The magical world where brushstrokes and mouse clicks bring to life the most inanimate of objects was inhabited by enthusiasts and experts on Saturday morning.

A packed Kala Mandir auditorium played host to veterans from animation companies at Let?s Talk Animation, an open-house seminar. ?We are continuing our animation awareness through this interaction with animation houses and potential recruiters,? said Srimati Mukherjee of Toonz Webel Academy, organiser of the seminar.

The three companies? Crest Animation, Rhythm & Hues and Toonz Animation ? have all taken in students from the academy (picture above shows the work of a student), while Toonz partnered Webel in setting up the institution.

As the next big areas in animation, Anish Mulani, production head of the Mumbai-based Crest Animation, highlighted mobile platform and gaming. ?Animated characters like Crazy Frog will soon be popular in India. The mobile phone will then communicate with you through an animated character,? Mulani said. ?Gaming is the biggest business globally, but in India we are lagging behind both as consumers and providers. We can develop our own games for the local market.?

But the training offered at animation schools is still ?very basic?, felt Mulani.

Hari Varma, director (operations) of Toonz Animation, also felt that the syllabus should be geared to create production-ready people, since there?s a ?talent versus skill balance? that production houses need to maintain.

Sesha Prasad, production co-ordinator of Rhythm & Hues, touched upon the various aspects and departments of animation. The experts also warned that only those with a genuine passion for animation should opt for it as a career and not those lured just by the colour of money.

Besides the interactions, fun quizzes on animation also got the tiny ones in the audience going. Sample: when Walt Disney was creating Mickey Mouse, who did he try to base the character on, for help on mannerisms? Answer: Charlie Chaplin.