ACR Staff
Our fine staff of contributors at Animation Career Review includes:
Shawn Harrell
Deanna Thompson
Jen Lampton
Brad Prescott, Founder
Our fine staff of contributors at Animation Career Review includes:
Shawn Harrell
Deanna Thompson
Jen Lampton
Brad Prescott, Founder
Each year, Nickelodeon Animation makes it possible for several aspiring artists to work at the company’s Burbank studios. Known as The Artist Program, the program invites artists with diverse backgrounds and experiences to hone their artistic skills while working on Nick’s 2D and CG animated television shows. Two creative avenues are offered including the General Track and Storyboard Track.
Our tenth seasonal contest received over seventy submissions, and the quality and creativity continues to improve. Below you will find our 2017 Christmas Holiday Short Animation Contest prize recipients.
Last month, we told you all about some of Canada’s best animation school options in cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Next up are two other major Canadian cities that have a number of top programs leading to a degree or diploma in Animation, Interactive Multimedia and Design, 3D Animation, and more. Most of these programs take three years or less to complete, while several take less than 12 months to finish. Let’s take a look at what Ottawa and Edmonton have to offer.
With a booming film and entertainment industry and hundreds of animation, game and VFX studios, Canada has become one of the world’s top places to earn an animation degree. Head to Toronto (Canada’s largest city), where you’ll find “The Harvard of Animation Colleges,” Canada’s largest art school, and North America’s premiere “career” animation school. You will also find numerous art and film schools that offer some of the world’s most competitive degree programs for animators.
The good news about game design programs in the U.S. just keeps coming, so we are excited to announce the latest developments. First, making the biggest headlines for the Fall 2017 is Bellevue University, which launched a truly unique program that combines varsity sports and video games. And then there’s Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) which, on Halloween, will celebrate the one-year anniversary of an exciting games education partnership with Harvard and MIT’s edX.
Can’t decide whether to major in Animation or Cinema? These days you don’t have to choose because today’s animation programs offer the opportunity to study multiple areas, so you’ll graduate with skills in more than one discipline. Students interested in Animation and Cinema may select a concentration or focus area, a minor or double major, a customized curriculum, or even a double degree. No matter which route you choose, each program will provide the education and training needed to qualify for positions in both Animation and Cinema.
The animation industry is crazy competitive these days, with more than 64,000 talented full-time artists working at studios, design firms, and creative agencies across the U.S. alone. Thousands more work part-time or independently in a range of creative industries, while others work in less common industries such as architecture, engineering, law and medicine. Though competitive and constantly evolving, students are finding ways to stay a step ahead of the competition. One way is to specialize in an in-demand area (or two).
Though the fall semester has already begun, you can still start applying to programs for Fall 2018. Besides the new game design program’s we’ve already told you about—Clemson’s MFA in Digital Production Arts (DPA), Staffordshire University’s BA in eSports, and EKU’s Minor in Game Content Creation among them, we managed to find a few others that just might take you to “another level.” We are happy to announce that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington) have launched several programs for aspiring game designers who aren’t afraid to aim high.
The fall semester is in full swing, with dozens of new animation programs welcoming hundreds of students for the very first time. Kennesaw State University welcomed its first group of Digital Animation BFA students in August and Wichita State University just opened its doors to dozens of aspiring animators who were accepted into the schools innovative Bachelor of Applied Arts in Media Arts (BAA).
Our ninth seasonal contest received almost one hundred submissions with more creativity and high quality animations than we’ve ever seen before in a single season! Every season keeps getting better and better. Thanks to everyone who participated for making this contest a success. Below you will find our 2017 Make a Commercial Short Animation Contest winners.