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re you passionate about animation? Do you want to make your success in the competitive world of animation independently? With two BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards in 2010, you might want to learn from London-based animator Tom Box.

Tom Box (his real name) is a Bournemouth University graduate who made his career as an independent animator after he finished studying animation 11 years ago.

“After graduating we [Box and a few classmates] set up Blue Zoo Animation. We borrowed some money from a friend and luckily our first client was the BBC. By chance they came to our university’s graduate show and they asked us to make some animations for their new [children] channel.”

Tom and friends worked on animated shorts for the BBC for the first two years. They gradually grew by receiving contracts from Disney, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, as well as multi-national companies and the British government.

Animation is a big heritage in the UK as the world’s first commercial animation was created there in 1899. Although Tom found it tricky initially, entering the entrepreneurship world without work experience and business contacts, passion and a lot of hard work saved him.

“We wanted to make our own production, be our own bosses, and we had such a great passion for making animation. We never considered stopping and working for someone else.”

The key is to prepare a professional show reel, even if you are a rookie. Therefore, you need to study a little bit about cinematography, as high quality animation is directed and detailed, and also has good lighting and photography.

Getting it seen by as many people as possible is the next challenge. This step is important, as it could be an opportunity for big companies to see it. Tom also emphasized making unique and crazy characters that had never been done before, so that they would stand out from the competition.

Moreover, do not undervalue your own work. Internationally, the quality of animation is in proportion with the price. The pricing standard for high quality animation ranges from US$3,000 to 10,000 per minute.

Finally, you have to cope with the latest trends too. Aside from meticulous animation, 3D technology is changing constantly.

The good news is that to produce animation with the latest techniques requires only a PC and the know-how. Tom believes that in terms of technology, Indonesia does not have a reason to worry about getting left behind.

Tom Box was in Jakarta to attend the British Council’s International Young Creative Entrepreneur (IYCE) Awarding Night on July 6.