What to Expect from Your Animation Courses

By Kirk Bangstad
kirk.bangstad@theanimationschooldirectory.com
Animation School Directory Columnist

As an animation student, you'll need to know a whole lot more than what you've been able to glean from that generic animation software that came with your computer.

Congratulations, you've made the decision to go to animation school. You've convinced your relatives that the hours spent in your room have lead to breakthroughs in your drawing talent. Now that you've taken the plunge, it's time you figured out what kind of animation courses you'll have to take.

Animation Courses Overview

Animation has been around longer than motion pictures, and in order to truly understand how those cool 3d graphics were produced in the latest Star Wars episode, you're going to have to learn how animation has advanced throughout the years. Of course, animated motion pictures still need to tell a story, so you'll also have to take a course on how to write for animated film.

Other Animation Course Options

To truly hone your technical skills, you'll need to take an animation fundamentals course, along with some computer animation courses to get you up to speed with new 3d animation techniques. Because animation is slowly but surely becoming integrated with tradition film and television, you'll probably need to take some courses to understand cinematography and other film techniques. Since there is quite a bit of traditional 2d animation work to be had in the industry, you'll also need to learn 2d design techniques.

These are just some of the courses you may have to take when you enroll in animation school. But if designing and animating are truly your passion, you'll find that the opportunities and learning offered by animation courses are well worth your time. Annie Awards are divided into three categories: production categories, individual achievement categories, and juried awards. The production category includes awards for best animated feature, television production, and television commercial. The individual achievement category recognizes talent in the area of effects, music, character design, voice acting, and storyboarding. Awards that do not neatly fall into one of these categories are grouped in the Juried Awards, which recognizes a variety of achievements by people with careers and interests in animation that are making a noteworthy contribution to the field.

About the Author

Kirk Bangstad is an artist manager and singer working in Chicago, IL. His previous experience includes consulting for technology companies in the Silicon Valley and serving as a field director and publicist for a statewide political campaign. Kirk holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University.