Animation (Hons) University of the Arts London (UAL)

Overview

In at the Animation (Hons) program at the University of the Arts London (UAL) year 1, you’ll learn skills in pre-production and design for animation, and different animation production techniques – 2D hand-drawn, 2D digital, 3D digital and stop-motion – before working towards a specialist area.

Key characteristics of the four pathways are:

• Animation Arts pathway - builds on the existing practice of BA (Hons) Animation in which you’ll experiment with design, technique, content and format. Animation is no longer restricted to conventional formats and the course reflects this by encouraging you to explore a range of areas including performance, installation, interactive, projection mapping, short film or documentary.
• 3D Computer Animation pathway is designed with industry professional practice at the forefront. It will equip you with the specialist skill set required to create 3D digital art within established industries such as animation, film, television, and games, or empower you to push the envelope with emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR).You’ll gain an understanding of the software, workflow and pipeline principles that underpin this specialist area as you use them to bring to life digital worlds and characters.
• Visual Effects (VFX) pathway - gives you the experience and skills to work in the film, television and animation industries, having the particular skills to be able to create through digital techniques, characters, objects, environments and effects that are not seen in front of the camera, but are integral to the imagined world. You'll study rendering and composition tools, procedural effects such as fire and tornadoes, and learn how to build digital creatures and characters. You’ll work in close collaboration with BA Animation students across the other pathways and will be supported in collaborations outside of your discipline.
• Game Arts pathway - engages you with a wide range of current and emerging gaming platforms. The increased demand for games along with the increase in processing power of our digital devices means that games are becoming more complex in terms of visual content and animation. Consumers playing on devices from games consoles to smartphones are now expecting much more in terms of visual feedback from their games. This pathway would prepare animators to use not only traditional framed based techniques but also procedural, real-time animation approaches.

What can you expect?

BA (Hons) Animation will actively encourage you to investigate formats and explore outcomes beyond the traditional modes associated with animation - such as installation, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), live performance, projection mapping, short film documentary to equip graduates with the ability to offer multi-disciplinary solutions.

The course looks at animation production in a broad context, providing an intensive and team-based experience, in which you develop expertise in the whole production process. You’ll learn how to deal with the challenges of a professional animator – the importance of flexibility and the value of entrepreneurial skills.

You’ll be taught drawing as a key skill that informs all aspects of your subject knowledge and technical expertise.

The course places a strong emphasis on developing your communication and presentation skills, giving you the confidence to articulate your ideas to colleagues and clients in a professional context.

Work experience and opportunities

Industry-led and mentored live projects and competitions are delivered in collaboration with external industry partners. You’ll have the opportunity to practice your skills in a professional context and to build a strong portfolio of work.

Previous industry partners include Channel 4, MTV, National Trust, All Saints Records, Marmite, The Royal Society, Horniman Museum, Tate, Paperchase, Hostelworld, Protein Dance, Nutkhut, V&A Museum of Childhood, Westfieldand The Rivers Trust.

The course is designed to ensure you’ll benefit from access to the specialist creative industries in London, as well as other Colleges within the University, a network of professionals and key industry partners.