How To Become a Voice Actor for Cartoons

Photo Credit: Eva Rinaldi via cc

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They specialise in e-learning translations and voice overs, subtitling, time-accurate script translations for television, advertising, mobile content and video game translation. Connect with them on twitter @GoLocalise

Learn

If you’re a complete newbie to the voice acting world then it is important that you learn as much as you can about the art of voice acting and the industry.

The best way to do this is to attend a voice acting class. However, voice acting is a specialised kind of performance so it may not be readily available in your local area.

If this is the case, you should try attending regular acting classes or do amateur dramatics at your local theatre. Anything that allows you to exercise your performance skills, overall, is useful.

Acting is perhaps a good first step to take because it allows you to build a character with your mind, body and voice, which all contributes towards voice acting success. Your facial expressions and physicality actually translate through your voice, so acting is a great first step to take to help you put them into practise.

On the other hand, you could also try out some voice acting classes that are available online.

Of course, it is crucial that you do your research so that you can make sure you are in contact with reputable sources.

There are also an abundance of voice over blogs online that provide a lot of useful tips and tricks for voice acting beginners, so be sure to check them out first.
Practise

Watch as many different cartoons as you can and observe their distinct vocal qualities.

How do they use pitch, pause, tone, volume, accent, inflection, enunciation etc.?

It’s good to make these observations so that you can practise them for yourself.

You can perhaps take your favourite cartoon character and note down the distinct qualities of their voice and then try them out for yourself.

If you can’t immediately find your own cartoon voice, it’s always easier to try and imitate someone else’s and then build on it. You should experiment until you find something that feels suitable to you, and then once you’ve got one voice down you can create a range of cartoon voices to play with.

Just remember to keep practising and keep observing.
Hit record

Once you feel like you’ve mastered your best cartoon voice you should try recording a demo.

If you can, it’s best to try and get a professional recording at an actual voice over recording studio.

After all, a demo is like your audition piece, so the quality has to be top notch.

A demo needs to be approximately 30-60 seconds. If you have a selection of different cartoon voices to demonstrate, then try and squeeze those in there as well.
Show time

Once you’ve got your demo sorted it’s time to put yourself out there. Try searching for some casting call boards for voice over jobs online. Once you’ve found something, you can send in your demo to the casting director. You will usually be asked to send an MP3 attachment of your demo via email. Sometimes you might even be sent a sample audition script you need to read. You can also try sending your demo to an acting agency; some have a special voice acting division. If they’re interested in you they’ll sign you on and then send your demo to a range of casting directors. If you’re lucky you might just get your big break!

This article is written by GoLocalise