Animation Core Curriculum

This course introduces students to the mindful exploration of their identity in the arts.  Students reflect on personal influences, mentors, and aspirations, synthesizing them into an Artist Statement. Forum challenges students to use the Artist Statement as a compass of values with which they examine their creative work in the attempt to keep it consistent with their ambitions, influences and priorities.  Forum meetings are made regularly, by appointment, with FNM Animation Faculty Advisors. 

By utilizing a variety of pre-cinema and hands-on techniques, students will explore ways of seeing animated movement and the world in new ways.

Students will advance hands-on physical animation and digital techniques to develop self directed, faculty, or program wide project proposals with exploratory and experimental outcomes. Students will employ techniques already learned and new methodologies as needed by their overall goals.

Students will learn traditional animation movement fundamentals and apply them digitally to create character-based animation involving full motion with synchronized voice.

Before Cinema there was animation. Students will be introduced to the history of animation that is multicultural and diverse spanning thousands of years. Outcomes include research and writing on animation history.

In this course students apply storyboard and film language to execute visual stories using a variety of previsualization techniques.

Students will be introduced to character rig setups for use in 2D animation using industry level software. Many animated shows for television use puppet rigs for cartoon animation. Students will design, rig and animate during the course of this class.

Develop your understanding of character design through a series of exercises and explorations of style, emotion, and silhouette. Create dynamic poses, push your line of action, and develop turn-around character sheets.

Students will spend 2 semesters starting in the fall developing a short animated film from start to finish. First time students work collaboratively. Returners have the option to work independently.