Kalamazoo Valley Community College's program, which started in 2002, hosts the Kalamazoo Animation Festival International, one of the premiere animation festivals in the country. All KVCC images courtesy of Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

According to Fiks, understanding the preproduction process, visualizing story ideas, the ability to achieve compelling personification of characters, and the ability to use animation principles such as secondary motion, anticipation and exaggeration are all an important part of the Mercer curriculum.

The program consists of traditional art courses -- such as basic drawing, life drawing, 2D design, and several courses in art history -- and liberal arts electives, as well as several levels of 3D modeling and 3D animation using Maya, 2D digital imaging, digital video/audio courses and a preproduction design course.

Muller of SMC says that her college "has a willingness and ability to respond quickly to industry needs and changes. This is a driving force behind the philosophy of the academy." The programs are also committed to insuring that, in addition to learning technical and digital skills, students have a strong foundation in storytelling, and artistic and communication skills.

"Students that complete the program will be able to enter the workforce as entry-level artists in games, broadcast, Web and feature film production," adds Chris Fria, assistant chair of the Design Technology department. SMC offers courses in traditional animation, web animation, 3D animation, digital video editing, digital audio editing, game development and visual effects.

SMC is located in the heart of the entertainment industry, which provides opportunities for the faculty and staff to keep pace with industry needs.

"If a student can't communicate a good story and doesn't have an artistic foundation for their digital skills, they won't be competitive," says Muller.

Degrees and Certificates
The community college is the one institution that serves many different populations. There are students right out of high school ready to begin their college careers. These students may want to gain a specific skill or may want to complete their foundation courses in order to move on to a four-year institution.

The community college also serves those that want to be retrained, such as adults seeking a completely new career. The community college is ready for them. In the case of SMC, many of their students are already professionals in the production business who need to learn new software skills in order to be competitive in their field.

Community colleges also offer certification in a couple of ways. First, there is the Associate of Arts degree. An A.A. or A.A.S. will give the graduating student the foundation to get a start in the industry, or will give him/her a leg up in completing a four-year degree. Some community colleges offer certificate programs for those who may already have attained a degree or those who wish to specialize in a specific area of their career path.

SMC offers an A.A. in animation, with enough electives to allow a student to gain an entry-level job in any of the digital industries. The SMC Academy offers a two-level certificate program in digital media. The first-level certificate provides students with a foundation in digital media tools, while addressing traditional techniques of storytelling and visual communication. The second-level certificate allows students to choose a specialization in game development, postproduction or visual effects. These certificates, according to Fria, are currently undergoing state approval.

MCCC offers their A.A.S. degree in digital media arts with a concentration in 3D animation. The New Jersey school also offers a certificate in 3D animation. The certificate program is new. Its curriculum is similar to the A.A.S. degree, but it's more focused, with fewer general education/liberal arts electives, according to Fiks.

"The certificate is designed for students who would like to attend college for a few semesters and focus specifically on animation. Most of these students are more concerned with building a stronger portfolio and entering the job market and have less faith in the degree as such," he said.