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	Media Type:	Website
	Website URL:	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCXZ9vzjFRU
	Website Title:	Gigniks: Creature Effects Artist
	Description:	Interview with a creature effects artist WHAT YOU DO: Make animals and other creatures come to life on movie and TV screens using make-up, props, and animatronics to mimic realistic movement. EDUCATION: No degree necessary, but you could definitely benefit from a taking classes in film, art, animation, and mechanics. What's far more important in this industry is on-the-job experience - a lot of the most valuable techniques are passed down within shops, not in schools, so you'll never learn them until you find more experienced industry professionals to help you out. USEFUL SKILLS: Creativity, artistic ability, communication skills, and the ability to work under pressure. You'll only have a few days to make each project perfect, so you have to be able to think outside the box and work with your team to figure out the best way to build it. How to get in: Visit various visual effects shops and offer to help them out with whatever project they're working on. There's a pretty good chance they'll let you, especially if they're working on a project with a tight deadline. CAREER PATH: Start out helping shops out a project at a time. If you prove that you're hardworking enough, one of them will probably take you on as a regular worker. At first, you might just help out with one small aspect of the creature creating - painting, sculpting, or mechanics, for example - but as time goes on, you'll learn skills from more experienced workers, too. Once you understand the whole process, you may want to open a shop of your own. PAYBACK: Median annual salary: $83,730 in California. DOWNSIDES: Long hours, tight deadlines, physically demanding. NETWORKING: The best way to network is to look for creature effects workshops in your area and go in to meet real people on the job.
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	Categories:	02.05.09 Special Visual Effects 02.06 Television and Video

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