Question: Which Is Better: Working for an Animation Studio, or Freelancing?
As with many industries, animation doesn't have one set career path. Considering the breadth of specialties covered by the term "animation," animators have as many different career possibilities as stars in the sky. But to take a look at the basics...is it better to sign on with a studio, or to be a freelancer?
Answer: Really, the answer depends on what you want to do. Most animation studios that hire animators full-time work on one of three things: films, television, and video games. If you want to work in entertainment media, a studio may be your best bet - but freelancing doesn't cut you out from the entertainment action, either. Many production companies will hire freelancers to work on their special effects and animations.
Freelancers may find themselves working more on the business side of things. Corporate logo animation, medical animation, product mock-ups and simulations, engineering design...the list goes on, and in some cases can span full-time in-house positions rather than contract jobs. Sometimes it's easier to have someone right there in the office than to hire a studio on a contract basis, though that isn't unheard of, either.
What this boils down to is that basically, neither is better. It really just depends on what you want to do: if you want to work for a single company, or move from project to project. Even then, it's sometimes a gray area which you'll end up doing where, and where your path will take you.
