How to become a cartoonist?

Question

Design

Good day to all!
I'm more and more fascinated by technology in animation. Every year the drawing and quality of cartoons is getting better and better. Recent cartoons such as "City of Heroes" and "Penguins of Madagascar" are simply amazing! I am very interested in this topic and therefore decided to make such a global, or something, question.
How to become a good cartoonist? What is the best place to start? It is clear that more practice in drawing is needed, but it is also interesting what is used for 3D animation, where and how to start correctly.

Answer 1

This is a very broad question. There are different directions and techniques, and not all of them involve practice in drawing. If we are talking about classic 2D animation or matte painting and mapping, then yes. Also, an experienced hand, if I may say so, comes in handy when working with ZBrush. Well, to work with 3D packages, classical drawing may not be needed at all. Regarding your examples, in some “penguins”, if anything is hand-drawn, it is the textures of some objects.
Start by learning and choosing software. The favorites are 3DSMax, Maya and Cinema 4D. Each has its own +\- and niche. There are others, of course. ZBrush yet, but it's on its own. My choice, if anything, Cinema 4D.
Further, after choosing software, from books or lessons on the Internet for the selected editor, you should study the following areas:
Modeling is the foundation of the basics. Actually, the creation of everything that appears in the scene.
Texturing - coloring, if rough. This is where the head is needed.
Light - any information on the behavior of light is suitable, at least scientific, at least for photographers.
Cameras - placement and settings of cameras on the principles of photography and cameramen.
Rendering is the output of all this into the final picture, with shadows, reflections, and so on.
In this place, you can consider yourself a photographer. You will be able to create any scene, but static - like a photo. Next animation.
Rigging is the creation of bones or points that can be used to animate objects.
Animation is clear. You need to know anatomy, the physical properties of objects, and so on.
Scripting - settings for complex effects, such as the behavior of the ocean or hordes of evil spirits.
Editing and post-production - mixing everything, overlaying sound, etc.
Usually, all this is divided by specialization into a bunch of people. There are those who work alone, but they usually take a five-minute high-quality video for a year , on average. But here the complexity of the scenes also depends on the hardware. I used to have 5 seconds of animation rendered for several days. I think it’s enough for an introduction and I threw words for Google. In general, go to www.render.ru Good luck!