Full Sail University is one of the giants within the digital arts world. It has been in business for more than 30 years, and it stresses a hands-on approach to learning, as opposed to schools that might have more academic settings, according to the school's website.
Full Sail is located in Winter Park, Florida, a drive of only 15 to 20 minutes north of downtown Orlando. The school has an entire building devoted to computer animation and offers a Bachelor of Science degree in that field. Full Sail University boasts graduates who have worked in the digital animation field on movies such as \"How to Train Your Dragon,\" \"Twilight\" and \"Avatar,\" as well as graduates who work for Pixar.
Full Sail University
3300 University Boulevard
Winter Park, Florida 32792
407-679-6333
fullsail.edu
DAVE School is located on the Universal Studios Orlando back lot and offers a single digital animation program that is taught in four, 12-week blocks. The philosophy of the DAVE School is to give students the basics of every aspect of animation, rather than an intensive program focusing on a specialty. The idea is that the more diverse your knowledge, the better chance you will have at finding that first job in digital animation. Much of this focus is on creating and revising an animation reel.
Some courses include Organic Modeling, Lighting, Character Animation, Visual Effects Compositing and Employment Strategies. In the final section of the program, students work together to create a movie, which is screened at one of Universal's theaters. Alumni have ended up at places like Sony Imageworks, Dreamworks and Activision.
DAVE School International
2000 Universal Studios Plaza #200
Orlando, Florida, 32819
407-224-3283
daveschool.com
The University of Central Florida (UCF) is located in the Waterford Lakes area of Orlando, about 20 minutes east of downtown. It is Orlando's largest college, and it offers a Bachelor of Arts in Animation degree. While the school once specialized in cell animation, the focus has shifted to digital animation in recent years, according to the school's website.
This animation program is located in UCF's Department of Art and therefore places emphasis on the artistry of animation, rather than the more technical focus of the other schools, though they do say that developing skills needed to compete in the job market is also an important aspect of the program. Acceptance is limited, as they are looking for applicants with both technical and artistic abilities.
For those who are more technically minded, UCF also offers a Bachelor of Science in Digital Media, which offers courses such as Visual Language of the Moving Image, Artificial Environments and Effects, Advanced 3D Animation and Digital Media Production.
University of Central Florida Department of Art
PO Box 161342
Orlando, FL 32816
407-823-2676
art.ucf.edu
UCF Department of Digital Media
PO Box 163121
Orlando, Florida 32816
407?823?6100
dm.ucf.edu