Should I go to Animation School? Advice Plz

#1

Sorry for making this long. I just don’t know what to do… Should I go self taught or animation college?

I live in a place where there’s hardly any Animators but recently a new College came out in the area. They teach 3D Animation for Associate Degree.
Honestly I’ve seen so much free and amazing workshops online. I know its possible to be self taught but I dont know if I’ll have the time since I’m going to be busy at my new job soon and to provide for myself.

First let me tell you my situation. My father passed away not long ago leaving me only 20K. Of course I was planning to use for emergencies only. I was planning to just spent it on Animation Mentor right off the bat and use other free time to self teach myself. But now I’m reconsidering that as recklessness since I don’t know anything about Maya, yet was planned to apply for it.

I couldnt glean much info of the college since its only been here for three years since it was built here. So far only 5 people have graduated from the Animation program there.
If I go there it would almost be no different then internship since the school just starting out and only a few students I think.
Here’s the courses descriptions before you say anything.
http://www.lauruscollege.edu/laurus-online/digital-arts-and-computer-animation-degree/

Ive only seen positive reviews and only like two negative comments. Here’s a quote of a review that’s caught my interest. “Great school way better than going to a community college or some other college and wasting your time seating in a classroom and not learning something.”

I’ve done hours of research and what it teaches is almost no different from other colleges. (I could be wrong though) just not VFX.

Two years feel to long and its risky since I’m spending money that’s important to me…and I don’t known how long it takes to self teach in cg. I was planning to save up for AnimationMentor after two years if I do go. Can you please give me advised from you a experienced Animators?

P.S for those of you who say it is possible. I’m also a self taught web design and musician so it even cramps up more of my time…=. If I do go my schedule would be like this Work>Home and eat>College>Self taught web\music. Then do it again the next day. I just don’t know what to do…

#2

if you interesting only in animation go for http://www.animationmentor.com/ (self haven’t tried, but a lot of people said it one of the best school)

man have you seen college showreel? I’m not sure if anyone can get job with this showreel…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_WY3DTibX0
and web side doesn’t look professional, her take a look, at web site and student work

http://www.tttc.ca/
or
https://www.gnomon.edu/

I know it one of the best schools, but if you wanna pain money you need chose something what is close to the best schools quality

your college cost 22 k, in my opinion it waste of money and TIME!

ps. sorry for my english

#3

UnknownSaint171. Ok, listen up. I have a child in the industry that has done a fair amount of freelancing and works now for a big studio.

  1. The animation field is VERY competitive. Frankly, I don’t recommend it because of this, To make matters worse, some studios are trying to cut costs by outsourcing to foreign countries.

However, if your heart is set on this, and I can’t talk you out of it, here is what I recommend:

  1. Dilan recommended Animationmentor. The problem is that you will ONLY learn character animation. The field is comprised of a number of disciplines such as rigging, texturing, concept art, modeling, lighting and rendering, materials, vfx,which inturn has a number of disciplines such as crowd specialists, explosive specialists and those who specialize in other effects such as water, fire etc. Thus, there are several problems with going to a school like animation mentor. First, you might not like or be very good at character animation. Secondly, you might have preferred to specialize in another part of the pipeline. Third, if you only understand one area, you will be at a competitive disadvantage in not knowing about the other aspects of the pipeline. For example, my child works in one area. Many times something is broken such as the rig isn’t right or lighting is off etc. She needs to know where it is broken and know what department to send the asset back to. Knowing how to problem solve is a big deal and is very important. If you don’t have some competency in all areas, you won’t be able to problem solve

I . thus, recommend that you study all areas first and be a “jack of all trades” before you decide to specialize. So, how do you do this?

Well, you can take a lot of online courses through many places such as Gnoman, Digital Tutors etc. However,you won’t be challenged and won’t see the work done by other students. YOu will be at a much bigger disadvantage than those who attended a full time program at a good school. This is a big deal considering how competitive it is in the industry. Thus, I really recommend that you get this general training at a good school . If there is none in your country, you may have to leave the country.

Secondly, once you get a strong general training and want to specialize in a particular area, you can either find online programs or go to a school and specialize in an area.

One other benefit of going to a good school is that the ;professors have a lot of connections with studios. thus, you can get recommended for internships and other positions.

Hope this helps.

#4

Before embarking upon a momentous decision that will not only impact your career prospects for years to come but also your immediate financial security. Seriously this decision is too critical for you to make on advice from a bunch of strangers online.

So I strongly recommend that you talk this over with a family member or trusted friend, then weigh up the pros and cons after own thorough research on the available options.

#5

Animation School Vs online depends on you.
Both can be great way to learn.

However I do agree with some posts above. I would not be spending 22K on
this school that happens to be close to home. Seems too new and too unproven. Looks mediocre.
Reel not so great. aka the teachers could all too easily be animation grads not good enough to get a job anywhere else. Or worse. Taught by somebody reading the manual the day before they teach you. Sad but possible. You need close to home? Learn on-line then.

However-some schools can be great too.
But even the worlds best animation school does not guarantee you a job. Only your dedication will do that.
But if you decide a classroom situation is best for you go research the school. Start here -or pages like it-

http://www.animationcareerreview.com/articles/2014-top-100-international-animation-schools?page=0,8

for an overview. Many are not even in the US. BUT you get some idea as to why they are so well regarded.
Then look for the nearest one.

But don’t take the one thats ‘handy’ but still expensive. Give your money to something with an industry endorsed reputation. Or keep your money.

#6

Thank you, stranger)

#7

Seriously this decision is too critical for you to make on advice from a bunch of strangers online. gimp 2.10 tips

#8

Thanks!

#10

Hello everybody! I am very interested in what happened to the author and how did his life turn out?
What choice did he make and did he continue to do animation at all?
By the way, for me animation is more of a hobby, and I studied to be a financier. I will not say that this is a very interesting industry for me. I often use https://edubirdie.com/pay-for-homework to perform complex and boring tasks for me, for example literature essays. And I spend my free time on self-education and hobbies. I recommend this resource to anyone who has problems with studying.