UCA FARNHAM- Animation Foundation Degree

Hey ^^ I should be starting the animation foundation course this september too , So it looks like we'll be in the same class/year.

Hurray i was worried i would be the only one there who knew no body. Will u be staying at a dorm or traveling to uni. Im still undecided atm. But open to staying at a dorm if its a must. What type of animation will u want to specialise in?

Yeah dont worry ^^ I know I wont really know anyone there either (except maybe a few of the people I met at the application day) and im certain a lot of other people will be in the same kind of situation.

I live a good 2 hours away from the university so i'm gonna try and get accommidation to save myself from having to spend hours traveling (4 hours of travel a day does not sound fun :v).But as far as im aware the accommidation is limited so I might end up having to rent a room close by if it comes to that.

I'm probably gonna specialise in 2D animation,I've only tried to do 3D stuff once and it was pain.

Not gunna lie i was so nervous on the application day i didnt talk much to anyone.😭 Lets hope i make friends when i get there. I live an hour an a half away but thats still a treck by itself. Early mornings on packed trains dont sound appeasing. Yh ill probably have to rent a room or do house share as well.

Hmm i like 2d animation but i want to try 3d animation. It will be difficult but thats most things when u start out.

Ye I feel ya,I only really spoke to people during the group inverview and that was only really briefly.Im sure you'll make a ton of friends though ^^.Yeah,an hour and a half by train doesn't sound fun at all,espeshally at peak times.

Yeah,3D is definatly something all animators should learn considering its much more prevelant than 2D nowdays and I definatly plan to at least learn the basics.I'm just probably gonna specialize in 2D because I personally like the style a lot more visually (its also mainly because I already know th rough basics for 2D,so my preferance might change once I start learning 3D)

Yeah lets hope so.🙏 Its me awhile to make friends, not many gd experiences with ppl my age. Truss me rush hr is made. If i get one delay im done for cause them national rail trains leave exactly on time. 😫.

I don't know a lot about animation just small basics but im a quick learner. I would recommend watching some animators on youtube. I found one with a pixar animator and the way he sketches with ease shows years of experience. Ill see if i can send the link over. Yh theres something about doing things the traditional way that pulls me to 2d animation. But thats how all the great animators started. We shouldnt forget it or leave it behind.

Oh yeah,there are quite few sucky people our age.I know thats why im excited to go to an arts school because it means most people should share a lot of the same interests (Hopin to finally find people to game/talk about shows with that aren't just online buddys)..Yeah,I've personally only been in rush hour a few times but those few times where enough to deter me from using trains much.

Yeah dont worry,even if we only know basics we should be fine (we did join the foundation year afterall).Ooo yeah,I should probably try doing that,right now I tend to only follow some animators and 'animation tips' tumblr blogs for referance.

2d animation remains the foundation of all animation even today (with most 3D being at least key framed in 2D originally) so its definatly still super important.

True that.i have quite a lot of interests. Im sure ill make friends. Im just socially awkward at times. U play games? Which console? Or is it on phone. Im ps4/3 so prefer ps thn xbox.
I tend to watch the theory side of things but need to practise on my animation skills more. Drawings quite easy for me but its finding my style that will help me stand out from the crowd.

Here the link

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T-uWyCtDRE0

Hope it work . U can check out a few others and the tips they give u

Yeah I play games.YEEEEE,while I dont own a ps4 (I own a ps3 currently but I super want a ps4) I definatly prefer the games on it to the xbox (Other than that I tend to play 3DS or PC games).
Yup,I really need to practice more too :v .I'd say im about average art wise,im not particularly bad at anything but im not super amazing at anything.

Awesome,thanks ^^

Well i dont outright own the ps4 (its my bros) but i do have a ps3. Im rarely online though since im always busy. Yh most ppl say pc games r bettr than concole but at the end of the day its personal preference. Its gd to know ppl still play 3DS games. Rarely anyone i know still play em.
Yh same here. Ppl say im really gd but as an artist im hard on myself. For some ppl what they may see as a masterpiece i see as something i could do better on.
Was UCA ur first choice for universities?

Yeah I feel ya.Personally I prefer consoles because thats what I grew up on,I'm also pretty attached to some of the console exclusives ( I will admit PC's definatly have a bigger library of games and arn't as limited due to a PC's ability to be upgraded).Yeah,with the nintendo switch comming up and most of the big name franchises already moving onto the next console the 3DS is definatly dying out.

A lot of artists are like that.I think its because while most people will look at our art for maybe a minute we look at it for hours while we're drawing it,so its easier for us to notice the mistakes.
Not originally,but after visiting most of my top choices I definatly found myself liking UCA the most.Complications with one of my course's have also made the grades the most realistic for me to obtain.

Yeah i grew up on consoles too. I remember the days of play station 1 fam! Hahah silent hill was one of the games i played on there. Let me tell u i never touched that game again. Dont think i even finished it. (To scared) 😭😱. The nintendo switch is alright but i dont think it will take off mainly because its only selling point is that u can hook it up to the console and switch it to be portable. And the ad was so silly. Like ur gunna meet someone on the street with it. Nowadays ppl r too busy to play consoles, they mostly on their phones. DS is portable and i rarely go out with it.

Ah i never thought of it that way. I guess u do see ur flaws in ur work while some ppl take that quick glance and they r impressed.

My first choice university was escape studios which is a uni with pearson college london. Its very technical and more film based animation to make thing realistic but some of their student still do animation and story side of things. Plus out of all the uni i applied to which were a few top universities for animation only UCA accepted me. U don't understand how upset i was. Im guessing my portfolio wasnt gd enough.

The playstation 1 was the best,me and my brother used to play tomb raider and spyro (may he rest in piece).Oh yeah the old silent hill was scary as hell,I never played the original but I've played the remake and that definatly scared the **** out of me (Im not the best with scary games).
As far as im aware the switch has already sold out reorder wise,so its going to be somewhat successful.But yeah,I think once the hype dies down its just gonna end up being like the wii u in terms of doing well.Its more powerful than all the othr handhelds and its got better specs than the wii u,but at the same time it doesn't have the same power as the ps4 or xboxone,so its just kinda stuck as this inbetween .

Oh yeah I went to escape studio's,personally it wasn't for me (I'm not a big fan of london) and considering the grades they wanted I wouldn't have gotten in anyway.It sucks only UCA accepted you,but don't feel too bad about it,I know I applied to hertfordshire and apparently only 150 people out of the average 400 people who apply even get to go for an interview.

Yeah i remeber spyro, also rachet clank and crash bandicoot. Lol those games used to the hype years back. Shame its lost its shine. Yh i agree with u. The hype will make it sell and afterwards it will die down. I dont know escape studios seems amazing in pictures and vidoes but the atmosphere was a bit intense. Understandable u want the best talent out there but wow! I thought i was being interviewed for a crime. Plus i was nervous as well so i probable blew it.☹️.
Yh Hertfordshire is ridiculous to get into. Thats like trying to get in the finals for the xfactor or something. They judge ur work really hard.

I think its really important to go to open days as well. I liked the quiteness of farnham. (Since im a nature lover) plus i dont enjoy london life either. I hate rushing through stuff which is technically london personified. I got gd grades, top of my class but i came from a different creative background (fashion), not animation so i guess that didnt help my portfolio much.

Those games where my childhood,it sucks that a lot of them either suck now or have just kinda died.Oh yeah,escape studio's was really intense and personally all the white walls and autolock doors kinda freaked me out a lil (it kinda felt like one of those futuristic movies where technology has replaced everything).I', glad I didn't end up going for an interview there,I probably would have blown it majorly.

I really dont like london,which might just be because Im from a small town but I dont think I'd be able to deal with all the noise and having to take the tube every day to class.I took Psychology ,Design techology and Fine art so in terms of creative backgrounds I definatly had an edge since I'd done enviroment studies and life drawing (I also do a lot of digital art in my free time so I got to put a lot of that in my portfolio).
I don't know how but I did manage to get a conditional offer from hertfordshire ,but due to 1/2 of my Design technology teachers leaving this year I went with farnham for my firm .I'm prettty certain the A,B,C i'm predicted won't hold so I decided it was better to play it safe (my design technology class literally hasn't been taught any of the theory yet ,for mocks we're just being told to revise the exact past paper we're being given)

Haha i agree escape studios is very much futuristic. All they need is a bit of blood on them white walls and u have a gd horror movie set. U can make an impromptu game where u in first person mode and have to find that one door thats unlocked in the building while being chased by some evil murdering psychopath. << lol just made a no1 hit selling game 😂😂😭😭

The interview was tough there. U have to be interviewed twice and it was in groups( no pressure right), thn aftrwards u had to work in teams and work on a industry set project and pitch ur idea u came up with in ur group. Mind u it was a set time given so i was very much a nervous wreck.

I do digital art too, self taught though i aint that gd. I use sai paint tool, but these days i rarely have time. Work is very tiring. Well with those classes u took u got tha skills to do animation, i aint really animated anything major yet, still practising sketches and movement. So ull be doing ur final exams this year? Gd luck! 👍
I got my place just need to register really.

Sounds like a killer idea for a Vive game XD

Jesus,now Im super glad I didn't go to the interview,that sounds terribly stressful.Group projects with class mates already aren't super fun but doing them with strangers is the worst.

Eeeeey,I use paint tool sai too (though I've sorta switched over to clip studio paint now because paint tool sai runs screwy on windows 10 for me).Yeah I'll be doing my final exams this year,I got an A and a B last year so unless I drop like 4 grades I should meet the requirements just fine.Got my offer firmed,just need to finish the course's now.

I'm pretty hype to start university and start doing something I actually enjoy ,so I can't wait for september.

Imagine what a job interview would be like. 😭😭. It will probably be just as tough. Yh most ppl was bare nervous, i had to be the one to start the convos. ( it was awkward at first but we got there)
Hurraayy. Glad to know im not the only one using sai paint tool. I brought the liscense for it years ago. I did BTEC and got triple distinction. Thats great grades though. Now to sort out the equipment, place to stay and student finance along with making some new friends.