Animation Courses

An integration of various creative arts used in animation, including analysis of visual language, to complete a survey course of this selected topic.

Requirement: SFTV majors and minors only; University Core fulfilled: Explorations: Creative Experience

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting days/times 

This course constitutes an overview of visual story development and the art of pitching storyboards. Students will learn the rudiments of visual thinking and storytelling by creating five original animation story-boards that express their ideas in a visual form. Both narrative and non-narrative approaches will be considered. Also, taught and discussed, in both a practical and aesthetic context, will be the history, ethics, current practices, purposes, styles, genres and future directions in visual storytelling and animation production. 

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting days/times 

Intermediate workshop in the art of traditional animated film production. Topics of study include digital sound production, motion and articulation strategies, camera and post-production techniques.

Prerequisite: ANIM 120
Corequisite: ANIM 260

Requirement: Majors/Minors only

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting times/dates.

Creating convincing worlds and expressive characters are fundamental to animation. We create worlds and stories for the audience to connect and share our characters’ experiences. This introductory course will discuss 3D computer animation best practices and teach you the fundamentals of computer graphics using industry standard tools and workflows.

Prerequisite: None, open to all Animation Majors and Minors

Requirement: Majors/Minors only

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting days/times 

The integration of animation and interactivity is explored to show how user-controlled animation for games is different than for film and linear narratives. There is also an emphasis on design issues and scripting for interactivity.

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting days/times  

Animated Perspectives aims to provide students the opportunity to think deeply about the role their art will play after graduation. As creators, we are responsible for the impact our work has, and so it’s important that we understand the “big picture” conversations that are happening in entertainment, such as: lack of racial diversity, breaking gender stereotypes, and more. By having an open discussion about relevant topics, students will create more socially conscious work. A diverse set of guest speakers from the animation industry will also provide honest advice on what it’s really like to work in entertainment, including topics like dealing with unemployment and labor issues.

Requirement: SFTV majors and minors only

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting days/times 

Advanced research and practice in creating and planning animated film and video. Professional experience in storyboard production.

Prerequisite: ANIM 310

Requirement: Majors and minors only

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting times/dates.

Development of a 3D animated environment using virtual reality software tools to create an immersive user-controlled experience.

 Junior or Senior standing required.

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting times/dates.

Professional experience in animation. Animation internship. Portfolio and demo reel and/or website development. Vocational strategies.

Requirement: Major or minors only, juniors and seniors

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting times/dates.

This course focuses on the practical experience of animation production. The class will culminate in the development, direction, and production of a sophisticated and well-produced film project. Students are free to determine the style, format and genre of project.

Prerequisite ANIM 495

Requirement: Major or minors only, juniors and seniors

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting times/dates.

This class will provide students a strong foundation to confidently work with sound in their own animated projects and beyond.  Through screenings, workshop discussions, hands-on recording and post-production sessions, students will explore a variety of styles and techniques to creatively enhance animation with sound.

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting days/times.

Pixel animation is an extension of fundamental animation and presents a new medium for even experienced animators to expand their repertoire. The class is broken up into two halves- the first focuses on technique and understanding the medium. The second half of the class is focused on the production of in-game assets. Students use those assets to replace the titular character in the game Shovel Knight, allowing for the student to develop an understanding of taking a character from concept to completion in the context of a pixel platformer.

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting days/times.

Designed as a class to nurture the creative process, students will delve into world building (video games, live action/animated feature film and television production) by focusing on character development. Students will learn brainstorming techniques, character design, story development, and the pitch process through lectures, experiential journaling, industry guest speakers, and a field trip where the students will visit 2-3 major media studios to learn the production process first-hand. Much of the class will revolve around developing a television series pitch bible/deck which the students will present to the class and participate in a peer review. This class is a must for any student who aspires to develop, produce, and run their own show or create their own intellectual property.

Requirement: Majors and minors only, juniors and seniors only

Meetings: See PROWL for meeting times/dates.

Come make some games! We will be learning about game design and theory through the hands-on production of small game experiences in the Unity game engine.

Prerequisite: ANIM 250

Juniors and Seniors only.

See PROWL for meeting days/times.

This writing for animated television course focuses on the basics of screenwriting and the development process, taking an idea from concept to pitch to outline. The goal of this class is for students to have a completed pitch and pilot for an animated series, as well as a thorough understanding of what a career in screenwriting entails.

See PROWL for meeting days/times.

Animated TV shows used to be fairly straight-forward and predictable. However, in today’s world of streaming services and edgier cable channels, animation can be much more layered and adventurous. Whether it be a nihilist scientist traveling the multiverse to a depressed, former TV star horse searching to find happiness, animated show creators center their visions around a wide variety of nuanced characters. This is one of many reasons why animation is so exciting right now and showcases more diverse and unique voices than any other genre on television. In this class, you’ll develop your own original animated TV series concept and write the script for a pilot based on this idea. In addition to that, you’ll also learn many different aspects of writing for animated television, not only on the creative side, but from a business standpoint as well. Most importantly, you will learn about writing more visually and expressing your voice in this exciting and limitless genre. Side note: you do not have to be able to draw in this class. If you can draw, that’s great, but our focus will be writing and creating your show (also I don’t know how to draw so I can’t teach that). 

Matt Price is an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer whose animation credits include “Regular Show” (Cartoon Network), “Final Space” (Adult Swim) and the upcoming “Bat Family” (Amazon).