Check out a sample day of Pre-College Animation here.

This Pre-College studio gives students the opportunity to explore both 2D and 3D animation. All projects are done using a combination of Adobe Creative Suite, ProCreate, and Autodesk Sketchbook for 2D work and Maya for 3D.

The course introduces students to the basic usage and terminology of traditional animation utilizing 2D hand drawn methods either on paper or digitally using Sketchbook. Participants receive training in fluid representations of motion and expression using traditional 2D principals before moving on to applying them in 3D.

3D animation is more popular than ever but before one can become a skilled 3D animator (whether for character animation or for Visual Effects) the foundations of animation fundamentals, which are rooted in 2D hand-drawn techniques, must be understood and practiced.

Instructor demonstrations emphasize traditional character animation techniques such as squash and stretch, exaggeration, timing, acting and weight. Animation clips will be shown frequently and students will be asked to analyze sequences.

Students should make sure that their computer is loaded with the free software needed for the course, Autodesk Sketchbook and Maya. (Free Maya software is specifically available to high school students.) And of-course Zoom.

This is an immersive studio experience with students earning 3 college credits. Participants are expected to continue working on projects in the evenings and over the weekends.

Check out a sample day of Pre-College Animation 2D/3D here.