There are really two parts to becoming an animator. For lack of a more elegant way to put it, there's the computer part and the art part.
The computer part is fairly easy to learn: there is a lot of software to get used to, but this mostly requires patience and willingness to experiment. The usual standard for professional animators is Autodesk Maya, which you can download for free if you're a student (An on-going professional license is pretty expensive -- most of the times those are sold directly to studios rather than to individuals.). There several free or low-cost competing products that work on the same basic principles, for example Source Filmmaker, Hash Animation Master, and Blender -- there are of course many differences in detail but all of these work use the same basic concepts. There are pretty good online resources for all of them, but nothing is as important as time: it takes at least six months to really get used to running these programs (they are more complex than, for example, Photoshop).
The artistic side of animation is harder and more demanding: in addition to knowing how to run the software, you need traditional animation skills: a good sense of timing, an eye for strong poses, and an actor's ability to find the right psychological details. Even though the technology is very different, many animators still refer back to The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, two of Disney's "Nine Old Men". Another really excellent introduction to the craft is The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams, who did Roger Rabbit. The basic mechanics -- how to do a walk cycle or how to exaggerate motions for effect -- are covered in many books but these two are the real classics in the field.
Between the free software and the excellent reference material online -- as well as the many online communities (such as The 11 Second club) there are good opportunities to teach yourself at little or no cost. That is, however, a very demanding route that takes a lot of discipline. Animation is a very competitive field, so most new animators go to special schools to learn both animation fundamentals and how to manage the computer side. Some of these studies are at traditional 4-year colleges, some at art schools, and many are at smaller for-profit schools such as the The Art Institutes or Full Sail University. I usually recommend a traditional college of the latter, since animation is a very tough business and you don't want to discover that you're not very good after spending a lot of money on a degree with only one use; but some of those programs are good: if you go that route you should be a very, very careful shopper (in particular, find out how many former students have gotten work, and where!) One excellent online alternative is Animation Mentor, originally founded by Pixar animators and generally regarded as the best online animation school.
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