Should I go to Animation School?

[G the STAR]

Should I go to animation school to learn how to animate and product a film?

Or through training courses and books can be enough to make me being capable to animate and make a film or video game of my own?

I try to find this answer.. I hope I can get from you with your experience and knowledge.

[Plakkie]

Good question G. I'd like to hear some answers myself. Practically, there are no animation schools in my country, so I try yo learn as much as I can from books and tutorials. I think that that can (can, not will) be enough to produce your own movie or game. But maybe there are some secrets that can't be learned from books?

[Wonderpup]

My experience has been that you end up teaching yourself wether you go to school or not- in the end it all comes down to motivation- the best training in the world is worthless unless you want to learn, and if you do then you will probably be ok without it.

Having said that there are probably advantages to going to (some) schools in terms of networking and future job prospects, and even just to be in the company of like minded people.

[Anti-Distinctly]

Originally Posted by Wonderpup

My experience has been that you end up teaching yourself wether you go to school or not- in the end it all comes down to motivation- the best training in the world is worthless unless you want to learn, and if you do then you will probably be ok without it.

Having said that there are probably advantages to going to (some) schools in terms of networking and future job prospects, and even just to be in the company of like minded people.

I agree. But if I had the option I probably would. I don't have the option due to money/location/time. Mainly time.
I think it woul've been really helpful for me to take classes to begin with, but you're right, if you don't have the motivation to sit in front of your computer night after night, reading all the books and articles you can, then you wont get far.
It's like driving I suppose, I think you only really starting knowing how to drive after you've passed your test.
Most of your learing will come in your own time.

[Plakkie]

Networking and job-connections are probably a big plus for animation schools. Talking to people who enjoy animation and 3D too would be much fun, but, I must say, these forums do help on that part.

[gjjackson]

From what I can tell the Dave's school is pretty thorough. I have even seen a couple of tv commercials of them making the Nasa Seals video. It's pretty top notch. They've did some great work. I couldn't say if it would help in getting work. It's not cheap either. Depends on what kind of money you want to invest. The best thing about it would be taking on a project from the very start to a finished product.

[newtekker04]

I just talked with a guy a couple weeks ago who works at a major video game company. He's also worked in film. I asked him that very question. He said that what employers really look for is what you can do, not whether you have a degree or not. If you can animate/model and do it well, school isn't necessary. However, there are some schools that turn out some really good students. Here in Canada, for example, there is a great school in Toronto called Sheridan College. Apparently, they turn out excellent animators that are usually hired after graduation. However, if you can make a great demo real that shows you are capable, you might be ok without a post-secondary study. He also told me he has a friend that works at Weta who is entirely self-taught! Of course, it ultimately comes down to what you feel you are capable of achieving. If you are diligent enough, learn well on your own, and practice constantly, you're set.

[Plakkie]

That's encouraging info, thanks!

[Sarford]

I would recomend always attending an animation school when you have the time and money for it.
You learn so much more and so much faster in school than on your own. You will have a few years to do only animation without woring about income, projects, motivation etc. (I'm talking mainly about the european situation here, government funded schools). You can play and learn at your harts content. Best of all, you are in a place full with people like you, wanting to learn animation, you can learn from eachother, motivate eachother, build friendships, do projects together etc etc.
You also propably will learn some more skills like drawing, colortechniques, composition, art history, animation history etc.
If you have the chance of atending animation school, don't let it slip!!

Plakkie, there are some colleges (accademies) in holland who have some sort of animation program but if you wanna learn it good and proper go to the academie in Gent. They have a full-blown animation course there. I've done it myself (though never finished it, now I wish I had :/ ).

[mjcrawford]

I am a studant at Westwood collage online. they have a BA in anamation and you can attend class at any time from anywhere (internet required of course) they are a solid school.. and while I taught myself quite a bit before I enrolled, a solid school program can make sure you do not miss the fundementals, which we tend to skip over... I highly recommend it.

[klanderud]

You have to be careful in your decisions if you plan to go to a university. I have seen many people with BA and MA degrees with very little knowledge in 3D animation. Most universities provide no more then one class in 3D animation. So you’re wasting your efforts attending other classes that do not pertain to anything you want to learn. If you plan to teach I would obtain a BA or MA.

I think one of the cheap ways to start is to get a 2 year degree at a community college. Many community colleges have more training in 3D then most universities (such as Lightwave and StudioMAX); as well as, related classes (AutoCAD and ArchiCAD). You can still obtain jobs through the State or Federal government and most companies that requires you to have a degree.

While at a community college I would purchase educational versions of the software and training DVDs.

You can purchase most software through sites like this
(or through school bookstore)

Creation Engine
http://www.creationengine.com/

Studica
http://www.studica.com/products/index.cfm

I am a true believer when it comes to DVD training.
You receive top notch training and you can always review it later.
You’ll never miss a class and it is much cheaper.

You can purchase DVDs through Kurv Studios
(not sure if they have EDU prices)
http://www.kurvstudios.com/
Their Lightwave bundle is $300
They also have Digital Fusion and Zbrush

Also Total Training is a good DVD set.
(You can also get them at creation engine)
http://www.totaltraining.com/

Online training can be obtain through sites like Lynda.com
(You can also get DVDs at creation engine)
http://www.lynda.com/


For visual effects schools I would look into these:

For Lightwave, I had a friend that went to Dave's school and he improved a lot.
http://www.daveschool.com/

For Maya, I know a couple people that taught at Gnomon School which is a great place to start. Maya is a little expensive and so is the training.
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/
They also sell an all digital bundle for $4,505.00 (educational is 10% off)
http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/dvds/all_ble.html
You can also buy them separate or dvd bundles you prefer such as a Shake bundle.

Digital Tutor is a cheaper way then Gnomon School
You can also save as a student 10% off.
Still it would be around a $1,000 for the entire DVD bundel,
but I would rather buy that then one class in Maya.
http://www.digitaltutors.com/digital_tutors/index.php

Please feel free to ask more.

[mjcrawford]

Originally Posted by klanderud

You have to be careful in your decisions if you plan to go to a university. I have seen many people with BA and MA degrees with very little knowledge in 3D animation. Most universities provide no more then one class in 3D animation. So you’re wasting your efforts attending other classes that do not pertain to anything you want to learn. If you plan to teach I would obtain a BA or MA.

That is a Good point! but I would also point out that while my 3d classes are not as many as I would like, if you skip over the drawing, and form, and the history, etc, you will not be a well rounded animator.

Plus if 3d is what you want to do, you can find ways to incorprate it into your non-3d classes. I have gotten many extra credit points in several classes by doing the assignemet in 2d, then going back and doing the same thing in 3d and turning them both in together. Professors not only love getting more than what they asked for, many times they will give you pointers in your 3d work that you would not get in a 3d modeling or 3d animation class.

within our BS program we are taking photoshop, advanced photoshop, 2d texturing, advanced 2d texturing, intro to 3d, 3d modeling, 3d texturing, 3d anamation, advanced modeling, and advanced anamation. plus all the drawing, form, history, and general education classes. together that adds up to a solid skillset for post-grad work.

of course no collage degree is a replacement for actual experance which is why in my spare (laugh) time I practice techniques in Maya and Lightwave. Plus spend as much time as possable in forums like this one learning what others are doing and picking up tips and tricks along the way. I also have Dan Amblin's DVD set, as well as many DVD tutorials that I got from sites like SimplyMaya.com, SimplyLightwave.com, Kurv, and others.

[dgon64]

A few years ago I took a tour of Columbia College here in Chicago as I was debating whether to spend the money on the education. They had pretty decent video and animation departments with several courses available. I was tempted but for the cost of going to school there ( 5-10K so decided not to go there ) I was able to buy all new hardware and software. The downside was that I've had to teach myself all of it through tutorials and various forums so I still feel that I've missed out on many things I could have learned at school. So if you can afford it-definitely if it's the right school but as stated by many others ultimately your work whether school taught or not is what counts. BTW Columbia at the time only taught Maya and XSI-don't know how the've changed in the interim though maybe someone else in this forum may have more up to date info. Ganas ( as it's said in Spanish )- the drive to learn is more important-with that you will find a way to learn.

[SplineGod]

THere are two ways to get into this, the first being what I call the front door approach. You jump in immediately with both feet, get a loan, go to a school and spend a few months totally focused on learning and doing little else.
or
the backdoor approach where you keep your current job, get a computer and software, buy DVDs, books , hang out on forum and learn it in your spare time.

I know very few ppl who have degrees in this business, Most are self taught and the ones who succeed are the ones who are self motivated enough to do well regardless if they have school or not. I dont think school is as important as llearning. Out here in LA you can always find classes to take in the evenings on figure drawing, scultping, painting, and CGI in every form.

As others have pointed out most employers dont care about a degree. The demo reel more or less can give a better idea of your abilities rather then a piece of paper from a school. That demo reel is the great equalizer when it comes to 'front door' training (formal) or 'back door' (informal).

The last thing you want to do is come out of a school saddled with a tremendous debt. The schooling wont give you any more of an edge then someone else who is self taught and is just as good or talented as you. This industry also doesnt have a lot ot offer in terms of permanent long term employment.Its very project based and having a lot of debt only increases the pressure if youre between jobs.

Very few schools can also fulfill the promise of employment. They also cant guarentee what kind of salary youll get and what kind of company youll work for as well as quality of projects etc. As I said before most places dont care about the degree. The reality is that getting hired has a lot more to do with who you know rather then what you know. Most companies tend to promite internally and only look outside the company if they cant find anyone internally. When they do look outside they tend to get references from coworkers. They know that nobody will only recommend good, talent people who are team players. Your demo reall tends to become something that isnt looked at first. Many companies during Siggraph for example receive hundreds if not thousands of demo reels. Looking at every single one is very inefficient if not impossible. Its just easier to get references from coworkers.

In the end I would focus on LEARNING more the the SCHOOLING. If you are self motivated youll learn no matter what your circumstances are. Spend time building up your contants and networking with others in this business. Be active on forums, got to trade shows, put up a website, keep a blog, post examples of your work, etc etc etc. IF I were going to go to a school it would be to take classes on film making, figure drawing, painting, sculpting etc.

[mjcrawford]

Your points are valid SplineGod, but one thing that school can do is keep you on track and at a steady pace. I work 40-50 hours a week at Comcast; I am an official at our local Church, plus have a wife and 2 younglings at home. I found that while I am motivated, it is very difficult to carve out the time for self study with so much going on. School has forced me to stay on track with my learning, without neglecting vital fundamentals. Also while a good demo reel is vital, it depends on what position you are going for, if you are freelance I agree with you 100% but if you want to get a steady job, sometimes not only is a degree beneficial, it may well be required to even get your demo reel in the right hands!

Comcast as you may or may not know owns several cable channels such as G4, E! and others and is soon to launch more, I work here for two reasons: First to pay the bills, and second, I can apply for various 3d related positions as an in-house applicant which gives me an edge. After working for a channel for a few years, I will be able to build a reputation and go freelance if I choose. Every time in the last few months that a 3d related position opens up first and foremost on the requirements for the position is a degree in Graphic arts, followed in order by a demo reel, work experience and proficiency in various software titles (the titles mentioned are Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Lightwave, and Maya, all of which are covered in my classes)