Applications Open: WIA Scholarship Program 2023

WIA has announced that The WIA Scholarship Program now boasts the largest number of industry partners supporting its ongoing scholarship program. Animation Focus; Animation Mentor; ArtStation; Autodesk; Foundry; LAIKA; Toon Boom; Wacom; and Yellowbrick Learning have contributed workshops, tutoring sessions, software packages, hardware, and cash prizes for the 2023 cycle. In addition, WIA’s Bay Area and Montreal Chapters also provide special scholarship prizes for students who have ties to their areas.

Here are the details of the scholarship packages offered by each partner:

• Animation Focus provides online animation tutoring on a one-to-one basis with a professional feature film character animator – one hour per week for four weeks. In addition, one WIA scholarship recipient will receive a place in a 2023 Animation Focus class.
• Animation Mentor will offer one WIA Animation Scholarship winner a 6-week workshop (a $699-$899 value) and will allow that awardee the choice of several courses out of the 10 classes. The student winner will have many options to personalize this educational opportunity.
• Classes include:
  
  • Maya Workshop: Animation Basics
  • Cartoony Animation for 3D Animators
  • 2D Animation for beginners
  • 2D Animation: Walk Cycles & Character Movement
  • Pre-Visualization basics for animators
  • Storyboarding Fundamentals
  • Intermediate Storyboarding
  • Visual Development: Principles of Design
  • Game Animation Fundamentals
  • Digital Painting

• ArtStation supports the program by offering 25 one-year ArtStation Pro upgrades to recipients. In addition, ArtStation Pro comes with a custom website builder, analytics, a blog page, 4K uploads, and video clips.
• Autodesk will support this year’s recipients with its 3D modeling and animation software licenses. Eight winners will choose between one-year subscriptions to Autodesk Maya or Autodesk 3ds Max.
• Foundry will offer one WIA Animation winner $2,000 in scholarship funds and a permanent Production Collective license to its suite of products, including Nuke Studio, Katana, Mari, and Modo. The license will allow the winner access to Foundry’s compositing; editorial; review; modeling; 3D painting; look development; and lighting software.
• LAIKA will give out two cash awards of up to $2,000 USD to two deserving students specializing in stop-motion.
• Toon Boom enters its third consecutive year supporting the WIA program to continue to help build a more diverse animation industry and to provide support to new talent entering the market. The best way to prepare for a future in animation is to set a solid foundation with leading technology to use throughout a professional career. On that note, Toon Boom is offering the following prizes:

• 20 licenses of Storyboard Pro
• 20 licenses of Harmony Premium
• 10 Harmony Fundamentals Online Courses.

• Wacom is donating 10 Cintiq Pro 16s. The company recognizes the importance of professional-level technology to help set talent apart for freelancing work and creative portfolios to help recipients be more competitive in the animation job market.
• The WIA Bay Area Chapter offers a $1,500 USD scholarship to one scholarship recipient living and studying in the Bay Area. The opportunity is also open to students currently living in the Bay Area but attending schools elsewhere remotely this year.
• The WIA Montreal Chapter is offering a $1,000 CAD scholarship to one student who is currently studying in Montreal or living in Montreal while taking online classes at schools in other countries.
• Yellowbrick Learning, Animation Mentor's parent company, is offering a separate scholarship award allowing three awardees to choose one Yellowbrick online course. (a $1,000 per class value, totaling $3,000) With their choice of 22 different classes, such as Fashion; Music, Film & Entertainment; Beauty, Design; E-commerce; Hospitality; New Media; and E-Sports & Gaming, the winners will get to pick one course from the curriculum.

The WIA Scholarship Program is devoted to furthering the academic efforts of deserving animation college students who demonstrate artistic talent, a passion for animation, a financial need, and a promising future in the industry. To be considered, applicants must be enrolled in school (worldwide) pursuing animation production and identify as women or as a person of underrepresented gender identity.

“We’re proud to support the emerging talent from all corners of the world as they continue to expand and sharpen their skills in animation,” said WIA’s Chair of Education, Hsiang Chin Moe. We’re also proud to partner with our generous sponsors who share the same passion for the animation field. Their generous contributions will make real, tangible differences in the lives of these talented creatives.”

WIA Animation Scholarship applications are now open through December 1, 2022. Additional information is available on the WIA website here.

Scholarship Winners to be announced at BRIC Foundation Summit in 2023.

Source: Women in Animation

Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.