The form of art that will be discussed in this essay is known as voice acting. Voice acting is a performing art because it requires one to talk and become a character for the entertainment of others. It is very similar to acting except one does not see the actor or actress because they are usually the voice of animated characters, one does get the occasional voice actor or actress who does a voice over for a series or movie spoken in a different language to the language/s of other places. Voice actors and actress make anywhere from twenty dollars to a couple hundred dollars per a hour.
No formal education is required to become a voice actor or actress though it is recommended that one takes a course in voice acting, otherwise one can develop the skill by reading texts out loud, recording one's voice, practicing the utilization of the diaphragm, doing vocal exercises, imitating the voices of famous actors or fictional characters, improvise while acting, taking vocal and acting lessons/classes or finding a coach to help you. Good auditioning skills as well as vocal versatility are good assets to have. One can study for many years to become a voice actor or actress but one could also only study for a very short period of time. Voice acting is not a career that has a set amount of time that one needs to study in order to be successful. One could have only study for a week and they could possibly be just as successful as someone who has studied for years, as long as the know the basic techniques and how to apply them. It is good to have strong networking or connections if one hopes to be successful in this career path. One must also know how to properly utilize one's voice because voice acting is not just about using one's voice, a lot of technique as well as the ability to become the character/s one is voicing is what truly makes the craft so amazing. If one is able to do this they are almost guaranteed a successful career.
An example of a successful voice actress would be Rie Kugimiya who was born on The 30th of May 1979. She was born in Osaka, Japan. She is both a successful voice actress and a singer who is affiliated with I'm Enterprise. She has had an active career for two decades (from 1998 to present day). During this time she has voiced characters in one hundred and ninety-one anime (sometimes voicing more then one character in the same series), thirty-five films (once again voicing more than one character in some of the films), fourteen drama cds (voicing two characters in Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu), one hundred and six video games (voicing up to three characters in certain video games), twelve voice overs (dubbing) (this time voicing only one character except Puti Puti Petit Moe where she voiced multiple characters) and two tokusatsus. She has voiced both female and male characters. Her voicing of certain lead characters in anime has lead to her gaining the nickname Queen of Tsundere. On top of voice acting she has managed to also make a name for herself in the music industry. She has released one album and eight singles. In the first Seiyu Awards she was nominated for both Best Actress in Leading Role and Best Actress in Supporting Role. In the second Seiyu Awards she shared the title of Best Actress in Supporting Role with Mitsuki Saiga and went on to win the title of Best Actress in the third Seiyu Awards.
This career path is suitable for those who want to do something related to acting but would prefer not to be seen in the actual film/production. It is also perfect for those who would like to pursue a career in anime/manga but are not particularly skilled in art or story writing. One of the biggest achievements one could receive would be to become world renowned but it will all mean nothing if one does not enjoy themselves while pursuing this career.
