by Jesh Krishnamurthy

Jesh Krishnamurthy Click here to read a short bio

I recently came across Animation 'xpress as a friend in the business passed me the link to the newsletter. This friend works at Universal Studios and knowing that I am Indian thought that it would be of particular interest to me. And he was right. I have been away from India for 11 years working in visual effects and animation on various projects for the Hollywood market. It has been a time of tremendous growth, challenge and discovery through a medium I grew to love when I was in my late teens and early twenties.

My "big" break in animation took place in a humble garage in south Delhi where I did some work on architectural walk through's and also at another equally humble and yet enterprising basement where I started doing computer graphics on an old beat up Amiga. What followed was an uncontrollable series of events that brought me to the forefront of the effects and animation industry in the west.

A few years ago, I started hearing about the inroads the Indian animation industry were making. With the growth of the sector in China & Korea I guess it was a natural progression for India to stake it's claim on this versatile and ever growing medium. I try my best to keep up with what's going on back "home" and keep reading in various papers about how animation is the new IT and how animators and digital artists can write their ticket to the moon and back. I also read about multi million dollar predictions for the next few years and how that will continue to grow exponentially.

I think this is fantastic news. It is another way for India to grow on a global scale and showcase it's talent worldwide. The contracts can be lucrative and hugely attractive. Whether it be animated series work or full on CG effects for feature films the companies in India seem keen and eager to take them on. On a recent visit I had the privilege of seeing some of the top studios in India and I was quite amazed by the investment made in pure infrastructure by many of these companies. A lot of these studios would rival places in the west known for their quality and artistic vision.

This was quite heart warming and a big eye-opener and everywhere I went outsourcing animation was the buzz word. It seems that so many companies believe they are so close to achieving digital paradise and yet to me a few seem so far.

So what is the missing piece?

CG Animation and effects is an extremely interesting field. And like most other fields where people rely on "tools" to do their jobs, infrastructure only counts for 30-50 percent of the investment. A medical school cannot teach a surgeon deftness of hand. And with the same token a pentium box with a gig of ram cannot make an animator.

Animators are a cursed breed. We have a hard time sipping a fresh cup of coffee as we are too busy looking at the froth as it dances around. The whole time our mind wondering, how would I achieve this? How would I shade it? How would I light it? And it goes on and on. We visit zoo's to study animals, go to science museums to see displays of natural phenomenon or we just sit by the river watching the water lap up against the banks. Recently I was involved in a project where we had to create a CG character in a live action environment. Conversations with my friends and CO workers became pointless as I would stop hearing anything and just look at the nuances of how skin moved over bone and muscle or how the human eye glints under the right conditions. So while you cannot take your computer with a ton of software home with you, the art form exists in your head and that is where you do your work, in the deepest core of your creativity.

So it is this mad breed of humans suffering from OCD and every known social disorder that really makes a studio special - or not. And to me, this is what the studios in India need to find if they are to play with the big boys. Depending on your especially the requirement is huge. The skills range from art directors, concept artists to traditional animators, 3D animators, modellers, riggers, groomers, match movers, texture artists and lighters. And these are just the non technical people. Along with these come an army of technical people like shader writers, tool developers, programmers and technical directors who do nothing but facilitate the artists and also do the R&D required on effects sequences.

No studio worth it's salt uses only packages bought off the shelf. They code and create numerous tools so that they can achieve the results they want. In most cases studios have a huge array of custom tools that just use a software package as an interface which runs their proprietary tools. This is what makes them special and stand out in an industry that if full of fierce competition and constant evolution.

While I would not expect most studios in India to have a wealth of experience it would be extremely prudent to nurture their talent and allow them to grow and attain their full potential. As the industry evolves and starts to take on more and more complex projects this talent will be more than capable of taking on the biggest possible jobs and giving anyone a run for their money. Nurturing talent and preventing mass exodus is a huge topic that is not within the scope of this piece, but it is a problem faced by many companies the world over.

If the companies in India make a concerted effort to grow at a steady pace, constantly keeping up with technology and the research going on and at the same time nurture their talent they will prosper into world giants capable of being tigers at home and abroad. While this requires tremendous vision and perseverance it is something that is within reach.

The pie is there for the taking. Whether we decide to attack it with a knife and fork , or just try and stuff it into the mouth (with most of it falling by the wayside) remains to be seen.