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university woes need help changing degree

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university woes need help changing degree

Hi I am currently studying digital art and 3d animation, Im in my 3rd year and have been doing quite well winning awards etc each year. The thing is I think my uni isnt that good, I want to consentrate on animation and they teach us random stuff that has nothing to do with animation and I also think its a joke that Im in 3rd year and they have only touched on 3d modeling, uv mapping, hardly even touched on rigging or 3d animation techniques. So im thinking of changing to another better university that will teach me properlly. Im studying in scotland and may try to find a masters after my honours year. Can anyone help with this, Im not sure who I should talk to about this and would like to find out what universities are best for this type of course. Its my dream to work in this industry as this is the only thing I'v ever been good at and I want to get the best eductation I can.

The reason I write this is that this year alot of college students joined us in 3rd year and they have been taught UV mapping 3d animation techniques since the start of their course and probably know far more than the average student in our course. We have touched on video making, stop motion and 2d which was great but I would like to find a course that consentrates on these, as they have been sparse and the rest has been "filler" classes that are a total waste of time and take away time that could be spent on doing our animation projects.

any help would be great.
sorry for the long post lol

cheers
steve

Do you want to be an animator?

Don't forget the importance of classical training in both drawing and animation!
Is your skill base solid? If you read the current interview with Brad Bird in Animation Magazine , you'll find what I'm saying reinforced. You seem focused on learning programs. What is your goal? Do you want to be an animator or a rigger? You need, eventually, to understand Maya as a whole, but if you want to animate, it's the animating (acting, timing) that matters...and most good companies will want to see your classical demo reel as well as 3D.

Take a look at the curriculum at Max the Mutt (Toronto), www.maxthemutt.com. It's based on Disney and Warner Bros guidelines and will give you a good idea of the skills you should develop.

Hi I never actually properlly thought about that before but I want to be an animator..... definetely!
My timing and stuff is ok, would love to get proper classical training. I did a bit of 2d and stopmotion but wasn't taught anything just told to make them and did them on my own.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zvV__lMIqag

thats a link to my stopmotion, if you click my user name at youtube you can see my 2d one as well.

But thats the thing my uni has never really taught me anything just given us assignments and left to it.

That is my overall consern about my degree. I want to be taught proper animation skills at a place that actually focuses on animation and the things that matter.

cheers
steve

Check out AnimationMentor.com They are purely an animation school. It's an online school so you can do it from home, and won't need to leave Scotland if that is an issue. If you have the means, there are also schools like Goblins in France, Sheridan in Canada, and Cal Arts in the USA. Just a quick little list of some of the top schools.

It really sucks to hear about your school experience. There are a lot of schools offering animation degrees but very few that are any good. My suggestion is look at their student animation objectively. If the animation coming out of the school is amazing and on par with animation from PIXAR, Sony and Dreamworks, go to that school. If the animation looks like you can get to that quality in a few months, pass that school by.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

looks interesting but i think i'd rather go to a physical school than do it online. Plus I get my tuition fees paid for in scotland. I want to imporve my drawing skills too and this site looks pretty good.

http://www.drawspace.com/

does anyone know if there are any equivilant websites for animation that is free.

cheers

Animation schools

I attended the arts institute in Bournemouth and I can heartily recommend it for studying animation. The teaching staff are fantastic and have their pulse on the latest goings on in the industry, and I know a lot of my fellow graduates are working in the animation industry. I lot of what my tutor told me is still ringing in my ears over 13 years later, and he had a profound effect on my outlook as an animator, especially when it comes to having strong drawing skills.

In terms of animation schools, stay away from courses that are designed for video game production. I was at a festival recently and a guy from EA Games really slammed these courses for ripping people off. It would be worth trying sites like www.imagineanimation.com who are UK-based animation collective who would be better to advise you of Scottish animation schools. There are at least three animation courses here in Wales, so there must be some in Scotland.

Happy hunting!

I'm not sure that was the right link Catoon Boy. Granted I don't read French, but I didn't see one bit of animation on that site. It looked more like a site for circus rave parties.

Keep looking for schools Steve. Try and find some big named animators from Scotland, or there abouts and ask them what schools they went to or would recomend.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Can you be more specific about what they ARE teaching you?

Look, this comes down to some simple things: has this school or its program generated any graduates or alumni that have gained work in the industry?
Are any of the instructors from the industry?
If this school cannot field a professional-level curriculum, and provide instruction that can gain you employable skills--then they are ripping you off and you should pull out of the place immediately.

There are "legitimate" schools that offer what's thought to be animation programs that are little more than cash grabs--fielded by incompetent staff and sacked with pointless curriculum. They do it because they might offer other kinds of schooling with prefectly valid and well-run curriculum, but the money to be made off the "lure of animation" is too enticing to pass up. They depend upon their students........their customers being too dazzled and ignorant of what the medium demands to know the difference......until its too late.
Let's face it.....the further away your locale is from the "animation industry" the more likely you'll run into a "scam school" like this.

And, off the cuff, it sounds like you are being scammed.

Your best bet is to find another school that has a solid reputation for generating hired animation professionals, and enroll there.
If that means schooling away from Scotland, then that is what it probably what its going to take.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

Hi I dont think there a scam school, they have taught me creative video, stop motion, some toonboom, lightwave, figurative drawing, photoshop, maya. but Iv taught myself more on lightwave, maya and after effects. I just think they should teach more in the aspects that matter like the ones iv listed, but they just touched on these and then they have classes that are filler that usually require alot of work which takes away time from the important subjects. How do I go about finding out which schools are good for animation. I would like to find a course that soley consentrates on animation techniques and 3d work. For e.g we were being taught maya and i would ask the lecturer how to do things and he didnt have a clue and said "Oh emmmmm just google it" and I'm thinking whats the point in me being there as I'v pretty much taught myself everything I know using the net and tutorials.

sorry took so long to get back I forgot my password lol.

cheers