A moment from Finding Nemo. The animation industry, local and global, needs skilled workers urgently, with the growing popularity of cartoons

The supply of skilled workers in the Indian animation industry is already far less than the demand. And the situation can only worsen in the coming years, warn pundits, if measures are not taken immediately.

In the recent past, Calcutta has seen several efforts, by both the government and private bodies, to address the issue. Now, as the first batch of graduates from the government-backed Webel Toonz Academy gears up to find its feet in the animation industry, a new training institute is setting up shop.

Ready To Go (RTG) Animate, coming up on Darga Road, will offer one-year and two-year diploma courses in 2-D and 3-D animation. ?According to a recent Ernst & Young report, the current requirement for skilled animators in the country is 10,000, whereas we have only 3,000,? says Arjun Jindal, managing partner of the institute and CEO of Ready To Go, a study-abroad magazine.

The classes for the first batch with 150 students at the 8,000-sq-ft institute will commence from September 15. Infrastructure and faculty are being put in place. In Year One, students will be taught 2-D animation, with a focus on ?live drawing and proportions of the human body?. The second year will be reserved for 3-D animation, emphasising on aspects like broadcast graphics (in demand for the TV boom), special effects and gaming.

Students will be selected through an entrance examination. ?There?s no age bar and aspirants need to have passed 10+2, but they must have a passion for creativity,? Jindal says. The course fee is Rs 1.7 lakh for the first year and Rs 2 lakh for the second. Investment of ?around Rs 4 crore? has been made, adds Jindal.

As far as placement is concerned, the ?best of the lot? will be handpicked by the faculty and sent for internship in studios in Los Angeles. ?We will also absorb some of them in our own production facility,? offers Jindal. Full-time faculty includes animators like Vincent Edwards, Dennis Deegan and Satya Murthy, who have worked in Hollywood blockbusters such as Lord of the Rings, Men in Black and The Iron Giant. There are plans to bring in guest lecturers from DreamWorks and Disney.

RTG Animate also plans to open centres in Delhi and Bangalore next year.