Hey, I've been searching the net for a while and the only institutions I've found that teach animation are usually a college or art school. I have nothing against them, but I'm looking for a University that teaches 2D animation. This dosen't have to be the focus of the school, I'm just looking for a place that includes this course, preferrably in Canada, the United Kingdom, or the United States. If it's by the wild, or a forest preserve or something would be awsome. I usually sketch nature to get difficult peices like animals or such perfect, plus I can see them in movement. Any suggestions?
As someone who actually lives in front of a protected wildlife preserve while enrolled at AM, I can safely say the combination works wonders =P
Haha, Scattered. Now get back to class Mr.!! :p
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
If you can, buy a copy of the February 06 edition of "Animation Magazine." It's the one with Curious George on the cover. They have a whole animation school section in that issue. There are short write ups on some of the bigger named schools, and a list of almost all of them as well as costs. Their website is www.animationmagazine.net
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
Are you looking for a school with a GREAT animation department? You can certainly learn animation at a univerisity, but I don't know if you'll find one that has a program of the calibur of CalArts or other art school. Some universities I know of are:
Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI
The school is pretty small (about 20,000 students) and is on a gorgeous wooded campus with a ravine. It is pretty close to Lake Michigan, too. www.gvsu.edu
also, Edinboro in PA. They seem to have a nice, wooded campus and the animation program is pretty good.... or so the rumor is. www.edinboro.edu
Also, I think Ohio State University offers some animation classes. It's an emphasis within one of the other majors.... seems technology based, but I don't know too much about it.
Bowling Green State University in Ohio www.bgsu.edu has animation within the digital art major, but it is mostly 3D.
Thanks for the info, i'm looking them up. I've seen some stuff in the UK that might work as well, but these schools seem a bit closer to home.
Actually, as someone who's attended Edinboro, I can say the cost-benefit is destroyed by other art-centric universities. Edinboro is a state school, part of a 14-college network developed by Pennsylvania to round out the focus and development of government-sanctioned majors. About 8 to 4 years ago, Edinboro became the state hot spot (Unless you could afford to go outside of the network, to University of the Arts in Philadelphia) for animation majors.
Do what you should do for any school. Look for student work, and ask about the quality of the teachers. NEVER take any school's advice as 100% fact.
Back when I went there it was about 12 grand a year. You could go someplace nice and way more legit, say with working animators and incredible student work, or just some place that isn't a state school, for twice that. Problem is, Edinboro's less than half as valuable, making it overpriced.
There are far worse places to go, but the school's almost infamous for its depressed students, and the incessant rumors that run around because half the people don't know anything and the other half are so desparate for some sort of structure that they'll cling to whatever anyone tells them.
Last I checked, Carnegie-Mellon has an experimental master's program, and Pittsburgh-area is way more inhabitable than the arctic.
I would check out AnimationMentor.com. They aren't a brick and mortar school, it's all online so you can live by any nature preserve you want. All they teach is animation, so it's not really an art school. They focus on Maya, but you don't have to use it, you can animate traditionally, in stopmotion, or what ever. Give it a look.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."