Course description
MA 3D Animation
Master the art of 3D Animation
This postgraduate qualification is designed for students that want to take their computer animation skills to the highest level.
During the first 18 weeks you’ll learn your craft from the comfort of your home and master advanced practises, such as creature interaction, dialogue and lipsync. You will then put your skills to test by working on two industry standard projects, creating high quality animations that can form part of your showreel.
At the end of the degree you will have earned a postgraduate qualification, have a showreel of computer animation work, a thorough understanding of the animation/vfx industry and the skills and connections to kick-start your creative career.
Our Head of Animation, Alex Williams, has developed the MA 3D Animation programme, bringing his experience from working at leading studios including Disney, DreamWorks, Fox, Warner Bros and Sony. The course will be led by Alex with guest lectures from animation professionals working in the industry.
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Suitability - Who should attend?
An undergraduate honours degree with a significant component in the field of animation or related discipline.
We're also happy to consider applicants without a degree if you have significant industry experience in the field of animation or a related area.
We'll ask suitable applicants to submit a creative portfolio and attend an interview.
English Language requirements
If your first language is not English you may need to complete an English language test, such as a Pearson English language test (PTE Academic) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test, to demonstrate you have the language skills needed to complete your degree. All our courses are taught in English.
For more information about admission requirements, please visit the institute website.
Training Course Content
Module 1 - Locomotion and Mechanics
- Week 1 - General Introduction to Maya
- Basic modelling
- Texturing
- Lighting
- Week 2 - General Introduction to Maya
- Lighting
- Texturing
- Rigging
- Week 3 - General Principles of Animation and an Introduction to Locomotion
- Week 4 - Advanced Locomotion
- Runs
- Hops
- Jumps
- Skips
- Week 5 - Introduction to Character Animation
- Week 6 - More on Character Animation
- Building and blocking a shot
- Parenting
- Constraints
Module 2 - Character Performance
- Week 1 - Weight and flexibility. Cartoon physics - animating a Box Lift creating characters
- Week 2 - Animal locomotion, trots walks and runs
- Week 3 - Animal locomotion continued
- Week 4 - Acting, dialogue and lipsync
- Week 5 - Final exercise
- Week 6 - Demo reel
Module 3 (unit 13-18) - Animals and Creatures
- Week 1 - Advanced character animation: dialogue and lipsync
- Week 2 - Advanced character animation: acting and performance
- Week 3 - Advanced motion capture and facial performance
- Week 4 - Advanced creature animation: creature performance and acting
- Week 5 - Advanced character and creature interactions
- Week 6 - Demo reel and polish
Module 4 - Studio Project
Module 5 - Production Project
Why choose Escape Studios
Top 6% of Institutions for Graduate Employability -- by Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
First Unreal Authorised Training Center in the UK
Expenses
- Tuition fees for on-campus: £17,995 per year
- Tuition fees for live online: £15,450 per year
Continuing Studies
On completion of the course you will graduate with a postgraduate qualification and the technical skills required by the industry, helping you break into the animation world and make an impact.
Animation artists often start out in junior roles, but can rise to become mid-level and senior role such as Lead Animators and Technical Directors. From here the path is open to becoming an Animation Supervisor.
Our alumni, dubbed ‘Escapees’ go on to work in many areas of the industry including 3D animation for films, TV, games, and visual effects. Escapees from our Animation courses are now working at companies including: Pixar, BlueZoo and Framestore.