Animation Universities ! help

[Aaluaine]

Hi, well im almost done with high shcool .... and i wanna go for a

bachelors in Arts degree for 2D Animation , I was checking out a few universities in the United States , i came across The Academy of Art University in San-Fransisco www.academyart.edu .

Anyways, you guys might already have guessed, I wanted to go into 2D animation production, specifically Anime.

I cant seem to find a good university which may offer the pin point degree i wanna do ....

could anyone help me , i was starting to think why not go to Malaysia for university, but then i thought America will be way more fun ^_^

so any good places to check out guys ? =}

btw, I cant afford those BIG AS Universities like BROWN or BOSTON U .... but i dont mind spending serious cash if i get what i really want !

help would be appreciated =} thanks.

[Jatz]

If you mean to work on Anime in Japan, you can't. Japanese laws make it incredibly difficult for foreigners to work in animation studios.

[Shiroiyuki]

Okay, seeing as I'm an animation student myself (sophomore in college right now actually)...I thought I would add my two cents. I'm *probably* going to be more of a claymation girl rather than a cel art animator (just because I absolutely love the medium), but since animation (and schooling for animation) covers many different aspects and mediums...here is my opinion:

Most of the animation studios, people in the business (I know a lot of them actually), and schools I've talked to tell me that instead of going for a narrow, specific degree (such as a Bachelors in 2-D animation), you should just shoot for a more general 'Fine Arts' or maybe even (for you) 'Illustration' degree instead. Wanna know why? A Fine Arts degree qualifies you for the job you want (since jobs in the art field are a little different than other vocations; they tend to give you the job based on your portfolio and how well you can perform the task at hand, rather than by your resume alone), but also qualifies you for OTHER art-related jobs just in case your dream of becoming an animator falls through.

Here, hypothetical: Say you went to college for four years, studied nothing but animation, and finally got your Bachelors in 2-D animation. Then you go to Disney and apply there thinking--heck, I'm qualified, they have to take me! What happens when you meet reality and see that there are probably HUNDREDS of 'qualified' people out there competing for that same job? What happens if you can't find work in the animation business at first (or ever) because of how competitive it is (and all art-related jobs are)? With a more general degree you can fall back on something (like.....oh....storybook illustrator or something). But if you put all your eggs in one basket...and that basket like....explodes into little pieces, what then? You'll have to go back to college probably. Congratulations, you’ve just wasted four years of your life.

Now, I've talked to some of the animation studios that I'm interested in working at and all of them have told me they are MORE than willing to take on new animators (and assistants, etc.) who only have a Fine Arts degree. Of course, these people have to prove their worth through their portfolio (it's all about the portfolio), but as for qualifications--a simple Fine Arts degree with usually suffice. The BEST way to become an animator, by the way, is to ANIMATE something on your own! Yeah, that's right--on your own. You and only you (*maybe* a group project...but that isn’t as impressive). It doesn't have to be a feature length Oscar-winning film or something--only a little movie that showcases your talent and ability to work in your desired medium. Enter into a film festival to get noticed, seriously. You can also put this in both your resume AND your portfolio (that you made your own animation film). I’m doing this right now....


BUT, after all this if you still want to go to the 'best of the best' for animation schools......I say try the University of Savannah (College of Art and Design (http://www.scad.edu/academic/majors/anim/faculty.cfm)). They seem to have excellent programs for animation students there. Might be expensive (ah heck, YEAH they are expensive)....but I guess if you just [I[have[/I] to go to an animation school.......

[Suiko Eiji]

Okay, seeing as I'm an animation student myself (sophomore in college right now actually)...I thought I would add my two cents. I'm *probably* going to be more of a claymation girl rather than a cel art animator (just because I absolutely love the medium), but since animation (and schooling for animation) covers many different aspects and mediums...here is my opinion:

Most of the animation studios, people in the business (I know a lot of them actually), and schools I've talked to tell me that instead of going for a narrow, specific degree (such as a Bachelors in 2-D animation), you should just shoot for a more general 'Fine Arts' or maybe even (for you) 'Illustration' degree instead. Wanna know why? A Fine Arts degree qualifies you for the job you want (since jobs in the art field are a little different than other vocations; they tend to give you the job based on your portfolio and how well you can perform the task at hand, rather than by your resume alone), but also qualifies you for OTHER art-related jobs just in case your dream of becoming an animator falls through.

Here, hypothetical: Say you went to college for four years, studied nothing but animation, and finally got your Bachelors in 2-D animation. Then you go to Disney and apply there thinking--heck, I'm qualified, they have to take me! What happens when you meet reality and see that there are probably HUNDREDS of 'qualified' people out there competing for that same job? What happens if you can't find work in the animation business at first (or ever) because of how competitive it is (and all art-related jobs are)? With a more general degree you can fall back on something (like.....oh....storybook illustrator or something). But if you put all your eggs in one basket...and that basket like....explodes into little pieces, what then? You'll have to go back to college probably. Congratulations, you’ve just wasted four years of your life.

I was going to say something similar. An old friend of mine was having a similar conversation with another friend's mother (the mother studied for a BFA, I think she completed it...) and was urging her to study a wider-range of animation at the minimum because all she wanted to do was 2-D animation.

And I of course recommend any direct-experience type of work, whether it's self published, project, or actual professional work while you're in college.

BUT, after all this if you still want to go to the 'best of the best' for animation schools......I say try the University of Savannah (College of Art and Design (http://www.scad.edu/academic/majors/anim/faculty.cfm)). They seem to have excellent programs for animation students there. Might be expensive (ah heck, YEAH they are expensive)....but I guess if you just [I[have[/I] to go to an animation school.......

As a general rule, art schools are expensive, and everything associated with them typically is as well because I would imagine that most every class outside of the BS art survey courses are material intensive. I didn't bother to open the link because, in my wide-eyed youth, I looked at going to SCAD when I was a freshmen in High School and I think then it was $16,000 per year; that was 8 years ago and In-State Tuition. Expect Out-of-State/International to be about double that. SCAD also has an Atlanta campus, but I don't know what facilities are hosted here. If you like SCAD's program, you might want to consider Art Institute of Atlanta (http://www.artinstitutes.edu/atlanta/programdegrees.asp?pid=37&dtid=5&display=program) since they have to compete with each other and I know they have an animation program and are probably a little cheaper than SCAD.