Supplies needed to do Animation

First off you need to at least try hand-drawn animation because a lot of studies won't hire you if you can draw traditionally. Next task you will also need to know the basics of 3-D animation as it is the main way to animate now.

1. Light board

You will need a light board to trace your artwork, so you are more consistent. You can creative and make your own to save money. I know one student put a light under a glass table and just kept his papers in place with tape which worked well.

There is just for 2-D animators, I've seen some as low as 44 dollars and some as high as 200 dollars. If you don't have a big budget feel free to get creative, you don't really need to show anyone your workspace as they will only care about your artwork.


2. Portable Hard drive


Good for storing scanned artwork, storyboards, and 3-D based projects. 3-D animation based projects will take up a lot of memory. Most end up having several GBs, so a normal flash drive might not be beneficial to you. These tend to last later but you should back up everything on some kind of cloud based software.





3. Sketchbook

This should be a given, everyone can benefit from having a sketchbook. It's best to carry an appropriately sized one because you will most likely carry it with you everywhere. It's best to get a spiral one as it is easier tear the paper out.



     
 4. Wacom Tablet 

Perfect for digitally 2-D and 3-D animation. These might be expensive but they are worth it. They are an industry standard, you will need to get used to them if you choose a digital approach.

5. Various Software


You'll need programs like Maya, 3D Studio Max, Cinema4D, and many others. You should, at least, try some of them and find the best one for you. It's also good to try them all because you don't know which one will be standard at the place you work at.

6. Camera


A camera is perfect for taking reference photos, the T3i's would be the best buy. They are cheaper but they are easy to use and popular for photography majors. You can get any kind you like as long as its easy to transfer the photos to a computer.

7. Scanner

You'll need to scan in sketches, doodles, storyboards, etc. You might want to look into buying a larger scanner but a normally sized one is fine. You will need to buy a good quality scanner as you will use it a lot.