CHENNAI: The Indian animation industry is set for an exponential growth. India has become a preferred destination for outsourcing various international animation and gaming projects. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) estimates that this industry will touch the $1 billion mark in 2010. Though there are many players in this sector, quality is the cause for concern, says Uma Karthikeyan, Chief Executive Officer, Pixel Academix.

To tap this market and produce quality animators, Pixel Academix, a new animation academy venture of Sanra Software, has decided to set up its own training centres in Chennai and Bangalore by this month end, says Ms. Karthikeyan in an informal chat.

She said Pixel Academix would provide career-oriented education in animation, gaming and visual effects, which saw a growing demand both within the country and abroad. With around 15,000 professionals working across 350-odd animation studios in India, another three lakh professionals would be on demand in the next couple of years, she added.

Ms. Karthikeyan said initially the company would focus on the southern region by setting up four centres at a cost of Rs. 15 crore in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderebad and one in Kerala. By the year-end, it would have 7-8 centres across all metros. Apart from these, the company planned to set up centres on a franchisee model. By the year-end it would have 25 such centres in Tier-II cities of the South.

The fee would range from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 2 lakh, she added. The curriculum also included soft skill courses on effective communications, presentation and project planning for which the company had tied-up with Paradigm Shift, a knowledge consulting company.