Accredited on line schools/USA

[sutterkain]

I am having similar issues finding an online degree granting program that isn't overpriced and is reputable. I am investigating Full Sail.... their Bachelors is about $54k vs $85k for AIP and a whopping $97k + for AAU (two that you mentioned). I found out about Art Institute of Pittsburgh the hard way... their online learning interface is terrible and their staff support is too! I was enrolled only a month before I decided to not go any further with this school. So I can't speak on the quality of the instructors for the actual animation and VFX courses.

Back to Full Sail. I am curious how it would benefit me since I have lots of experience with After Effects and a pretty good working knowledge of general multimedia design (web and video). I believe that they have a reputation of cutting corners... but I am self motivated and may be able to fill in the gaps as I go. I wouldn't expect employers to do cartwheels for one having a degree through them... what I am after is the ability to put together a good reel with my combined existing work experience as an Interactive Producer for 8 years and what I learn there. And to say that I finally have a real degree...

Oh... and the are Mac friendly =) (I am all Mac too)

Gnoman looks okay... but Grants and federal loans don't cover stuff like that!

I would love to here what some of the professionals out there have to say about this... especially the ones who do hiring and judges partially on where a degree comes from.

Best of Luck =)
Robert

[jcl3042]

I'm in the same boat looked at a few of these online schools ie full sail and art institute but was floored by the cost. It's fairly outrageous. I agree it would be nice to know how hiring goes in the field. I'm interested in game character design (3d modeling). I've heard the portfolio means more than any school. However, I'm still looking into online training.

[paintgirl]

I went to school at AIP several years ago for their Industrial Design program, I wanted to get into animatronics, and was EXTREMELY disappointed...wound up transferring and earning a degree in theatre, as a result...it all comes down to pulse and money. AIP is just another factory, churning out students as quickly as they can; portfolio or level of ability doesn't seem to matter much at all, resulting in their less then stellar reputation. For one fleeting moment I actually considered AIP for the Animation and FX program, they are the least expensive, I believe...but was quickly reminded why I left all those years ago...and as for AAU, their tuition is prohibitive. I actually had one of the admission reps tell me that their fees are REASONABLE! (funny, that wasn't the descriptive that popped into my mind)

I am really out of my element in regards to Animation and VFX, yet find it all rather intriguing and am still considering AAU's 15 credit courses or maybe Gnomon's 10 week options...but without financial aid both are impossible at the moment.

I keep reading that MAYA is the industry standard for FX, is there anyone reading this post that can confirm this? I am interested in matte painting as well as realistic creature animation and compositing...can all that be done through MAYA? Is MAYA Mac compatible? Is it possible to teach oneself or are courses the only way to go?

[olbc]

paintgirl Yeah, you can do all that in Maya, and it is indeed one of the "industry standard" tools. It does work on both PC and Mac and even Linux.

If you are considering making a career out of it, go with Maya. If it's just an interest of yours, perhaps tools such as blender bundled with couple of online trainings from cgcookie will be enough to get you started.

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