Curriculum

The first term of the year begins with the principles of animation: Initiating Force, Path of Action, Lead/Follow, Timing/Spacing, Physics and Body Mechanics. The aesthetics of a shot, psychology of line, shape, composition, lighting and colour are covered in Story/Visual Language. Life Drawing is essential for all animation students, as strong drawing skills build confidence and all animators benefit from simplified structural drawing for planning animation. 3D animators learn Maya Fundamentals in animation interface, preferences and file management, and basic modeling is introduced for creating props and environments. Photoshop is introduced to support assignments, presentations, and texturing, and the History of Animation is offered for an in-depth look at how the art form has evolved.

Skills You Will Learn

Timing/Spacing

Physics & Body Mechanics

Path of Action

Lead/Follow

Initiating Force

Term 2 advances the study of animation through more detailed body mechanics and introduces acting, character awareness, thinking and dealing with the environment to strengthen content believability. Story/Visual Language advances to deal with the psychology of cinematic image, acting and story structure while storyboarding assignments prepare you for Term 3 assignments and Term 4 demo projects. Life Drawing continues, advancing body construction awareness and dynamic posing. In Maya class, organic modeling is taught using existing character models, building clothing, hair and props that will support your storytelling efforts through character animation.

Skills You Will Learn

Storyboarding

Adobe Premiere

Harmony

Maya

Body Mechanics

Acting and Performance is the focus of Term 3 animation assignments. The course takes an innovative look at ‘the animator as actor’ role. You will observe students from our Acting Department, studying their body language, timing and interaction. Dialogue, sound FX and music are introduced. In Story/Visual Language you will develop, storyboard and create assets for your Term 4 demo project. Workshops in Adobe Premiere prepare you for creating, editing and adding audio to story reels and final projects. Life Drawing advances body construction awareness and dynamic posing. The application of techniques learned in Maya 1 and 2 aid in the building of sets and character assets for the short story project.

Skills You Will Learn

Character Performance

Pantomime

Dialogue

Editing & Audio

Dynamic Poses

Asset Building

The term is for honing Character Animation skills while creating your Character Animation demo reel. You have a choice of completing a short film, as designed and story boarded in Term 3, or completing a sequence of assignments to strengthen your skills as a character animator. Harmony classes introduce software components specific to your film project. Lighting and rendering are taught in the Maya course to help enhance the visual presentation of your demo reel project, as well as providing visual polish on previous animation assignments. Life Drawing advances body construction awareness and dynamic posing to help strengthen your animation poses. You also explore artistic expression through line and proportion.

Check out our Animation Playlist on YouTube for samples of student films & demo reels.

Skills You Will Learn

Honing Skills

Lighting

Rendering

Demo Reel

Faculty

Wayne Gilbert

Head of 2D/3D Character Animation

Wayne Gilbert has worked in the industry for 35+ years on films ranging from Star Wars to Care Bears, including Rock and Rule, The Mummy 2, Pilsbury Doughboy commercials, 7 TV specials and video games Bounty Hunter, Skate and Skate 2. His credits include Sr. Animation Director, Sr. Lead Animator and Art Director having worked at studios such as Nelvana, ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), Walt Disney Canada and EA Black Box.

Wayne has lectured internationally at post-secondary schools and professional venues, won 2 Clio Awards, created 5 animated short films (including the award-winning Let Go), and has authored 3 books (including Simplified Drawing for Planning Animation). His personal work is focused on writing and story development for film. www.anamie.com IMDB

Charles Phillips

Instructor

Charles is an accomplished animator, historian and certified Harmony Instructor, who studied film-making at John Abbott College’s Creative Arts Program in Montreal in the early 1980s and also attended the Sheridan College Classical Animation Program in Oakville, Ontario. His many credits for television series and commercials were earned at studios in Montreal and Toronto, and on various independent projects in Vancouver. His eclectic background includes experience in radio broadcasting, as well as comic book and anime wholesale distribution. Charles is a cornerstone of the school, having initially worked underneath Lee Mishkin, Academy-Award winning founder of VanArts‘ Classical Animation Program.

Carlos Arancibia

Instructor

Carlos has been in the animation field for about 20 years and has been part of large teams of artists at places like Walt Disney Feature Animation, Core Feature Animation, Digital Domain, EA, Bioware, Arc Productions and Mr. X. He’s had experience doing 2d traditional Animation, character animation, motion capture, game cinematics for AAA game titles such as Dragon Age and Mass Effect, as well as creature animation for various feature films and TV series. His list of credits include Disney’s Tarzan, Lilo And Stitch, Brother Bear, Mulan, Emperor’s New Groove, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, The Wild, Guillermo Del Toro’s Oscar-winning The Shape of Water among many others. His career has taken him from Toronto, Ontario to Orlando Florida to LA, Edmonton Alberta and finally to Vancouver BC. He graduated from Sheridan College, having completed the Traditional Animation Program, studied Design at University of Costa Rica and at Seneca College, as well as taking computer training at OCAD. He enjoys playing a little classical guitar and the occasional game of table tennis.

Degree Pathways

VanArts has articulation agreements in place with several well established universities/colleges in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. These degree pathways allow you to complete your bachelor’s degree in as little as one year after your studies at VanArts. This gives you the advantage of two credentials; a professional diploma and an undergraduate degree. These partnerships may not only save you money in tuition cost, but allows you to transition easily from VanArts to the partner institution while continuing your educational pathway in your chosen field of study. For international students, completing your BA degree in as little as two years of additional study with our local university partners provides you with the option to apply for a Canadian work permit, which may lead to permanent residency or Canadian citizenship.

This list represents the pathways, universities and specific degrees available for graduates of 2D/3D Character Animation at VanArts:

BCIT
Deakin University Australio
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Media School Auckland New Zealand
University of Gloucestershire
Woodbury University

Learn more about Pathways

2D/3D Character Animation

Program Overview

Our Animation Course:

PTIB Approved

Program Duration

Next Start Dates

Curriculum

Skills You Will Learn

Skills You Will Learn

Skills You Will Learn

Skills You Will Learn

Faculty

Degree Pathways

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