Animation Minor: Degree Information

This course introduces students to a variety of animation production techniques to create believable motion and acting. Students develop skills needed to create appealing character animation (i.e., Disney fundamentals) through a series of exercises in Toon Boom Harmony including ball bounce, walk cycle, and sound sync. Other software used includes Photoshop, Premiere, and After Effects. Individual exploration is emphasized in assignments and critique, culminating in the creation of a short, animated project.

Expanding upon Foundation Drawing 1, students will construct poses for both 2D and 3D character animation. Students will draw from the nude model to explore techniques and concepts including gesture drawing, basic shapes, line of action, silhouette, perspective, balance, force, and rhythm. In addition to in-class drawing, students will participate in weekly lectures and demonstrations. A completed sketchbook at the end of the semester is required.

This class provides students with an introduction to stop-motion animation, covering traditional and non-traditional animation techniques. Students will explore the medium through various exercises, including armature and character building, set-building, animating found objects, replacement animation, and pixelation. Students will produce a short stop-motion animated film for their final project, complete with a title sequence. The class will include recommended readings, lectures, demonstrations as well as stop-motion screenings.

This course is designed for animation, filmmaking, and comic art students. Working from preexisting and student-created scripts and narrative ideas, students analyze the various techniques involved in the visualization of stories and sequences for film and animation production. Coursework includes script and story adaptation, continuity, camera placement, image sequencing, shot composition, styling, and mood. Students apply the visual “language” of storyboarding and continuity sketching. Vigorous in-class critiques address storyboard effectiveness with strong emphasis on the process of revision and refinement. Assignments include the development of several short animation and film storyboards, and a final project consisting of a two- to five-minute production storyboard from the student’s own script or story.

Believable characters remain the foundation and most difficult skill of successful animation. This course concentrates on creating credible characters that can walk, talk, and think, depicted through the techniques of timing, staging, and acting. Students begin with a basic drawing method for describing gesture and form, and then go on to produce pencil tests, animatics, and finished movement animations. Beginning with structured projects aimed at specific animation principles, students eventually develop their own scenarios and final project. Lectures, in-class drawing time, and weekly assignments are augmented by occasional demonstrations and visual aids. Students also analyze basic animation principles from single-frame viewing of short selected segments of classic animated shorts and features. Weekly group critiques and individual consultation during in-class work are also provided.

Students study various models of character creation, including realistic, heroic, exaggerated, and invented form, in addition to a variety of body expressions, facial expressions, and locomotion. Discussions and assignments in character creation for the narrative are explored. Lectures and discussions cover historical and contemporary animation. Weekly journals and exercises are assigned so that students may develop observational and invented figure drawing skills. An emphasis is placed on reducing detail to make a character suitable for animation and developing character sheets to help visual rotations in perspective space.

In this class Toon Boom Harmony is taught as a way of creating 2D animation, using a 2D digital puppet (also known as a Character Rig). Exercises are conducted in motion graphics, kinetic typography, cut-out puppet animation, and 2D visual effects. Students research contemporary studios doing innovative work in the field and complete a final project.

In this course, students continue working with the software toolset of Maya, focusing on the Animation menu set and character motion. Students apply their knowledge of the Disney Principles of Animation by posing and moving character rigs in 3D sets. Starting with simple exercises that gradually progress, students gain experience with the software while honing their skills in creating authentic motion and compelling storytelling.

3D modelers produce characters, props, and environments seemingly by magic. What are the secret methods that make their creations functional and compelling? In this course, students will explore essential modeling tools and techniques, craft organic and hard-surface meshes, and learn how to organize the underlying structures so these assets are ready for rigging, animation, surfaces, and lighting. Skills and concepts are applicable to film and television entertainment, video games, advertising, commerce, education, pop art, and more.

A 3D model is a dimensional canvas waiting to be fully realized, its generic gray giving way to wood and metal, paint and rust, freckles and scars. Once surface qualities are defined, evocative light and shadow pull the viewer further into the scene, stirring emotions, and enhancing narrative. Learn how to turn models into works of art by exploring how concepts from character design, production design, photography, cinematography, painting, optics, and other disciplines combine in the CG realm.

Designed to acquaint students technically and conceptually with the medium of sound, this course provides a basic working vocabulary for understanding, discussing, and producing sounds. Topics covered include basic perceptual concepts and fundamentals of composing sound such as pitch, rhythm, duration, and volume. Students complete a series of assigned projects designed to demonstrate and assess competencies with microphones, studio recording, and digital editing, mixing, and processing.

In this course, students learn how to enhance films and stories with visual effects, using both commercial techniques and do-it-yourself principles. The course focuses on incorporating visual effects in live-action footage using Adobe Creative Cloud and Maxon One. The course is rooted in principles that allow digital illusions to cross the threshold into believability. Students learn previsualization, how to shoot footage for VFX shots, compositing, chroma keying, rotoscoping, masking, tracking, integrating stock elements, particle simulations, light effects, matte painting, and more. Students complete engaging and creative technical exercises and assignments to create a finished short piece, utilizing techniques learned in class. This class is designed for both film and animation majors.

Take 3D skill sets to the next level of complexity and artistry by taking a deep dive into the depths of technical art. Through the art of rigging, give hard-surface and organic models the underlying structures that animators use to create the illusion of life by implementing skeletons, deformers, and controllers. Through the art of MayaVFX, explore and apply powerful particle, hair, and fluid simulation capabilities to enhance animations and visualizations. Finally, plan and execute an independent project that promotes research and practice in an area of special CGI interest. This project can both expand a personal portfolio and serve as practice for the senior project.

This course builds upon the traditional character animation content (i.e., Disney Principles of Animation) taught in Character Animation 1. Students develop sophisticated secondary movement and overlapping action through several five- to ten-second animation assignments focusing on acting and physicality. Projects are based on everyday scenarios and require the student to produce industry-level animation evoking believable character movement, thought, and emotion. While this is a 2D animation class, students who have completed the 3D Animation course may choose to work with Maya software with faculty permission.

Experimental animation is a form of animation that is non-narrative and has a unique form of nonlinear structure. This course will explore the history and materials of the Experimental Animation tradition. Through short exercises, students will explore process-oriented animation and experiments with physical materials and camera techniques. Additional techniques will include pixilation, stop-motion, direct animation, drawing, sand, and paint as well as sound. After much exploration, students will plan and execute a self-directed complete animation.