ANIMATION studio, GSW has landed a contract that will see the local firm produce 52 episodes for a globally distributed cartoon series.

The company, which will undertake animation and background design under the 13-month contract, aims to increase its compliment of animators from 12 to 75 by next March, when work begins.

The name of the cartoon remains undisclosed pending an announcement by overseas partners, but the “international exposure and calibre of the co-production partners will officially put Jamaica on the map”, according to Wayne Sinclair, a director of GSW.

GSW, which was launched last September, represents one of few local animation studios had previously secured a contract to animate Disney Junior France kids show Quiz Time for Studio Red Frog in France.

Sinclair estimates that there are currently 50 trained animators working in Jamaica, which means that additional staff will mostly have to come through training of new animators that will lead to the doubling of local capacity for creating animation.

Currently an army of animators are being trained by Carimac at the Univeristy of West Indies (UWI), where GSW expects to source the bulk of its additional production staff.

“We executed a memorandum of understanding with GSW to arrange and to participate with the training of animators with the provision for them to consider hiring them at the completion of the course,” said Hopeton Dunn, Carimac Director and Professor of Communications Policy and Digital Media.

The six-month training course began in August at both the Kingston and Montego Bay UWI campuses and has 45 students enrolled, while lecturers were drawn from GSW, Carimac and support from overseas experts.

Earlier this year an animation festival entitled Kingstoon helped to galvanise the sector. It was organised by the Government in partnership with the World Bank, the Canadian High Commission, and JAMPRO.

The two-day event was designed to provide a platform for showcasing Jamaican and Caribbean talent and identifying key policy decisions needed to support the animation industry in Jamaica.

Jampro previously indicated that it views animation as a growth area for the creative industries, which also includes film, photography and music.

In 2012 Jampro facilitated expenditure of $1.16 billion for the creative industry sector, up from $313 million in 2011, according to data from the latest Economic and Social Survey published by the Planning Institute of Jamaica. Jamaica’s competitive advantage includes its language, talent pool, and close geographical proximity to Hollywood in the USA.

The global animation industry was valued at US$222.8 billion in 2012, with much of the animation-outsourcing jobs going to countries like India, South Korea, and the Philippines, according to a Jampro release.