Despite AI taking over, demand for animation talent holds on to its sheen

Industry experts say there is a dearth of good animation schools in the country.

From hiring a professional animator for anywhere from days to weeks to make 30 seconds of animated video to generating the same via artificial intelligence (AI) software within just three minutes is a testament to the evolving landscape of the animation industry.

The general public doesn't need to find and choose the brick-and-mortar needed for animation videos. Neither do they need to put effort into putting everything together. AI makes it simple. Just submit the prompt and the product is delivered before you even finish your muffin!

Recently, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the creator of the famous animation studio DreamWorks, said that the use of generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI will lead to a 90 percent reduction in the expenses associated with producing animated films. “In the good old days, you might need 500 artists and years to make a world-class animated movie. I don’t think it will take 10 percent of that three years from now,” he said.

But not all is gloomy! As AI revolutionises the animation industry, India’s talent landscape is evolving. AI automates routine tasks, demanding specialised skills like motion capture and animation programming. But the actual visualisation still needs supervision, industry experts say, though the cost of doing so will surely go down.

Checking the talent landscape

The Indian animation industry currently has an active and accessible talent pool of a little over 60,000 with at least a year’s experience, according to data put together for Moneycontrol by specialist staffing company Xpheno.

The talent pool here refers to people with core skills such as animation design, user research, interaction design, 3D modelling/CGI, editing/writing, prototyping, UX wireframes storyboarding, and graphic design. Nevertheless, the talent pool has registered relatively low churn over the year with falling hiring action in the market.

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Only 8 percent of the active talent pool in the animation industry has seen one or more job switches over the last 12 months. This is a nearly 50 percent drop in talent churn, compared to typical volumes in normal market conditions. However, the silver lining is that the animation industry's active talent pool has doubled over the last 10 years.

“Growth has been driven by both domestic and international consumption of animation talent, skillsets, and tool capabilities. India has also increased its animated content IPs while servicing international content houses that produce their IPs,” Kamal Karanth, co-founder of Xpheno, told Moneycontrol.

The growth in online gaming, mobile and augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) use cases along with the rise in OTT content channels has driven the growth of animation talent in India over the decade, he added.

Impact of AI

Though the talent remains in demand, industry experts say the growth trajectory varies for specific roles based on industry trends, technological advancements, and shifts in content consumption patterns

According to Sekhar Garisa, CEO of jobs portal foundit, AI has streamlined certain aspects of animation production, enabling faster rendering, character rigging, and even predictive analytics to enhance workflow efficiency. This has affected the demand for certain repetitive tasks within animation production. For instance, AI-driven software can assist in in-betweening—the process of adding images between two keyframes—or generating background elements.

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“There's a growing need for professionals skilled in both animation and AI technologies. These specialists develop AI algorithms, tools, or pipelines specific to the animation industry, addressing the demand for innovative solutions,” Garisasaid.

While AI aids in procedural tasks, he said creative storytelling, character development, and emotional depth in animations are domains where human creativity remains irreplaceable.

This sustains the demand for skilled animators, writers and storytellers. However, the demand for animators might shift toward those who can collaborate effectively with AI tools, leveraging their capabilities to enhance creativity rather than replace it.

Checking the supply side

Industry experts say there is a dearth of good animation schools in the country. “One education aggregator puts the number at 1,285 colleges. This does explain the reason for the average age of employees in the sector being 23 to 25 years and most of them learning on the job,” said Dipta Joshi, principal of Lexicon Institute of Media and Animation.

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While it has already been established that animation and computer graphics are becoming a staple across all fields even within the broader spectrums of animation, visual effects, and gaming, there is scope for specialised work.

For instance, Joshi said SS Rajamouli’s movie RRR had nearly 2,800 visual effects (VFX) shots, and in most parts of the movie, a single frame would have needed three or more artists working on it. Specialised artists are working on aspects like Rigging, Roto, Paint, Matchmove, Asset Creation, Texturing, Surfacing, and Compositing, all of which may figure in a single scene, too.

“In fact, unlike earlier when due to limited technology visual graphics was considered a post-production job, VFX and graphics are now taken into consideration even at both the pre-production (scripting) and production (while shooting) stage,” she added.

Despite AI's influence, institutes say maintaining artistic quality remains essential.

“Animators need to adapt to AI-related skills, and studios can experiment with diverse styles,” said Harshit Surya, Faculty of Animation & Game Design at World University of Design, Sonipat.

Impact on industry

Platforms like Upwork and Fiverr have created a global marketplace for animation professionals, enabling them to showcase their skills and collaborate with clients worldwide.

Besides, gaming firms like Gamezop are continually scouting for skilled talent in animation. According to Abhimanyu Singh, head of game production, Gamezop, India's position as an outsourcing hub, coupled with a large pool of creative professionals, has played a crucial role in meeting this demand.

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However, he does recognise the influence of AI on the demand for animation talent but as a complementary force rather than a replacing one.

“Affordable animation services are levelling the playing field, enabling smaller movie studios with limited budgets to compete with larger production houses in terms of output quality. A skilled storyteller can now effectively bring their narratives to life,” Singh said.

However, there's a downside to this—discoverability.

Similar to other content, Singh believes the decreasing barrier for entry will allow an influx of individuals with minimal experience to flood the space with a higher quantity of lower-quality content.

“Nevertheless, these AI-assisted and cost-effective studios will seek to attract existing and budding animation talents to manage the increasing workload,” he added.