[Jesta78]

Hey people, I really need help in deciding which art school is best to attend. I want to go to an art school to major in 3D animation, but I also want to gain a good background in my tradtional skills as well. My animation teacher have recommended many schools such as Fullsail, VFS, Gnomon. I have done my research on these schools and they are more geared to teach you how to master the programs (Maya, Softimage, Lightwave, 3D Studio Max for games) used in the industry in a short period of time. Granted, they all have really good reputations but as far as I can tell they don't seem to give you a good traditional art background (this is just my opinion and from what I have found from seeing their curriculum, I could be wrong though because looks can be deceiving).

Now I have talked to my multimedia professor and he recommended looking into, Ringling, Art institute of Pittsburgh, School of Visual Arts and Art Center. Now my main concern, is that I want to get the "most bang for my buck." Ok here we go, (sorry for the long message but I am desperate). SVA has three degrees for animation, one for traditional, one for cartooning, and the other for 3D. I want to become a 3D animator, but I want to gain the traditional animation skills that I need. The 2D anim. degree teaches you all the fundamentals for tradtional animation, and focus more on storytelling. Unfortunately, they don't teach you any of the programs used for the industry. Their cartooning degree seem to focus on traditonal art skills, such as illustration, painting, storytelling and character development. Yet again, no 3D courses. Now for the 3D degree or computer art. They use Maya, Softimage and 3D Studio Max as their primary programs. The entire curriculum is centered around you learning a program then deciding whether to focus on the web, gaming or movie industry in your third and fourth years. You get like one semester of drawing and writing, no painting courses. Yes, I know you can take other couses as well, but the way how the curriculum is set up, you're going to be busy learning a billion different programs at the same time that you're not going to be able to practice your traditonal skills (I want to specialize in cel-shaded, 3D animation). Sorry for the long post, but SVA was my first choice until I started looking through the curriculum for the degrees.

Ok, my second choice is the AI of Pittsburgh, now I must say their curriculum looks lovely. It covers all the bases, illustration, painting (digital and traditional), storytelling, 2D and 3D animation (I'm still trying to find out which high end programs they use, so far all I see them using is 3D Studio Max. I'm not sure if they use Maya or Softimage). Two things though, I HAVE TO TAKE CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, MATH AND BIOLOGY. I suck at the sciences, you see their degree is a "Media Arts and Animation Bachelor of Science." Ahmm, no offense, but what does phsysics, chemistry, and math have to do with art. I kinda understand biology for anatomy, but I mean c'mon. (Sorry for whinning but I really hate those subjects, but nothing good ever comes easy huh). The second reason, and in my opinion the most important, I'll be far away from the industry (New York, California) that my chance of getting good contacts will dramatically decrease. I mean you can go into cafes and restaurants and meet people in the industry in NY and Cali, from there you can network. I'm not too sure about my chances in Pittsburgh, no offense. I haven't done that much research on AI, so comments and suggestion are extremely welcomed.

As far as I have heard, Art center is the place to be. It's right in the center of the 3D animation industry, great for networking and meeting people. The market is very big, I mean if you want to seriously be a 3D animator you have to go to California, from what I have been told. They just redesigned their curriculum so that is transdisiplinary, so that you can combine different aspects of each of their programs with your program and create magic baby. They also use Maya as their primary 3D program. Before they redesigned their curriculum, I was a little skeptical because there are courses of the other programs that I would love to take. More than likely I would major in Enviromental Design and take courses from their illusrtation program, seeing that the don't have a program for ANIMATION. Herein lies my problem. Granted it is an excellent school, but there are no animation courses. They do have a program for film, but that's not what I want to do. All the 3D animation or I should say 3D modelling is for their enviromental and transportation design programs. See my dilemna. I haven't finished researching there courses, so maybe something will come up, unfortunately, right now, I haven't found anything.

Finally, we have Ringling. As far as I know, this is another excellent school and the fact that they exhibit students work at SIGGRAPH is just what anyone needs to know to pack up and attend that art school. Their curriculum is excellent, Maya, Deep Paint and Shake are the primary programs they use for 3D animation. The curricullum also covers the film and game industry as well as the web. They also focus on giving students a strong background in traditional art and animation as well as the importance of storytelling (There are alot of life drawing couses in their curricullum as well as other courses that deal with color, light, timing, production). I haven't done alot of research on the school so I can't really list any pros and cons.

There you have it to the very few people who have made it this far. Everything that I have wrote is based on each school's curriculum, representatives that I have talked to and my visit to SVA. Sorry if this post is too long but I am really stressed out and confused and I really need some feedback. Thankies all around, Later.

[Mendler]

I was looking for the exact same thing you were. RIT is supposed to be good for computer animation and some art, however, I applied to (and got in) Hampshire College, which is right down the street from UMASS in Amherst .. it has a computer animation major, and does tons of traditional art. the good thing about this school is that you design your own curriculum .. if you think you need more traditional art then design and modeling, then take it. as long as you get the classes in the areas that you need. check it out.

[Grim911]

I don't honestly know the best 3D/2D school but I can tell you about the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago where I am currently attending for media arts and animation. All the Art Institutes teach Maya. They used to teach 3D studio Max but they switched to Maya when it started getting hot. The AI (Art Institute) teach a very well rounded education. Your first year or so is mostly pencil work, mastering your drawing and design skills. You would also learn effective color uses from the color theory classes. I think what makes the AI schools so strong is the fact that they have such a large network of schools. So the job placement rate is above 95%. Speaking for personal experience I am very happy with this school. I wasn't exactly impressed with the students pure art talent here but, those with that pure artistic talent really shine. Well I hope I helped you a little. Their website is

Art Institute International

Peace man

[c]

If you are considering art center i wouldn't go with environmental design. It's just completely different from what you seem to want to do. I would say go for illustration major but choose the entertainment design track. this will give you a solid traditional background and still let you explore 3d freely. but if you dont have any interest in traditional art (which would hinder you in your 3d career i would think) then I don't think AC is your place. it's really expensive too so there isn't a point in it if all you really want to do is 3d work.

check out some of the 3d-only schools around.

[ January 20, 2002: Message edited by: c ]

[Jesta78]

Thanks alot guys, I really needed this information. I'm really looking into SVA, Ringling and AI of Pittsburgh right now (process of elimination ). I was wondering which AI is better, Pittsburgh or Ft. Lauderndale. The tuition is right in my price range too, but SVA and Ringling offers direct contact with the industry (SIGGRAPH, NY) and I'm not sure what the AI offers. Which of these colleges do you think is best? Thanks again .

[ValarianROOT]

Jesta, I've got a friend that is going to Fullsail in Florida right now and it sounds like just the kind of school for what your interested in and it has a bunch of cool perks. Like after you've graduated you can go back and take any classes you want for FREE! Its like a 14 month coriculm and pretty intensive but they have a pretty high placement rate and the people in admitions really go the extra mile to help you make an informed decision. Here is their web page.

[Jesta78]

I checked out Fullsail and as far as I can tell, they don't give you a strong background in traditional animation. Their more computer oriented. Anyone can learn to push a button, but not many can become a true artist/animator. I really don't want to go to a school just to learn a program, but being able to go back at any time and take a course for free does sound intriguing. I'll probably call them up tomorrow and check that out. Thanks alot for the info, later, peace.

[Jucas]

It might intrest you to know, I have a friend attending A.I. of Portland, here in Portland Oregon, and he says that the Art Institutes aren't all that great. Not he can't speak for all of them by any means, but I do trust his opinion and the Portland branch is, from what I hear, "one of the better ones".

Dont take my word for it,
Go check it out for yourself.

[ January 20, 2002: Message edited by: Jucas ]

[artboy]

Grim911-
I'm very surprised that ANYONE is happy with AI. I'm going to the Denver school and it sucks. NONE of the teachers, save the 2D instructor, have ever worked in the field. I really don't know how they got jobs there!

I'm glad to hear that the Chicago branch is much better. We're still using Max (ver 4), but I've heard there'll be a switch to Maya next fall or so. I'm actually considering moving back to Chicago and continuing my BA there.

Thanks,
-artboy

[Laemtao]

hiya Jesta.. i dont wanna rehash some of the things i already said .. but check out these earlier threads.. http://www.sijun.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=002237
and http://www.sijun.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=002259

they pretty much discuss the same themes and questions as what u are asking.

errmm i dont consider art institute of fort lauderdale as in the same league as art institute of pittsburgh.. I dunno why it is that branch schools can differ soo much.. but all i can say is each AI International branch is run differently. One thing is.. its because these branches were actually standalone art schools before they were bought over and included into the art institute international umbrella.

If u got more questions on AI.. feel free to ask moi. I dealt with 2 of em. One good.. one AAARGH!! is all i can say


Mo

ps. hope it helps

[frostfyre]

Those schools mentioned are OK. There's always the famous pixar list

Pixar's School List

I went to Art Institute of Pittsburgh in '90, so the place has probably changed a lot. The city has a lot to do, and you are close to big league colleges. Carnegie-Mellon, for example, has a very fine computer graphics program. When I went, they (AIP) didn't do any of the other courses, but then, they also were not an accredited institution.

While I am working in the art field, it had little to do with my time in Pittsburgh. Its not the sort of place that has a lot of art industry, other than the school. It does have the benefit of being a cheap place to live. They tend to gouge the students though.

In the business, I've seen a lot of portfolios and reels. The quality of these things determines your place in the business more than anything else. Some schools seem to churn out more quality grads than others, but their admissions requirements are also more strict. Some schools I've seen consistantly good animation work from-

Art Center in Pasadena, CA
Cal-Arts
Sheridan College (in Canada)
Academy of Art - San Francisco

At the end of the day though, its up to the efforts you put in. Good Luck Jesta78!

You'd be surprised how useful a little math and science can be, even as an artist especially the math

You're right, California and New York are the best places to get work, but are also very expensive to live in, which can make school tough. Of course, both markets feature intense competition for a relatively small handful of jobs. In my experience, there are more jobs on the west coast.

Cheers!

[Jesta78]

Man, thanks guys, this info is a life saver. I don't think Art Institute is a very good choice. I heard about Digipen, but I don't know if it's a really good school. It seems that they are more geared towards game design. Does anyone know if Art Center, Sheridan, SVA or Ringling are good choices for 2D/3D Animation. I know SVA allows you to specialize in game design when studying for your computer art degree, as well as Fullsail. Do any of the other colleges that I mentioned allow have courses in game design also? If anyone knows. Thanks again a zillion times, later, peace .