2D Character Animation

NEXT START DATE: April 2, 2012

The 2D Character Animation Program explores the world of animation and how the digital age has revolutionized the methods used for creating it. This intensive course will cover the popular programs used by today’s studios, and will deal heavily with the raw fundamentals of animation. Daily exercises that utilize the twelve principles of animation will strengthen students’ understanding of the physics and timing involved in creating professional characters and scenes. By immersing themselves into a completely practical learning environment, students will be able to integrate themselves into an animation studio upon graduation, or will have the means to start their own studio and bring their own stories and ideas to life. 

CURRICULUM & RESOURCES
This program develops industry-ready designers, who are capable of using the latest software and hardware in all production mediums. Students are trained in Adobe®, Macromedia and Apple software to learn the fundamentals 2D character animation.

Graduates can step comfortably into any creative department while setting a career path for future growth. Student work is evaluated and critiqued until it meets or exceeds the instructor’s expected level of excellence. Students will have the opportunity to develop the specific technical areas suited to their interests.

ADMISSION & FINANCE
1) Book an appointment with the registrar at registrar@pixelbluecollege.com or call 780.756.3990 
2) Submit Application form with a $150 Application fee. 
3) Samples of creative work, 2 Letters of Reference, Transcripts, Resume, and Personal Interview. 
4) Work out Student Funding Options.

APPLY ONLINE

FINANCE
The tuition for the 2D Character Animation Diploma Program is $13,500 CAD.  This covers the cost of 5 months in-class instruction, the use of a personal computer, all required course materials, including textbooks, and full access to our facilities 24-hours a day.LEARN MORE

CURRICULUM

2D.100 Software Fundamentals
There are many different software packages used in the industry to create 2D animation. We will be focusing on the Adobe suite of programs, namely Adobe Flash and Adobe After Effects.  Many studios use these programs to create their animations, as Flash files are easily importable and easy to work with within After Effects. The twelve fundamentals of animation will be covered in brief, with an explanation of how they are integrated into the course.

2D.100.1 Intro to Flash 1
2D.100.2 Intro to Flash 2
2D.100.3 Intro to After Effects
2D.100.4 Intro to the twelve fundamentals of animation

2D.200  Character Design
The fundamentals of character design will be learned through life drawing and sketching, all within the Flash or Illustrator programs. Students will learn how to properly construct and rig a character in Flash, and the basics behind asset management in the Flash environment. The fundamentals of solid drawing and appeal will be explored in this unit.

2D.200.1 Drawing techniques
2D.200.2 Life drawing
2D.200.3 Character design basics
2D.200.4 Color theory and rules for broadcast
2D.200.5 Character rigging

2D.300 Cinematography
Good animation needs proper staging and a solid set up of the action to be completed. Students will learn how to organize their characters on the Flash stage and the methods used to control different scenes on the timeline, as well as creating an appealing scene through placement of characters, backgrounds, objects, as well as lighting and shading techniques.

2D.300.1 Scenes, Storyboards, and Animatics
2D.300.2 Lighting and shading techniques
2D.300.3 Camera movement and setup
2D.300.4 Framing and following action

2D.400 Movement Basics
The principles of squash and stretch, anticipation, easing in and out, and timing will be covering in Movement Basics. These animation fundamentals are critical to the smooth operation and animation of a character in Flash. Students will complete exercises on pre-existing character models to perform a variety of different motions and actions.

2D.400.1 Spacing, Squashing, and Stretching
2D.400.2 Timing movement and action
2D.400.3 Walk cycle basics
2D.400.4 Lip syncing audio

2D.500 Advanced Placement
Once students have mastered the basics of movement in animation, it’s time to move up to the next level. Students will learn the advanced fundamentals of animation such as follow through, overlapping action, secondary action, arcs, and exaggeration. This unit can essentially be thought of as ‘animation within animation’, or animating different parts of a character amidst their primary actions. This is what brings appeal and depth to an animated character, and will require a firm understanding of the basics of animation before being covered.

2D.500.1 Advanced walk and run cycles
2D.500.2 Implementing secondary actions
2D.500.3 Clothing, hair, and material movement
2D.500.4 Exaggerated action

2D.600 Scene Development
Using pre-existing audio, students will add their own flair and style to characters they develop and animate them using the fundamentals they’ve learned. Methods of scene organization will be covered, specifically the ability to import backgrounds and characters into After Effects to make use of different cameras to create depth and special effects in a scene.

2D.600.1 Character creation and design
2D.600.2 Background design
2D.600.3 Refining performances
2D.600.4 Creating advanced scenes using cameras within After Effects

2D.700 Demo Reel & Skills Development
Students will learn what employers look for in a good demo reel, and what their primary focus should be when putting one together. The formats required for web delivery and broadcast delivery will be covered. Students will receive advice on job applications and career paths and the best route to take to achieve their goals and ambitions.

2D.700.1 Demo reel creation
2D.700.2 Output formats for web and broadcast
2D.700.3 Skills management

All Pixel Blue College Curriculum includes 20hrs of Career Development (PBC2000)
* Curriculum subject to change without notice.

RESOURCES
iMac 

Wacom Tablets
Bamboo Pen & Touch combines the benefits of Multi-Touch with the comfort and precision of Wacom's ergonomically-designed pen. The result: a powerful new way to work with your computer.

With Multi-Touch, you use simple hand gestures and finger taps on the tablet's surface. And because the active area is larger than traditional mobile devices and laptop trackpads, it's comfortable and natural to use. Easily move around your desktop, scroll through documents, navigate the web, zoom in and out of photos, and rotate images.

Adobe® Illustrator 
Adobe® Illustrator software gives you new creative freedom that lets you realize your ideas quickly and powerfully. Instantly convert bitmaps to vector artwork and paint more intuitively. Save time with intelligent palettes and optimized workspaces. Plus, tight integration with other software allows you to produce extraordinary graphics for print, video, the web, and mobile devices. 

Adobe® Photoshop 
Adobe® Photoshop software, the professional image-editing standard and leader of the Photoshop digital imaging line, delivers more of what you crave. Groundbreaking creative tools help you achieve extraordinary results. Unprecedented adaptability lets you custom-fit Photoshop to the way you work. And with more efficient editing, processing, and file handling, there's no slowing you down. 

Flash 
Flash is the industry's most advanced authoring environment for creating interactive websites, digital experiences and mobile content. With 8, creative professionals design and author interactive content rich with video, graphics, and animation for truly unique, engaging websites, presentations or mobile content.

Adobe After Effects 
Adobe® After Effects is used for creating motion graphics and visual effects. After Effects allows users to animate, alter, and composite media in 2D and 3D space with various built-in tools and third party plug-ins.