What does a technical animator do?
Technical animators make it easier for great animation to happen. There are a lot of technical challenges in creating animation for games. Where movements are complex, for example, they can slow a game down. Or they can take so long to create that the game becomes too expensive to make. Technical animators say: “How can we solve those problems?” By acting as a bridge between the programmers and the animation team, they work out how the tools and game engine can be developed to overcome the challenges.
What’s a technical animator good at?
- Supporting others: serve the needs of the animators by ensuring they have the tools they need to do their jobs.
- Problem-solving: spot potential animation problems, research new technologies, have conversations and find solutions.
- Programming: diagnose software problems and understand games engines well enough to develop them so they work more effectively.
- Communication: listen to the animators and programmers, share knowledge and write technical documents.
- Animation: be skilled in creating animation. Technical animators can't provide support or tools unless they understand how animation is made.
