studying animation - HELP!

[stone90]

I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me. After years of drawing and animating in my spare time, I've finally decided to 'quit my day job' and go back to school to get a degree in what I love. I'm looking for input about colleges with animation programs, the good, the bad, and the ugly. If anyone has some insight or recommendations, I'd love to hear them. It would be a plus if I could find a short program or a place that wouldn't make me take gen-eds again. I have a BA in Economics.

Many Gracias,
Chris

[sun]

Animation has changed a lot in the last 15 years. I do not know how old you are, or how to really pursue this career, it is great, but, I do know that almost all animation is done with computers, story boards are still used, to develop the project, it is an iffy busines, because so many shows, and movies lose money.tgere us a lot of animation in commercials....But if it is what you really want.....GO FOR IT, NO MATTER WHAT. Also, someone will post an answer to your question eventually, sorry I cannnot add more. Stuart...and good luck as a new person on our boards.

[brecker]

Maybe I can add something. There's not a lot of short-term programs out there but try a look at FullSail's programs. They've got a great rep for state-of-the-art facilities and for turning out grads ready for entry into their field of choice. The training programs last for a year or so, you can learn a lot in a reasonable amount of time. I'm sure they offer computer animation and digital media, film, too. www.fullsail.com, as I recollect. BA in economics, eh. You never wanted to be an accountant did you? best of luck! :)

[mbaker]

I want to get into animation myself. I went to the Pittsburgh Art Institute for A two year program in Visual Communications. It took me quite A while to get noticed after I graduated, but when I got an IMac computer, and sent my work to A company called Wowabunga (http://hgr.wowabunga.com/) , I got work doing animated gifs for their web site. Durring that period, they sent me Photoshop, and Flash for me to work with. As well as an animation table. I even made two Flash cartoons. Then I went to A Comic Book convention in Pittsburgh to show off my work, and got A job with Acetylene Comics (http://www.c2h2.com/) on A new comic called Bag Boy & Checkout Girl. I hope I was helpful. Would you like to look at some of my work? Please let me know.

[Zechs]

Oh so I'm not all alone. :D I'm hoping to get into manga. Try art colleges they have all kinds of programs.

[Zechs]

Originally posted by mbaker
I want to get into animation myself. I went to the Pittsburgh Art Institute for A two year program in Visual Communications. It took me quite A while to get noticed after I graduated, but when I got an IMac computer, and sent my work to A company called Wowabunga (http://hgr.wowabunga.com/) , I got work doing animated gifs for their web site. Durring that period, they sent me Photoshop, and Flash for me to work with. As well as an animation table. I even made two Flash cartoons. Then I went to A Comic Book convention in Pittsburgh to show off my work, and got A job with Acetylene Comics (http://www.c2h2.com/) on A new comic called Bag Boy & Checkout Girl. I hope I was helpful. Would you like to look at some of my work? Please let me know.

Just how long did take you to get that job ( coimc job). As of now I'm hopeing to get in to web desing unitl I can get my stuff off the ground. Not much of a drawer ( really into writing stories until I can get better at drawing then I wanna do both). And dose it pay ( web desing job) pretty good don't have to tell how much you get paid but was it enought to live off of. ( darn those bills.)

[Nightflower]

Originally posted by stone90
I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me. After years of drawing and animating in my spare time, I've finally decided to 'quit my day job' and go back to school to get a degree in what I love. I'm looking for input about colleges with animation programs, the good, the bad, and the ugly. If anyone has some insight or recommendations, I'd love to hear them. It would be a plus if I could find a short program or a place that wouldn't make me take gen-eds again. I have a BA in Economics.

Many Gracias,
Chris

What kind of animation would you like to do? Would you like to do serious animation for a living, for a show or a movie? Or would you like to work with Flash or in web design?

If it is the former, here is a FAQ on animation schools and what it takes to get into them:

http://aimeemajor.com/faqschool.html

Here are several lists of recommended colleges put out by major companies (Disney, PIXAR, Dreamworks), as well as some information about animation colleges by the author (Aimee Major, Futurama animator, and my hero):

http://aimee.wyvernweb.com/anim/colleges.htm

[mbaker]

I took me took me three years to actually get animation work with Wowabunga. I got A good bit of money, but not enough to start A life with. two years later, I got work on the comic. The pay was a little better this time around. What I want to do is make animated films, and TV shows that break the mold, and to bring my own ideas to life. As well as work on projects with some of my idles in the field.