BS in Entertainment Design - Animation Track

The demand for animated content has never been higher, driven in part by the explosion of streaming services and rapid growth in the video game industry. If you have a passion for storytelling combined with a love of animation (both 2D and 3D), you’ll be at home in the Animation program in the Entertainment Design department.

You’ll explore and expand your creativity, as well as your core skills, including: character animation, directing, storyboarding, modeling, layout, previs and lighting. Expect to make films and participate in video game projects. In fact, well over one hour of animation is produced in the program every year, with many shorts going on to play festivals around the world.

What You'll Learn

You will learn how to create animated films from the ground up. First, you’ll develop strong fundamentals in both 2D and 3D animation. Then you'll learn proven brainstorming, pitching and world-building techniques. Finally, you'll hone those skills to a razor's edge by working in close-knit teams on multiple projects. In the program, you’ll use industry-standard tools and experience a production process that prepares you for a career in professional animation.

Key Courses Include

  • Shorts 1
  • CG 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  • 2D 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  • Capstone Short Film

Teamwork and Collaboration

At ArtCenter, we know that industry pipelines are all about teamwork. You’ll collaborate across disciplines with students majoring in Illustration, Game Design and Concept Design to make entertaining, personal, and socially relevant films and games. These collaborative projects emulate the real-world studio experience and provide excellent portfolio and resume material.

Our Faculty

Learn from a distinguished group of talented faculty as you strengthen your design, aesthetic and teamwork skills. Located in the entertainment capital of the world, ArtCenter taps into an instructor pool of world-class professionals from the feature/TV, animation, gaming and live-action film industries. Our faculty work for entertainment giants, such as: Disney, Dreamworks, ILM, Sony, Insomniac Games, Riot Games, Sony Santa Monica Studio, Treyarch, Warner Brothers, Marvel, Netflix, Aardman, Nickelodeon, Fox Pictures, LAIKA, Universal, Blur Studio, Tencent and Blizzard.

Career Opportunities

Our rigorous curriculum is also designed with flexibility in mind, allowing students to customize their coursework toward mastery within a specialty of their choosing — feature animation, TV animation, video games and VFX — preparing you for a range of careers at start-ups or established companies, including:

  • Animation Director
  • Storyboard Artist
  • 2D or 3D Character Animator
  • 2D or 3D Layout Artist
  • 3D Previs Artist
  • 3D Modeler: Character Artist
  • 3D Modeler: Environment/Prop Artist
  • 3D Lighting Artist
  • Unreal Artist

Notable Alumni

Our graduates are in-demand visual storytellers whose animation educates, entertains and inspires.

Your journey toward a career in Animation starts here.

Learn more about ArtCenter's Entertainment Design major

The Joys of World Building: Entertainment Design Shines

Associate Chair, Entertainment Design, Animation
Paul Taylor, Associate Chair, Entertainment Design, Animationad for ArtCenter

Paul Taylor

Paul has worked in feature film VFX on films including: Suckerpunch, A-Team, The Amazing Spiderman, and Oblivion.

Animation Student Work

ArtCenter offers three Entertainment Design tracks

Learn more about our tracks in Concept Design and Game Design.

Animation stills by Ainsley Dye

Take the first step toward a career in animation