Landscaping was, at one point, an entirely hands-on job, but the planning and preliminary stages are quickly migrating more into the digital realm. Landscape plans for acres of land can be modeled down to minute detail in 3D programs, even emulating the real altitudes and slopes of the existing tracts of land; these can then be used to generate blueprints and timelines for development and construction.
Landscaping can also cross over into architectural animation when working on outdoor designs like amusement parks, kiosks, and sports arenas, among others. Of course, architectural animation on its own is a very useful skill to learn; designers who can create 3D models of buildings from blueprints are nearly indispensable when it comes to planning construction. Details such as measurements, materials, and placements of beams, supports, windows, and other design elements can all be worked out in a three-dimensional environment, and can help to predict any potential pitfalls as well as estimate the materails required for the project.
When that animation is combined with programmed simulations of physics and natural forces, architectural animators can even help to demonstrate how a prospective building's materials might hold up or cave when under stress from various forces, as well as predict how much tension and weight supports can handle. These sort of predictions and test simulations can end up saving lives.
Interior designers can use 3D animating skills to demonstrate potential room designs, furnishings, and color combinations. Wallpaper swatches can be tiled, curtain colors and textures changed, furniture moved, without even straining a muscle. Lights can be changed, windows adjusted....the possibilities are endless.
Architecture, landscaping, and interior design are a far cry from the classic uses for animation skills, but are still very rewarding careers that you might find far more suited to your tastes than traditional animation. The base skill sets aren't much different; it's only how you apply them that dictates the career.
