The Best Colleges for Computer Animation

California Institute of the Arts

• According to Education Portal, CalArts in Valencia boasts some pretty famous alumni---among them director Tim Burton and John Lasseter, chief creative officer at Pixar studios. The school offers two tracks of animation education---experimental and character animation. Both tracks feature a foundation in the basics. Students take classes in drawing, 2D and 3D animation. In the character animation track, students have additional opportunities to study dialogue, sound effects, music, illustration and graphic novels. On the experimental animation side, students are encouraged to study experimental animation forms, and the school enjoys an international reputation as an innovator in experimental animation.

  California Institute of the Arts
  24700 W. McBean Parkway
  Valencia, CA 91355
  661-255-1050
  calarts.edu

University of Southern California in Los Angeles

• Students in the animation program at UCLA start winning awards in animation before they even leave school. In 2009, several of the university's students won Student Academy Awards---including Gold and Silver, attesting to the animation skills that the school helps its students to acquire. Several animation concentrations exist including visual effects, character animation, three-dimensional computer animation and interactive animation. Courses include drawing, animation workshop and legal issues in animation.

  University of Southern California in Los Angeles
  Los Angeles, CA 90089
  213-740-2311
  ucla.edu

Savannah College of Art and Design

• According to Savannah College of Art and Design's (SCAD) website, its animation school has been called the "Ivy League of Animation" by 3D World magazine. Graduates of this school get jobs at places like Dream Works, Electronic Arts, Pixar and Disney, which attest to the program's world class education. Students of the SCAD's animation department learn elements of storytelling along with art basics like drawing, art and animation history and 2D and 3D animation production. Additionally, students round out their educational experiences by taking classes in film, music, dance and disciplines. Upon graduating, students are prepared to work in a variety of jobs including as a storyboard artist, character designer and art director.

  Savannah College of Art and Design
  P.O. Box 2072
  Savannah, GA 31402
  800-869-7223
  scad.edu

The Rhode Island School of Design

• U.S. News and World Report named the Rhode Island School of Design one of the top art schools in the country. Students of the animation and film programs have access to production studios for film, video and puppet animation as well as digital editing and sounding mixing rooms. RISD's program encourages students to hone their creative vision. Additionally, aspiring animators are taught the skills, which will make their work strong and give them the analytical know-how to solve even the most challenging problems in the animation process. There are classes offered in foundational drawing, art history, filmmaking and time, light and sound.

  The Rhode Island School of Design
  Two College St.
  Providence, RI 02903
  800-364-7473
  risd.edu