hey guys! So my senior year of high school is right around the corner and Im really excited to go to college already. I was talking to my parents the other day about all the different colleges i wanted to check out for their animation programs, when they basically flat out told me they wouldnt let me take animation as a major. I was super disappointed because the main reason was because they wanted me to get a more stable job like something in business or engineering, both of which im not interested in at all. Anyways it basically came down to if I could get into USC or UCLA for their animation programs then i could pursue my dream of becoming an animator. Apparently they only trust those schools or something. So basically im really worried right now because i must admit i have a pretty bad GPA. I have an accumulative GPA of 3.2 and an SAT score of 1530. Ive taken some advanced classes but not too many just AP/honors english all four years and AP European science (which i recieved a D in first semester and a B second). Im just really worried that my GPA will hold me back. So i was wondering if any of you had made it into either of these programs and what your gpa etc was. If its also possible can i see your portfolio that you submitted. Thanks so much :)
If your GPA is weak, then you probably were not doing well in high school--which means that you will not have any fun in college. Keep in mind that in college the stakes are a LOT higher than in high school, because how you perform there can directly impact your career afterwards.
You can probably take classes that can bring up your GPA prior to college, and I would probably do that anyway to set the stage for yourself beforehand. Nothing hones performance like some practised discipline.
You also might be looking at this the wrong way too. Perhaps show some of your work here and get a gauge of how you stack up talent-wise at this point, before committing to college.......any college.
Honestly, the college you attend will mean nothing if your talent is so-so.
There is no college, or art school anywhere that can teach you how to draw--don't look for one......they do not exist. Curriculum can introduce you to technique tools and feedback, but none of that will make you a good artist.
Your parents do have some sound logic behind what they are telling you--do not bottleneck your career choices to being JUST an animator. The old refrain is "make sure you can dig ditches, if necessary"--so do train in some other field as a back-up.
Animation, like all cartooning, can be sporadic in terms of work--mostly because the work is subject to trends and fads in entertainment. Long term jobs are not common, work is often project-by-project and there's no guarantees of work coming in at any point in time.
If you have great talent, odds are good you can make a living. If you have mediocre talent......you might get to "experience" the business for a while, but will probably leave it for something different and more stable fairly soon.
If your talent is weak........spare yourself the frustration........do not even try.
To gauge your abilities right now, compare you work honestly with the work of those artists you admire. if you work is close to theirs, then its a "safe" gamble to try this. If you feel you have a ways to go, then get drawing and apply yourself to make your work sing at the same level as theirs.
Good luck.
"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)