What does it mean to “make it” as an animator? Maybe you’re asking this question if your child has a huge interest in cartoons and is showing promise in their drawings. Over my last 30 years as an animator, I’ve realized that what was true for me when I wanted to “make it” as an animator in the 90s isn’t true anymore.

Each year as the summer closes and a new school year begins, I tend to see a predictable trend emerge. All of my animation students and their parents start thinking about the same exact thing -- college. They wonder, “Where should I go to college?” or “Should I go to college at all?” and, “Can I work in animation and not live in California?”

My name is Chad Stewart and after 30 years of working as a professional animator, I now teach students ages 11-18 how to animate. When my students ask what it’s like to become an animator, I like to tell them a little story...

If you’re reading this, my guess is that you’ve discovered that your child has a lot of creative and artistic potential, but you don’t know what that means. You probably know by now that it’s possible to make money as a creative, but you just don’t know exactly how to set your child up for success. Even as a career animator, I get it. Other, “traditional” careers are easier to predict. If your child wanted to be a lawyer or a doctor, for instance, you know there’s only one way in, through very specialized higher education.