Can I Be In The Animation Industry If I Can't Draw?

Have you ever wanted to work on some of your favorite cartoons, but never tried because you feel like you don’t have the best drawing skills? What if I told you that you can work in the animation industry even if you can’t draw, like myself! See! look at this dog that I drew. Not very impressive.

Now you may be thinking, how can I possibly be in the animation industry if I can’t draw? What jobs can I even do? Well, there’s a lot actually! Production is the biggest and main non-artist job in animation, but there’s also development, special events, finance, marketing, executive roles and if you still want to be on the creative side, there’s also writing!

Don’t give up on your dream to work in the animation industry. It’s definitely possible and I am a testament to that.

How I Got A Job at Nickelodeon And What It's Like Working Here

One of my personal goals for 2019 was to switch careers from being a Financial Analyst at Lionsgate, to becoming a Production Assistant at an animation studio. In the beginning, I didn't mind working at Lionsgate because my work hours were flexible, the pay was great, and my commute was half a block. I also enjoyed my team and became close friends with one of my co-workers. However, things started to change mid-year. I didn't feel happy. The work became boring and worst of all, I felt I was in a creative rut. To put it simply~ I felt like this job was draining an important part of me.

How To Get Into The Animation Industry

So you want to know how to get into the animation industry. Whether you’re an artist or someone who just loves cartoons and want to be apart of the industry in some way, Im going to be sharing with you 6 tips to help you get your foot in the door.
But before we start, a little bit about myself. My name is Eric Bravo and I’ve interned with Warner Bros, Nickelodeon & DreamWorks on the movie Penguins of Madagascar. I recently made a cartoon short with Nickelodeon called The Outsiders as the creator & writer as part of their shorts program. Click here if you’d like to see it! And I am currently in my dungeon (the process) of coming up with more ideas for cartoons.
Now that you know a little bit about myself and my background, let’s begin!

From A Production Coordinator To A Storyboard Revisionist

Fabian Corona at Nickelodeon Animation Studio

From A Production Coordinator To A Storyboard Revisionist

Fabian Corona started off as an intern at Nickelodeon Animation Studios before becoming a Storyboard Revisionist on Wallykazam. His journey into animation begins at the University of Arizona as a Visual Communication major. After meeting a Nickelodeon recruiter at the first CTN, Fabian got offered an internship at Nickelodeon a year later.

How To Get A Job At DreamWorks Animation Studio in Marketing

DreamWorks Animation Studio Campus by Eric Bravo Photography

Tyler Streuter made the move from Chicago to Hollywood to chase his love for movies. During college, Tyler scored an Internship with Universal Pictures as an Field Marketing Intern and Campus Marketing Representative. This internship helped get him to where he is now, as Assistant to the Head of Digital Marketing at DreamWorks Animation Studio in Glendale, CA.

How to Get an Animation Internship for College Students

Internship at DreamWorks Animation Studio PDI by Eric Bravo Photography

As a college student, Nicole Rola landed several internships in the animation industry. She was a Production Assistant Intern for Nickelodeon's Legend of Korra and also for Cartoon Network's Steven Universe.

Nicole, now a Production Assistant at DreamWorks Animation, attended Woodbury University in Burbank where she got a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Animation. Find out how she got these animation internships as a college student and how to set your application apart from the rest.

How to Get Into the Animation Industry Without an Animation Background

CJ at Nickelodeon's Thursday Think with guest speaker and head of Viacom Cyma Zargham — CJ at Nickelodeon's Thursday Think with guest speaker and head of Viacom Cyma Zargham

Christopher John Kinyon, or "CJ," has such an interesting and amazing life. CJ has been breakdancing for over 20 years, have traveled the world, once broke his neck, and has even been on ABC's show, Wipeout and winning the first place prize of $50,000 in 2009. And to top it off, he's been working at Nickelodeon Animation Studios for over 7 years.

“People think of me as the mascot of Nickelodeon since I don’t hold back my extreme happiness for life”

From Intern at Nickelodeon Animation Studios to Production Assistant at Walt Disney Animation

Garrett Prince - Global Production Supervisor at DreamWorks — Garrett Prince - Global Production Supervisor at DreamWorks

Starting off as an intern at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in the Writing Fellowship department, Garrett Prince quickly transitioned into the the world of animation and has steadily climbed the production ladder. He has worked on various shows and feature films including, Nickelodeon's The Might B! and Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh.

"I always loved cartoons growing up, specifically The Ren & Stimpy Show. I never thought I would enter this as a career."

Since graduating from Chapman University with a degree in Public Relations & Advertising, Garrett Prince has worked at three major animation studios which includes Walt Disney Animation, Nickelodeon, and DreamWorks Animation Studios.

A Marketing Career in Animation with Bettina Braganza - Nickelodeon Internship

Bettina Braganza has one of the coolest jobs in the animation industry. Besides from being the official tour guide ofNickelodeon Animation Studio, she helps plan out Nickelodeon's Kid's Choice Awards, Comic Con, and premiere parties for various Nickelodeon shows. Bettina graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in Business Economics. She always knew she wanted to be in entertainment, but had no idea what industry exactly.

"I just wanted to follow in my sister's footsteps, as she always worked in the [music] industry...[t]he animation industry was actually something I was really oblivious to. I didn’t know anything about it."

How to Turn An Animation Internship into A Job at Nickelodeon Animation Studio with Tiffany Chiu

Nickelodeon's Legend of Korra Crew

After scoring a Production internship with Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Tiffany Chiu quickly worked her way onto one of the biggest animated TV shows of 2014, The Legend of Korra, where she worked closely with none other than the creators of the show, Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.

Before her time with The Legend of Korra, Tiffany, like many other talented students, had no idea how to break into the animation industry. She had always enjoyed watching cartoons, drawing, pretty much anything that involved creativity, but it wasn't until high school when she found out that she can do this for a living.