Animation colleges

[boundless]

plymouth college of art

hahaha - out of nowhere, we're back on topic.

Okay I'll contribute. For a portfolio, you want around 15 pieces of art. The majority should be life/observation drawings. A few can be drawn in your own style, but they want to see if you can think in 3D and translate the 3D world onto a 2D sheet of paper. So maybe 10 life drawings and then some character designs, finished illustrations, photos of pottery or sculpture you made, photography, and anything else you can think of. You can mix up your portfolio with photos, drawings, and sculpture because you're applying to an art school. You can still stick to drawing, but don't worry about adding other stuff. Their job is to help you build a professional portfolio, so don't worry too much about it for now.

As for schools, go to collegeboard.com, click on students, and do a college search. I went to MCAD (minneapolis, MN) for a little while, but they didn't teach me anything about animation I didn't already learn on my own. I did benefit from the foundation classes though. Some schools require you to take basic drawing, media, and writing classes. They really do help you improve. The animation classes do to, if you haven't already learned on your own.

[tack]

I want to go to Ringling as well, but im over 2 years away from that haha. Good luck:)

[Evilagram]

To be a bit more specific, I live in new england (northeast america). Plymouth is a bit out of my range.

Heavily interested in 2d animation, obviously. I'm currently doing deep anatomical studies in my sketchbooks, in addition to folds in cloth, which have always been tough for me.

I NEED to go to a college. Bear with me on this need for a second. I understand that an independent study may be the best option in terms of finances, and that I can get all the information here and online that I can at a university, thanks to the internet and other resources. The reason I need to go to a college is for the atmosphere, the setting. I can't focus independently. I won't be able to work and improve enough on my own for it to be worth a damn, so I figure that I'll go to a college so I can be in an environment where I can focus on what needs to be done, and I figure that as long as I'm spending the money to go to a college that I ought to be going to one where I'll learn something.

As for sketches, the amazing thing is, this year for absolutely no reason I just randomly decided, "What the hell, I'm going to sketch everything in pen!", so the earlier advice about pen sketches is an incredible reassurance on that decision.

I also definitely agree with the passing reference to visualizing objects in 3d. I find that the ability to render simple 3 dimensional shapes as outlines in my head is the most important skill to have as an artist and animator, because all complex objects are composed of simpler ones, and once you understand how those move and rotate, you can draw and animate anything.


If anyone has any other portfolio tips, add 'em. I'm sketching in pen (mostly either type 2 or 1 on the chart shown before). How would a feature length (5 minutes, har har) animation look in a portfolio, at like, decent/high quality?

[Anghenfil]

Lots of good advice in this thread!  I'm so proud of you all.

Here's the straight dope:  All the good animation schools are expensive right now.  It doesn't mean they have to be, but the schools that consistently produce high-quality professionals are really pricey.  This is not a cheap major.

I'd caution against Digipen.  I haven't heard good things about them as of late.  Ignore the marketing and focus on the student work that comes out of the school when making a choice.  Look at the staff and pick out ones that have worked on projects you admire.

My personal short list of the good North American schools:

-Vancouver Film School
-California Institute of the Arts
-Savannah College of the Arts
-Ringling
-Sheridan

I'll go ahead and recommend Animation Mentor as well, but it's oriented mostly towards 3D, and they are very focused on the animation aspect.  You won't get as much exposure to the other parts of filmmaking, like storyboarding, layouts, design, and suchd.

I want to say this too, in the words of Ratatouille:  Not everyone can be an artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.  There is no formula school for success.

As far as the portfolio goes, I think the two most important things are gestures and long anatomical studies.  Figure out where they are offering nude figure drawing in your area (they'll often advertise in small art galleries, art supply stores, and community colleges with art classes).  Go at least once per week, twice if you can, and hammer out some good longer drawings of the human figure.  As far as gestures go, go where people are - basket ball courts, gyms, sports arenas, malls, anywhere where people are moving around.  Watch people move, take a mental snapshot, and that feeling of energy down on paper.  If you can handle those two areas, then you're solid.

How would a feature length (5 minutes, har har) animation look in a portfolio, at like, decent/high quality?

It would look amazing, but to be quite frank, 5 minutes of high-quality animation is an enormous body of work.  Even the very best and prolific Disney animators don't do beyond 2-3 minutes of completed feature-quality animation per year, working as a full time job.  Remember, you're applying to college to learn how to animate, they're not expecting you to know how before you even get there!  If you want to demonstrate your animation skill, pick simple characters and a simple situation, and keep it short (20-30 seconds max).

[Evilagram]

Lots of good advice in this thread!  I'm so proud of you all.

Here's the straight dope:  All the good animation schools are expensive right now.  It doesn't mean they have to be, but the schools that consistently produce high-quality professionals are really pricey.  This is not a cheap major.

I'd caution against Digipen.  I haven't heard good things about them as of late.  Ignore the marketing and focus on the student work that comes out of the school when making a choice.  Look at the staff and pick out ones that have worked on projects you admire.

Of course. Digipen is currently in a high tier position on my little list (I have it organized like a fighting game tier list, it's just below "god tier"). I might bump it down slightly. Anyway, I know better than to fall for glitz. I'm looking for above all to learn, and trying to judge by a university's actual capacity to teach, not their prestigious status. I've been scouring youtube and placing the universities that produce good animation works higher on my list. So far the best looking from animations online are CalArt, which is way out of my range, and MassArt, which is very close to my current location. The only one on my list that's ranked high independent of the work I've seen from them is Ringling. On that note, does anyone know a good way to see the animation work of students from these universities? Apart from visiting the universities themselves that is. I can't exactly fly everywhere in the country to see an hour's worth of animation work.

My personal short list of the good North American schools:

-Vancouver Film School
-California Institute of the Arts
-Savannah College of the Arts
-Ringling
-Sheridan

I'll go ahead and recommend Animation Mentor as well, but it's oriented mostly towards 3D, and they are very focused on the animation aspect.  You won't get as much exposure to the other parts of filmmaking, like storyboarding, layouts, design, and suchd.

I've heard of Savannah, but only briefly. Ringling is popping up everywhere. I've met some students from CalArt online, and seen some cool stuff from them. Can't say I've heard of either Sheridan or Vancouver, but the latter rings a faint bell in my memory. I'll tack them on and see what information I can get.

I want to say this too, in the words of Ratatouille:  Not everyone can be an artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.  There is no formula school for success.

As far as the portfolio goes, I think the two most important things are gestures and long anatomical studies.  Figure out where they are offering nude figure drawing in your area (they'll often advertise in small art galleries, art supply stores, and community colleges with art classes).  Go at least once per week, twice if you can, and hammer out some good longer drawings of the human figure.  As far as gestures go, go where people are - basket ball courts, gyms, sports arenas, malls, anywhere where people are moving around.  Watch people move, take a mental snapshot, and that feeling of energy down on paper.  If you can handle those two areas, then you're solid.

I'm not expecting a formula school for success at all. I'm looking for an environment where I can focus and learn as much as I can. Independent studies are the best plan for success, but I'm not the type of person who can work and study at home, so I'm going to a college, and I plan on going to a good one.

I think that I have the gesture down, more or less, definitely going to practice that. I do a ton of anatomical studies. I have the large basics of the human body down, and I'm working into finesses.

It would look amazing, but to be quite frank, 5 minutes of high-quality animation is an enormous body of work.  Even the very best and prolific Disney animators don't do beyond 2-3 minutes of completed feature-quality animation per year, working as a full time job.  Remember, you're applying to college to learn how to animate, they're not expecting you to know how before you even get there!  If you want to demonstrate your animation skill, pick simple characters and a simple situation, and keep it short (20-30 seconds max).

I have a project in the works (early preliminary sketches) set to a song around 5 minutes in length. I plan on spending the next year finishing that before I'm out of high school. This year I have a different project in animation class, a full metroidvania style game, with three smaller boss battle games of varied genres, which I'm sure will be done by the time school closes for summer. And if I'm not mistaken, are you telling me that it would actually be a bad thing to have a full, hopefully, feature quality animation done and in my portfolio? Is it seriously possible to be overqualified for a college?

On that note, how would my metroidvania style game look in my portfolio? It's programmed in flash. Yeah, I know, flash games almost always suck, I'm working to make it . . . not . . . suck, and so far I'd say that I am doing a pretty good job. The movement engine as is works exactly like the DS castlevania games, except for the controls, which are a tad different, but the thing operates amazingly smoothly as a whole. I'm currently adding attacks and enemies. I'm also simultaneously working on a boss battle in a bullet hell shooter style, that one is almost done, I just need to have the boss go through cycles and replace the current character model. The two are going to be added together into one big game that hopefully will be pretty damn awesome.

[Anghenfil]

And if I'm not mistaken, are you telling me that it would actually be a bad thing to have a full, hopefully, feature quality animation done and in my portfolio? Is it seriously possible to be overqualified for a college?

No, not at all.  I'm saying that five minutes is a really long time in the world of animation, and if you want to do it well, it takes a long time to do.  I won't say it can't be done, but that's seriously like the next coming of Richard Williams.  If you really think you can do it, then give it a shot!

If it were me, I'd for go for a short 20-30 second scene that uses strong acting.  That way you can still have a social life over the next year.

[Evilagram]

No, not at all.  I'm saying that five minutes is a really long time in the world of animation, and if you want to do it well, it takes a long time to do.  I won't say it can't be done, but that's seriously like the next coming of Richard Williams.  If you really think you can do it, then give it a shot!

Heh heh. Well, I think it'll turn out fairly high quality. I'll do the best I can. I've never been able to complete a project longer than a minute, mostly due to dropping any project longer than a minute for years on end, or giving up altogether. I got an idea for an interesting plot set to one of my favorite songs. The characters will be animated mostly as negative space due to the style I'm going for, so that'll probably make the thing a bit easier.

Although on the overqualified thing, it occurred to me that if I can make a feature quality 5 minute animation over the course of a year, what do I need to go to college to learn? As things are now, I think that I still have a lot to learn. And quite frankly I think I still will after I'm done.

If it were me, I'd for go for a short 20-30 second scene that uses strong acting.  That way you can still have a social life over the next year.

Given my schedule I don't think that'll be a problem. That and I really don't really want to shoot for some generic acting thing.

[Anghenfil]

That and I really don't really want to shoot for some generic acting thing.

If you want to work in movies or television with character animation, good acting is absolutely mandatory.  Acting is the single most important skill you can demonstrate.  The other factors - weight, arcs, volume, consistency, timing, style - are just fluff by comparison. 

If you want to do effects animation or another non-character specialty, then feel free to ignore me.

[mig]

Yeah so I'm a newbie here but I'll pretend I know what you're talking about and. . . OMG Ang is a MOD???
Say it ain't so!!!

Sorry to jump in here like this but the topic was so commensurating I just had to jump in.

Sorry if I disrupted things. . . I don't usually do that sort of thing.

Hi Ang!  (waves)

[Anghenfil]

Holy shit.  It's Mig.   

[Evilagram]

If you want to work in movies or television with character animation, good acting is absolutely mandatory.  Acting is the single most important skill you can demonstrate.  The other factors - weight, arcs, volume, consistency, timing, style - are just fluff by comparison. 

If you want to do effects animation or another non-character specialty, then feel free to ignore me.

Okaaaaay! I'll do some work on acting scenes too. Because I'm not an idiot who ignores the fundamental thing that will probably ruin me in the future for ignoring.

I can do the voice acting myself, and I think that I'm a pretty good actor. Any tips for what I should be aiming for in such acting scene? I know I need to display a wide range of emotions, and to convey the personality of the characters. Obviously more complex characters are better for this purpose, but the entire thing has to be self contained so that the viewer doesn't get confused.



Also, what's with the spontaneous non-sequitor?

[Anghenfil]

A wide range of emotions isn't necessary for only 20-30 seconds, in my opinion.

Acting is loosely defined as your ability to believably portray the emotion, motivation, and personality of the character.

Some things to consider when planning your scene:
-What is the emotional state of your character?  Sad?  Frustrated? Overjoyed?  In love, but trying to hide it?  Draw the key poses in a way that makes sense for the emotion.  It should be clear.
-Does the character's emotion change?  What happens in the scene that causes him to change?  In simple terms, something should happen to him, or he should make a choice.
-Is he young or old?  Gender?  Does he have an old injury that makes him move differently?  Is he refined or a slob?  Shy or outgoing?  Kind or cruel?  What's his history?  For a short scene his personal traits can be simple.
-Is there more than one character?

My advice:  Tell a short story.  Animation is always more interesting when there's a goal.  For example, maybe the character wants to tie on his shoes, but can't because he's too depressed.  The fact that he can't tie on his shoes is the last straw and he hangs himself.

[iopanic]

i applied for courses on animation at uni (Teesside, Northumbria and Sunderland) and just had my first two interviews this week, Northumbria is in few weeks time and all my portfolio had in where 5 pieces of life drawing character designs, general drawings of stuff from my sketchbooks, clay models of some characters and examples of some animation ive done, and a sketchbook from a project at college and so far both uni interviews ive been too have offered me a place. they where mainly interested in the sketchbook life drawings and general drawings of random things so id put alot of those in your portfolio

[Festival]

I'm at Ringling for animation right now, and I have to say:  don't be so intimidated by their admission process.  Their accepting nearly double the amount of freshman this year (even though it's past time to apply for fall), and so the standards are surely dropping anyway.

I was super intimidated when I applied to Ringling, thinking I wouldn't be near as good as most people here.  Fact of the matter is - tons of reeeallllyyyy shitty artists get in to this school and only the better ones finish (in animation, that is).


But I've just started my traditional animation class.  It's slow and it's things I've done before (ball bounces and sack jumps), but it does really help with your timing, arcs, and spacing.  They nail Richard Williams into your head.

[Evilagram]

A wide range of emotions isn't necessary for only 20-30 seconds, in my opinion.

Yeah, I was just trying to knock down the obvious stuff.

Thanks a ton for the tips, I'll see what I can pull together. Obviously emotions should be exaggerated a bit beyond realistic standards, too.

I'm at Ringling for animation right now, and I have to say:  don't be so intimidated by their admission process.  Their accepting nearly double the amount of freshman this year (even though it's past time to apply for fall), and so the standards are surely dropping anyway.

I was super intimidated when I applied to Ringling, thinking I wouldn't be near as good as most people here.  Fact of the matter is - tons of reeeallllyyyy shitty artists get in to this school and only the better ones finish (in animation, that is).


But I've just started my traditional animation class.  It's slow and it's things I've done before (ball bounces and sack jumps), but it does really help with your timing, arcs, and spacing.  They nail Richard Williams into your head.

Thanks a ton for the encouragement. I quite frankly wasn't intimidated (not easily intimidated, that and I'm cocky), although my mom is trying to discourage me, saying things like, only the best of the best are getting in so I should consider a few other options too. Obviously, based upon simple standards of probability, I should consider alternative colleges, but I'm still set on getting into Ringling if I can.

For the time being I'm going to work on what I can. I'm pretty sure I can get something decent out in time.

I recently picked up Richard William's animator's survival kit, among other things, going to look into that, and try some basic practices.