Animation - BA (Hons)

University of Wolverhampton

Why choose this course?
The BA (Hons) Animation course helps you combine visual ideas with sound and time to create an on-screen experience for your audience. On this course you learn: ideas generation, visual storytelling, storyboarding, scriptwriting, sound design, character design, character animation, experimental animation, 2D animation, 3D animation, stop motion animation, film editing and compositing. At your fingertips you will have the power of software suites such as Adobe and Autodesk which are renewed annually. Specifically in animation we use Maya, Mudbox, TV Paint, After Effects, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro. We also use pencils, paper, clay and anything else that communicates a brilliant idea!

What's unique about this course?
Brand-new state-of-the-art facilities as part of £4m screen school investment.

You will explore a range of styles and we cover any approach to the art of animation, depending on your talents and skills.

The animation course is a key contributor to the FLIP Festival and winner of prizes including a Royal Television Society award.

What happens on the course?
The course is delivered via a variety of teaching methods, including studio and workshop teaching, seminars and presentations. You will complement your practical studies with theory-based modules that investigate the current contextual and historical aspects of the subject. This includes the study of film language, narrative, non-narrative and conceptual approaches to ‘genre’ and related contextual issues.

Drawing and observation are the foundations of animation. Drawing is used to study and analyse movement as well as being a powerful medium for self-expression and an invaluable tool for conceptual development. Important related skills such as pre-production planning, video editing and digital sound are also taught.

Potential Career Paths

Animation graduates can go on to a variety of different jobs and roles including (but definitely not limited to!)

Motion graphics artist, character animator, character designers, concept artists, art directors, feature/shorts/commercial directors, 2D digital animator, 2D drawn animator, 3D digital animator, stop motion animator, animation supervisor, animation producer, production manager, production assistant, CG modeller, compositor, digital painter, rigger (2D or 3D), editor, model maker, set builder, layout artist (digital or analogue), lighter, match move artist, rotoscope artist, VFX artist, SFX artist, storyboard artist, scriptwriter.

Entry level jobs after graduation might include being a runner, a trainee model maker, a production assistant, a junior animator or an inbetweener.

Other post graduate options include paid internships, traineeships or further specialised study such as an MA or other professional postgraduate qualification. Staff at Wolverhampton are always happy to advise on and discuss your career ambitions.