Is animation a skill childen should learn?

This is a guest post written by Jane Montana: to bring us all up to date with animation and our future generations:

With so many kinds of animated stuff going around today, letting your child learn animation will give them a creative outlet. Animation teaches children essential skills that they can use later in life. It’s an experience that transforms your child’s thinking and ignites the burning passion for their dreams.

From creativity to technical skills, these are the reasons why animation is a must-learn art.

1. Creative expression

Animation encourages children to nurture their ideas and bring them to life, creating an interactive experience that sharpens their skills and imagination.

Children can express their creativity through animation in these ways:

• Storytelling: Children can create stories, settings, characters, and plots they want. With visual storytelling, they can improve their communication skills through the animated art form.
• Character design: Children use their own ideas to design characters with unique appearances and personalities.
• Problem-solving: Children can exercise their creative problem-solving skills when encountering problems, such as looking for a specific visual effect to complement the character’s look.
• Artistic expression: Animation allows children to experiment with different colours, styles, and visual effects to create stunning work.
• Experimentation: Animation allows children to explore various animation methods, such as 2D, 3D, and stop motion.

2. Improved tech literacy

Animation lets kids learn a lot of animation software for kids, such as Synfig and Stop Motion Studio. They need to understand the interface and features of this software to create better art.

Children also learn how to render their work in the appropriate format for social media sharing. They will also use collaboration tools like cloud storage to keep copies of their work.

3. Teach kids important life skills

As much as animation is a beautiful work of art, it also teaches children a few lessons they will bring in their later years. The gritty work that comes with animation teaches them to be patient, hardworking, and persistent. Mistakes are part of the work, and they should learn how to correct them every single time. These necessary skills are important for survival, especially when children grow into high-functioning adults.

4. Present complex ideas through visual information

Animation can be used to show complex concepts and data in an interesting way. So instead of presenting numbers, use animated elements to break down key concepts into understandable sections. In addition to that, an animated presentation is a valuable teaching tool for easy learning retention for visual learners.

5. Teamwork with other children

Animation brings children of the same age group to work together. They can share ideas, learn from each other, and move as one team when working on a single animated content. It can be fun for your child to meet new people and form lasting relationships with some of them.

6. Keen attention to detail

Animation is meticulous work. When creating animated videos, children must focus on every movement and color to ensure everything moves perfectly. Having sharp attention to detail can train them to prioritise quality in every animation work they do. It also trains them to focus on the task at hand.

7. Confidence boost

Kids can get an overwhelming boost of confidence and self-esteem when they successfully create animated material. It can be animated characters with simple movements or a short story without dialogue. It shows that children can achieve their goals when they work hard enough.

8. Open doors for jobs

Learning animation can secure a promising future for your children. They can work in game design, television, advertising, and film.

With film, they can help the production company to create full-length animated movies, just like those released by Pixar. In television, your child can work as one of the animators for animated shows that run for multiple seasons.

However, animation works are pretty different in advertising and game design. In advertising, short animated videos and animated educational content are more common. In game design, animation is more on the character’s looks and the game’s visual elements.

No matter what field your child wants to pursue, having prior experience in animation is a huge leverage advantage for the work they’re going to do.

9. Gateway to other digital art skills

Animation can be your child’s stepping stone to learning graphic design, 3D modeling, and digital painting. These skills almost share the same discipline and setup as animation. They will learn to use the technical tools that 3D modeling and graphic design have to produce high-quality work.

10. Enjoyment

Animation learning can make enjoyable memories for kids. It allows them to explore their creativity, acquire new skills, and work with like-minded people in a rewarding way.

Enrol in an Online Animation Class for Skills Enhancement

If your child shows a keen interest in animation, it’s time to hone their skills further with an online animation class. Signing up for one exposes your child to high-quality education and teachers who motivate students to learn more.

Animation classes sharpen your child’s creativity to a whole new level. With courses tackling various kinds of animation, you can let your child choose which fits their skills and begin attending the classes.

Final Thoughts

Learning animation can kickstart your child’s future career as an animator. The technical, creative, and soft skills it gives are essential building blocks for your child to become a well-rounded professional in the animation world.

Animation can also help your children learn other forms of digital art that give them more room for self-expression, exploration, and growth. Who knows, their budding creativity and talent will shine through their animation work!

Editor’s note (from Keren): I learned about animation when I was in university, as part of my graphic design / visual communication degree. Conceptually, this has helped immensely, even as technology has evolved. What used to take me ages takes me minutes now. You can see an example of one of my hand drawn video animations on YouTube, let me know and I’ll send you a link.