Associate Degree of Animation

Bring the world of your imagination to life.

Animation is pure imagination. Few industries allow you to create what has never been seen before, which is very, very cool. Animation is also a profession where technical expertise and application is as important as raw talent, and this is where SAE come in.

In the Associate Degree, you will complete the first four trimesters of the Bachelor of Animation, which consists of six trimesters. This will prepare you to enter the workforce as a highly skilled para-professional employee. The Associate Degree is also designed an excellent pathway into the Bachelor of Animation.

At SAE you won’t find yourself in a lecture with 300 people or even in a traditional lecture at all. You’ll be in a studio environment using software like Maya, Autodesk 3D MAX, ToonBoom, Substance painter,  Z-Brush and Adobe Creative Suite to help bring your ideas to life.

Your growth and development will be assessed through the completion of portfolio to share with potential employers or first client.

In preparation for an industry that commands agility and adaptability, you’ll cut your creative teeth on projects initially in partnership with your course peers. As your skills develop and you work on more dynamic projects, you’ll apply your capabilities on cross-discipline projects.

For those wanting to go the extra, and thousands of miles, you can complete up to two trimesters of your course at selected SAE campuses across the planet. Suddenly, real-world experience just went worldwide.

Graduate roles may include

YOUR LEARNING EXPERIENCE

• Learn advanced-level industry-standard animation tools, such as Autodesk 3DS Max and Maya and the Adobe Creative Suite.
• Experience an Animation course designed in collaboration with industry partners, develop the skills the film and interactive media industries want.
• Work with artists, designers, web, mobile and games developers, film makers, animators and audio specialists.
• Learn from Animation industry veterans who are masters of their craft.
• Develop high-level special effects in collaboration with film makers.
• Learn and apply narrative theories to produce compelling animated films.
• Work with games developers to produce rich worlds, assets and animation for interactive media titles.
• Learn in a collaborative, studio-based environment where your teachers are also your mentors.
• Learn and apply industry-standard project management methodologies from day one.

ASSOCIATE DEGREE OF ANIMATION

The Animation Associate Degree program is broken up into discrete stages, each designed to promote different skills.

Stage I – Foundational Skills Development
In Stage I, students will undertake a number of foundational units which will give students the essential technical skills and knowledge not only relevant to the chosen discipline area, but also give students the skills required to collaborate with other creative media students and professionals in later stages of the Animation course.

• Storytelling for contemporary media
• Principles of design
• Fundamentals of drawing
• Foundations of 3D graphics
• Principles of animation
• Project management and professional etiquette
• Critical and creative thinking
• Contemporary industry overview

Stage II – Interdisciplinary Projects, Media and Cultural Studies
In Stage II we show students how their Animation work contributes to and interacts with broader culture and media practice. This knowledge will enable students to work with a variety of other disciplines and artists and expand their potential on the global stage.

Students complete a number of real-world projects with students not only in their own discipline, but also in all other SAE disciplines.

Stage II has three studio modules with projects based on the following areas;

1. 3D Modelling

In 3D Modelling, students will examine modelling techniques, terminology and methods. Students will develop and implement 3D production pipelines to create such things as environments, vehicles, creatures and characters. Students will need to research industry best practices and keep up to date with current trends in CGI production. This specialisation will further explore texturing and shading, lighting and rendering.

2. Character Animation

In the Character Animation specialisation, students will focus on the principles of character animation such as posing, motion studies, body mechanics, facial animation and much more. Students will also learn to develop effective and user-friendly animation rigs that serve as a means to control and animate a character, similar to the controls of a puppet.

3. Visual Effects

In the Visual Effects specialisation, students will explore the areas of computer modelling, texturing, lighting, rendering and compositing with an emphasis on incorporating assets into a range of digital media. Students can investigate topics such as match moving, particle systems, dynamic simulations and colour grading. By the end of the Animation course, students will be able to composite a range of disparate elements into a cohesive final product.

Stage III
Only students who progress to the Bachelor of Animation will be eligible to undertake Stage III. In Stage III, students undertake a project of their own design. Students also undertake work placement to finalize the development of their professional skills in a real work placement setting.
Stage III is NOT included in the Associate Degree.