assistant's job, the average salary usually is around $25,000 a year. The average layout salary for experienced personnel is double, at $50,000 a year. If one gets to be a master, or "rough" layout artist, it's not unheard of to make over $100,000 or more with a solid technology degree. Like everything else in the entertainment field though, it should be remembered that all work is for-hire. When the project's done, it's time to upgrade the portfolio.

It's not impossible for a layout artist to eventually end up a director, too. One of the greatest of all times was Maurice Noble, who did the backgrounds and layouts of the Roadrunner cartoons for Chuck Jones. He became an award-winning director himself. Also, layout artists can move on to painting and other forms of art, even getting gallery exhibitions on their own.