Careers
in Animation

The animation industry offers a huge range of positions, which depend on the candidates’ sphere of expertise, on their qualifications, and on the level of responsibilities they are willing to assume. At ESMA, the CG Animation & FX curriculum is a broad-based training program ; therefore, the great strength of our graduates is their level of excellence in all the areas it covers. Nevertheless, the end-of-studies short films they work on in their last year offer them the occasion to specialize in one specific field.

ESMA has a very strong background in animation cinema and that’s really what we’re looking for. This allows us to have specialized students, very focused on their careers. Students are passionate and highly motivated by what they do.

Erik SMITT

Director of photography at Pixar Animation Studios

professional quote

The qualities of ESMA are the qualities of a very high level school. That a short film from ESMA is selected for the Oscars is well deserved!

Kristof Serrand,
Directeur Artistique, Dreamworks

The quality of the films is really palpable. Both technically and narratively, the scripts are developing and getting more complex year after year.

Shelley PAGE

Key Talent and Artist Liaison – DreamWorks, Aardman…

Professional quote

To be able to work in the world of video games, several qualities are necessary: being creative and autonomous, being proactive, having a good team spirit and knowing how to work with others but also being able to face new challenges. ESMA conveys all these values to its students.

Arielle DETHOMAS

Lead Animator at Ubisoft Annecy

We are visiting several schools but to be honest, ESMA is where we met the best student works. We are really delighted to see all the love and hard work they invest in their projects and how hight the level of everything they have done is.

Claudia GLOD

Producer and Resource Manager

Milford Creative Studio

PROFESSIONAL QUOTE

I love the movies I’ve seen but I also love this school! The quality of the work is really good and high and the students don’t hesitate to confront complicated situations.

Andrew GORDON

Head of Animation (Feature Animation)

Professional quote

ESMA allows students to pursue their ideas to their full potential. It’s a very high level school!
Dorian MARCHESIN

Environments and rendering supervisor

Professional quote

We have recruited talented artists who have studied at ESMA in recent years. The curriculum they are following has allowed them to prepare well for our studios.

Dana RAAD 

Talent Acquisition Manager – The Focus

professional quote

ESMA being a reference school, we are very attentive to the new talents that emerge each year.

Lionel FAGES 

Director & founder of Cube Creative studio

 

Erik Smitt de Pixar, président d'honneur du jury ESMA 2019
Kristof Serrand
shelley page
Logo Ubisoft Annecy
logo milford creative studio
Logo studio DNEG
Dorian Marchesin Unit Image
Logo The Focus studio
Visite du studio Cube Creative à l'ESMA Montpellier

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Becoming CG Studio Manager

Becoming

CG Studio Manager

Often at the head of small or medium-sized companies, 3D studio managers are director, manager and administrator at the same time.
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Become CG Animator

Become
CG Animator

Working downstream of the designers’ graphic work (character designer, set designer…), the 3D animator brings characters, objects and sets to life.
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Become Generalist CG and CG real time

Become
Generalist CG
& CG real time

The CG industry is plentiful of artists and technical experts. Among them, the CG generalist and the CG Real-Time generalist offer the advantage of being able to work in different positions on various and for very different types of projects.
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Become FX Supervisor

Become
Special Effects
Supervisor

Among the high-responsibility positions in the CG industry, the FX supervisor is quite essential. Whether he works on an animated film or on a live-action film, his function is above all to provide a mentoring role.
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Becoming Independent Author-Director

Becoming

Independent Author-Director


In the world of CG animation and special effects, as in live-action cinema, many author-directors work independently. This peculiarity has a strong influence on their activity. A journey far from a comfortable ride along a quiet river.
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Become Author Independent Director

Become
Author Independant
Director

Professionals of image often aspire to the position of independent author-director after having worked in several studios, sometimes in different positions, when they feel the need and the ability to take things in charge. Because one thing is certain : on a commercial, a clip or an animated short film, the author-director assumes the role of leader.
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Become CG Modeler

Become
CG Modeler

Between the designer and the CG animator, the CG modeller takes part in the digitisation phase of a project. His purpose is to give volume, and express an object, a character or a set in 3 dimensions. He is called upon to work in multiple areas.
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Become 3D Artistic Director

Become
3D Artistic Director

On a 3D project (video game, animation film, 3D communication…), the 3D artistic director is the ultimate referent. He works closely with the director / project manager whose intentions he understands and integrates perfectly. Overall, he manages the artistic and creative supervision of a 3D computer graphics project.
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Become Character Designer

Become
Character Designer

The character designer is, above all, an artist ! He is inspired by a universe and an environment to sketch coherent characters for an animation, a comic book or a video game project. Just as comfortable with a pencil as with a computer, the character designer works in a highly creative environment.
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