The Student Room Group

Should I do an animation degree or not?

Hello. I was wondering if doing an animation degree will fulfil what I truly love about animation. Animation in general, I’m more drawn to the environment, rather than the character, and I am interested in minor details of a animation such as textures in the background. I would like to create these instead of character animation more. Would animation be a good degree to do this? I would love to work in an animation studio modelling and rendering the environment, rather than the character as I am more into minor details such as elements, textures of a building, things that occur behind the character. I’m interested in 2d and 3d of this. Please help. Plus I’m into concept art and story boarding of an animation.
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by Toaster 352
Hello. I was wondering if doing an animation degree will fulfil what I truly love about animation. Animation in general, I’m more drawn to the environment, rather than the character, and I am interested in minor details of a animation such as textures in the background. I would like to create these instead of character animation more. Would animation be a good degree to do this? I would love to work in an animation studio modelling and rendering the environment, rather than the character as I am more into minor details such as elements, textures of a building, things that occur behind the character. I’m interested in 2d and 3d of this. Please help. Plus I’m into concept art and story boarding of an animation.

Hey there!

I'm on my third year of BA (Hons) Animation at Plymouth College of Art. I would definitely recommend doing an Animation degree, or some sort of paid online course. It is important to be properly taught how to work to industry standards, as well as learning other parts of the animation pipeline so that you have a comprehensive understanding of the animation process from start to finish. It seems like you would be looking to specialise in background design, which is something that you can 100% do within an Animation course. You can specialise in any part of the animation pipeline; it doesn't have to be character animation! If you're stuck between 2D and 3D, then I recommend doing either a degree or an online course because creating 2D and 3D backgrounds are two VERY different practices. 2D background design works with software such as ToonBoom, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop etc and requires skills in drawing, colouring, etc. 3D backgrounds are much more technical and one background is normally made by a couple of different people. It begins with modelling (which means everything is grey), which is a specialism in itself. Then it requires texturing and UV wrapping, which is again another technique. The final look of the background won't be achieved until it is rendered, which is yet another technique to learn. As you can see there is a big difference between 2D and 3D backgrounds!

The first year of a three year animation degree is there to allow you to experiment and explore lots of different areas and practices within animation, so you would be able to work out whether you'd prefer to go into 2D background design or 3D modelling. You can also develop your skills in concept art and storyboarding, with the option to specialise in it if you wish to :smile: I started off wanting to specialise in background design/concept art too, as I was also drawn to the background details rather than the characters. Whilst I still love doing backgrounds now, I have decided to specialise in 2D deformation rigged character animation :smile:

I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out to me again through here or through UniBuddy and I would be more than happy to talk to you more about studying Animation.
Lauren :smile:
Third Year Animation Student and Student Ambassador
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by Plymouth College Of Art
Hey there!

I'm on my third year of BA (Hons) Animation at Plymouth College of Art. I would definitely recommend doing an Animation degree, or some sort of paid online course. It is important to be properly taught how to work to industry standards, as well as learning other parts of the animation pipeline so that you have a comprehensive understanding of the animation process from start to finish. It seems like you would be looking to specialise in background design, which is something that you can 100% do within an Animation course. You can specialise in any part of the animation pipeline; it doesn't have to be character animation! If you're stuck between 2D and 3D, then I recommend doing either a degree or an online course because creating 2D and 3D backgrounds are two VERY different practices. 2D background design works with software such as ToonBoom, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop etc and requires skills in drawing, colouring, etc. 3D backgrounds are much more technical and one background is normally made by a couple of different people. It begins with modelling (which means everything is grey), which is a specialism in itself. Then it requires texturing and UV wrapping, which is again another technique. The final look of the background won't be achieved until it is rendered, which is yet another technique to learn. As you can see there is a big difference between 2D and 3D backgrounds!

The first year of a three year animation degree is there to allow you to experiment and explore lots of different areas and practices within animation, so you would be able to work out whether you'd prefer to go into 2D background design or 3D modelling. You can also develop your skills in concept art and storyboarding, with the option to specialise in it if you wish to :smile: I started off wanting to specialise in background design/concept art too, as I was also drawn to the background details rather than the characters. Whilst I still love doing backgrounds now, I have decided to specialise in 2D deformation rigged character animation :smile:

I hope this helps and please feel free to reach out to me again through here or through UniBuddy and I would be more than happy to talk to you more about studying Animation.
Lauren :smile:
Third Year Animation Student and Student Ambassador

Do you have any recommendations for doing online courses in concept art/animation? I largely enjoy character and world design.
I think it's certainly worth pursuing this profession. And now professionals in this environment are getting paid handsomely. Just, in my opinion, if you graduate in design, you can show your experience in web site programming, or do web site design, or document templates in the form of a newspaper template. You can even create animations on websites, this topic is very popular in developments right now.
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by Toaster 352
Hello. I was wondering if doing an animation degree will fulfil what I truly love about animation. Animation in general, I’m more drawn to the environment, rather than the character, and I am interested in minor details of a animation such as textures in the background. I would like to create these instead of character animation more. Would animation be a good degree to do this? I would love to work in an animation studio modelling and rendering the environment, rather than the character as I am more into minor details such as elements, textures of a building, things that occur behind the character. I’m interested in 2d and 3d of this. Please help. Plus I’m into concept art and story boarding of an animation.

Hi @Toaster 352!

My name is Rohnak, and I'm in my second year of BA/MArt The Art of Computer Animation (Integrated Masters) at Escape Studios. I think it's really great that you're not only looking for jobs in the Animation industry, but also have a good idea of what your specialism within it would be! If you're looking to work in a studio, I would absolutely recommend some kind of formal education in the sector, so you can get all the relevant skills in the industry-standard software and a nice certification that shows that you're a competent and dedicated creative. To be honest, it'd be quite difficult to get work without one, especially if you have your eyes on a big-name studio. I can confirm that most animation courses will allow you to focus on environments if this is your interest, though it would still be good to check on a case-by-case basis if you're thinking of applying to universities.

Another invaluable thing that any good course will give you are connections. You'll hear this a lot in the entertainment industry, but a lot of hiring takes place via networking. Any good university will have plenty of opportunities for you to get your name and your work out there. For example, Escape Studios has "Industry Weeks" quite often, where we can meet with recruiters and industry professionals. Furthermore, students are encouraged to send their work to film festivals! In short, the degree, the networking, and the guidance that you will receive from a good course make the challenge of "breaking in" to the industry a lot easier. Not all Animation courses are created equal, though, so if you do end up applying to universities, make sure to ask lots of questions about how they will develop your employability and the networking/industry engagement opportunities that they provide.

I hope this gave you some insight on what a degree will give you. If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to answer! Good luck. :smile:

-Rohnak
Escape Studios Student Rep
Original post by Toaster 352
Hello. I was wondering if doing an animation degree will fulfil what I truly love about animation. Animation in general, I’m more drawn to the environment, rather than the character, and I am interested in minor details of a animation such as textures in the background. I would like to create these instead of character animation more. Would animation be a good degree to do this? I would love to work in an animation studio modelling and rendering the environment, rather than the character as I am more into minor details such as elements, textures of a building, things that occur behind the character. I’m interested in 2d and 3d of this. Please help. Plus I’m into concept art and story boarding of an animation.

You've obviously got a keen interest in Animation, the next step would be to do your research on universities that offer the course and attend online open days to discover if the course on offer suits your particular interests. Chat to current students where you can and ask lots of questions to the academics to ensure the course will be a good fit.

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