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View Full Version : Schools... Advice / feedback

Shigan5
07-16-2008, 03:26 PM
Hi everyone, long time peruser, first time poster. Hope this thread is in the right spot. It seems to be.

So I'm not going to go into a long rant about how its my dream to become an animator, it is, but im sure youve all heard these things before so i'll jump straight to the point.

I've graduated high school, class of '07, and have since been working to save a bit of money so I can go to college. Now this whole time I've been looking at alot of different schools and seen many mixed reviews on all of them. Now I know most jobs in the Animation industry dont care about degrees, they like to see solid polished demo reels with exceptional animation displayed, but IMO i think a school will help me to learn more and become a better animator.

Now i've looked at alot of different schools but I'm sure there are much more out there that I have yet to discover. And so I am here to get some feedback from everyone and get opinions.

So of the schools i've looked at the ones that piqued my interest most are Animation Mentor, Full Sail, Calarts,Academy of Art University, and DMAC. Those are listed in order from most interest to least, starting with AM being most interested.

Now, I've already applied for AM once and got rejected. Why I do not know, but I will reapply again, im not going to let it stop me from becoming an animator, its something ive wanted to do for as long as I can remember and I have the drive to push myself far. Any advice on this part? As in is it worth it, how was the admission process, what are the average number of rejectees, etc etc.

I've also heavily looked into full sail, but i have read alot of negativity about it and am very iffy about continuing to research it. Is it worth it? Are there any alumni here to give feedback?

I havent researched cal arts quite as much, but I read from a few actual industry gurus that the school doesnt actual teach you very much about animation. More emphasis on other things. Any thoughts or feedback on this school?

Academy of arts seems like a very good choice, but I am unsure of their program, it seems like it would be too varied in what you study, and that you wouldn't have alot of education to specialize in one area.

And finally DMAC. These guys I have researched a bit, but they don't seem to be the right school of me. It looks like it would take around 6 years to get a degree, as it seems like they will force you into a secondary degree. The admissions lady I talked to kept talking about with their degree I could teach. Which makes it seem like theyre making teachers of their students. That and I want to break into the industry young, I want to enjoy every minute of every year I can animate. See my creations come to life on a large screen has always been my dream. Of course the dream involved Pixar, but thats a bigger barrier to breach in and of itself.

So any feedback or thoughts or reviews or anything else you can push would be very helpful. If there is another school you would recommend, I would be glad to hear about it and research it.

Thanks everyone!
smuzzler
07-16-2008, 10:42 PM
There are many, many threads about schools so start searching. I've seen a lot in the General Discussion area. Also since your just out of high school Animation Mentor is not the place to start out I think. It is more for people who have learned some in other schools or jobs then you know that you want to focus on animation. I think they want to make sure that you want to do character animation because it is a lot of work. A lot of the people at AM just graduated college some where then sign up at AM to finish out there animation knowledge.

As far as other places i have hear good things about the Art Institute of LA in Santa Monica. But i went to the one in Phoenix a while back and it sucked but i did get a basic idea and contacts for my first job when i got out of school.

One thing that i didn't know that i wish i had was the importance of traditional art. Don't just go to a school to learn the programs because those will keep changing.

Ok, render is done. back to work.
Shigan5
07-16-2008, 11:34 PM
ive been out of high school for over a year now. And I understand animation takes a huge amount of work and commitment. Im not interested in learning a certain program or anything like that, I want to learn what it takes to be a great animator. I know I can do all of this on my own, but I want to learn from those that do it daily. Ive wanted to do this for a very long time.

Traditional art is needed in any animation or modeling career. You need to know the basics to be creative and apply real life experiences and feelings to your work. And I understand this. Ive been working IT for a long time now and in every spare moment I get im sketching or practicing my animation. I've spent my life analyzing things and watching movies and enjoying every minute I can. In high school I took film classes, this gave me the basis for camera techniques, rule of thirds, lighting. All these things. Ive known animation was for me for a long time. Its the one thing in life I enjoy and put my heart into.
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07-16-2008, 11:34 PM
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