Advice sort on claymation/CGI- etc job field

• Are there any persons working within the industry that does the above?
• Are there any persons that have a good sound knowledge on the above?
• Are there any products that can enhance or at least test what is yourself/required in the above?

Not for me, far to complicated for me. My niece is thinking of entering into the above field. She is taking Art at present. The problem being she is unsure of what is needed etc and the course brief for college was not that informative.

She understand that CGI is being used more now by Advertisers and the Filming/Gaming Industry. Claymation being one part of it. She also understands it is time consuming and labour intensive. That is the full extent of the knowledge she has on this field. Any help,experience, programs she could run to give her a more solid base of what is involved would be gratefully appreciated.

First: get her a subscription to Cinefex magazine, sort of a trade journal for those in the effects business which includes the areas you mentioned.

I'll check she isn't already getting this. The girl is a magazine magnet.

What part of the world is she in. Claymation is virtually only done in Great Britain now, though Russia may still be doing some. In much of the world, CGI is what's used for 3D animation. The best thing I think she can do to further her education is to inquire at the studios she likes as to what schools/programs they like. Many have this info on their websites.

One other thing - the CG industry continues to change rapidly on the technical side. One thing that doesn't change is the basic art and (classical) animation skills behind it. One is usually hired for what creative skills they bring to the machine, not for coaxing out what the machine is programmed to do automatically. A good classical animation book or two (like Preston Blair's, Richard Williams, or "the Illusion of Life") would introduce her to this aspect of the art-form.