Animation Concept Art
Train as a concept artist through an intensive, studio-style curriculum focused on design, drawing, digital painting, visual storytelling, and portfolio production.
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Program Overview
Build industry-ready design packages featuring props/vehicles, environments, and characters.
Duration:
12 months (6 terms, full-time)
Location:
Vancouver, Canada (Campus)
Credential:
Diploma, Animation Concept Art
Grad Deliverable:
Final portfolio and visual design package(s)
Core Tools:
ZBrush, Photoshop, Toon Boom, Sketchbook Pro, Cintiq Pro
What You’ll Graduate With:
A final production portfolio developed through mentor critique, dailies, and iterative production.
Start Dates:
Jan / Mar / May / Aug / Oct annually
Tuition:
Domestic students: C$25,950
International students: C$34,000
Career Paths:
Concept Artist, Character Designer, Storyboard Artist, Digital Illustrator, Book Illustrator, Comic Illustrator, Visual Development Artist / Look Dev Artist, Environment Designer, Splash Artist, Asset Designer, Web Comic Artist, Keyframe Illustrator, Digital Painter
Program Focus Areas
Build a powerful, multi-piece portfolio – across all areas of concept art – that is studio-ready.
- Form/function/story design thinking
- Orthographics + perspective + reference-driven design
- Story + environment design
- 3-point perspective + proxy environment modelling
- Character principles, silhouettes, turnarounds/model sheets
- Genre exploration + complete character design package
- Re-imagine an existing story into a comprehensive design package
- Character + environment + vehicle designs + final concept images
- Small creative teams + mentor critique schedule
- Portfolio strategy, difficulty planning, cohesion, polish
- Final portfolio assembly + design package production
- Instructor dailies + iteration + refinement
Explore Student Portfolios
While completing your fast-track concept art diploma at VFS, students are immersed in the Animation industry, and spend a lot of hands-on time creating professional-quality work. And, nothing is a greater testament to the incomparable industry resources and career preparation that define VFS’s education model, than the top quality work our students produce. Here, a portfolio of outstanding work is just the beginning. Just take a look.
Alisa Romanova
Quinn Querido
Ximena Berenguer Moran
What You’ll Learn
- Composition, shape, line, silhouette
- Design workflows (traditional and digital)
- 1-, 2-, and 3-point perspective with accurate scale
- Orthographic drawings
- Still life painting (light, shadow, value, composition)
- Colour scripts for mood/theme and story arcs
- Colour relationships for portfolio-quality images
- Gesture, balance, weight, silhouette, movement
- Long-form poses, anatomy/costume rendering, advanced studies
- Storyboarding class (traditional and digital workflows)
- Continuity, timing, animatic with picture and sound
- Visual story package development
- Vehicle/prop design (form/function/story)
- Environment design and proxy environment modelling
- Character design in genre and character design package
- Career prep workshop series courses (Terms 1-6)
- Mentor critique and studio-style dailies/iteration
- Final portfolio strategy and assembly
SPEAK WITH A VFS ADVISOR TODAY
Career Outcomes After Graduation
VFS’s signature, hands-on training starts from day 1. By the time you graduate, you’ll have developed an industry-ready skill set that will prepare you for a variety of careers:
- Concept Artist
- Character Designer
- Storyboard Artist
- Digital Illustrator
- Book Illustrator
- Comic Illustrator
- Visual Development Artist/Look Dev Artist
- Environment Designer
- Splash Artist
- Asset Designer
- Web Comic Artist
- Keyframe Illustrator
- Digital Painter
Faculty
VFS’s Animation Faculty consists of the most highly trained professionals in the creative industries. While our full-time instructors provide more one-on-one time with students than any other school, our part-time instructors are pulled right from the heart of the industry, equipped with the most current, relevant industry experience and credits.
Course Content
- Design Studio 1 (Vehicles/Props)
- Design Fundamentals
- Visual Story 1 (Perspective)
- Digital Painting 1 (Still Life)
- Career Prep
Outcome: Design and present props/vehicles using perspective and orthographics. Paint convincing studies (light/value/colour basics) and build observation skills.
- Design Studio 2 (Environments)
- Visual Story 2 (Storyboarding)
- Digital Painting 2 (Colour Scripts)
- Life Drawing 1
- Media Studies 1
Outcome: Design story-driven environments, storyboard sequences, and create a basic animatic (picture and sound), supported by colour scripts and stronger anatomy/motion drawing.
- Design Studio 3 (Characters)
- Visual Story 3 (Character Design)
- Digital Painting 3 (Concepts)
- Life Drawing 2
- Media Studies 2 (Environments)
Outcome: Produce a full character design package, apply character design principles (silhouette/turnarounds/archetypes), and paint story-driven concepts with stronger rendering/anatomy detail.
- Design Studio 4 (Visual Story Package)
- Visual Story 4 (Animation)
- Digital Painting 4 (Colour Relationships)
- Media Studies 3 (Character)
- Life Drawing 3
Outcome: Build a comprehensive visual design package (character, environment, vehicle, and final images), strengthen storytelling through animation body mechanics, and create portfolio-quality colour designs.
- Design Studio 5 (Final Pitch)
- Industry Workshops 1 (Portfolio)
- Visual Story 5 (Web Comics)
- Digital Sculpting 1 (ZBrush)
- Advanced Drawing 1
- Performance Skills and Development
Outcome: Enter full production mode on a cohesive industry-ready portfolio, supported by mentor critique and studio-style reviews, plus foundational character sculpting in ZBrush.
- Design Studio 6 (Final Portfolio Assembly)
- Industry Workshops 2 (Portfolio)
- Life Drawing 5
- Visual Story 6 (Illustration)
Outcome: Assemble and finalize your portfolio/design package through one-to-one studio dailies, iteration, and refinement, finishing with your strongest polished portfolio-ready body of work.
SPEAK WITH A VFS ADVISOR TODAY
Program Delivery
ON-CAMPUS
Our 1 year, fully in-person production-based experience, preparing you for the industry’s current practices and technologies.
VFS’s School of Animation Production Centre is located at 151 W. Cordova Street in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Our state-of-the-art facilities include a 64,000 cubic ft. motion capture volume, a 180-degree green screen room, a render farm, and much more.
HYBRID
Access our program through a combination of online & on-campus learning. Curriculum is divided into three stages, with select stages available entirely online OR on campus.
Portfolio Outcomes
Your Portfolio by Graduation
Every portfolio piece is built using a process that reflects industry standards and practices: research à design decisions à iteration à final presentation.
Admissions
VFS Advisors are here to answer any questions about the applications process, help you book a tour, or set you up for a free portfolio review with our industry faculty.
For more information about language requirements and other information for international students, visit the International Students page.
Tuition
On-Campus Delivery
Domestic: $25,950 CAD
International: $34,000 CAD
Start Dates: June 29 | Aug. 31 | Oct. 26
- Portfolio of 12 pieces (Must include examples of digital work. Can include traditional art, sketches, painting, fan art, life drawing, photography, and/or motion graphics), OR
- Successful completion of VFS’s Foundation Visual Art & Design program OR Foundation – Animation program
Hybrid Delivery
Tuition is broken down by individual stages and differs for on-campus and online learning.
Production Fundamentals
On-Campus | 2 Months
Domestic: $4,325 CAD
International: $5,666 CAD
Online | 3 Months
Domestic: $2,500 CAD
International: $3,500 CAD
- Portfolio of 12 pieces (Must include examples of digital work. Can include traditional art, sketches, painting, fan art, life drawing, photography, and/or motion graphics)
- Successful completion of VFS’s Foundation Visual Art & Design program OR Foundation – Animation program
Studio Principles
On-Campus | 6 Months
Domestic: $12,975 CAD
International: $17,000 CAD
- Completion of Production Fundamentals, OR
- Software knowledge in Adobe Creative Cloud
Studio Collaboration
On-Campus | 4 Months
Domestic: $8,650 CAD
International: $11,325 CAD
Online | 4 Months
Domestic: $6,500 CAD
International: $7,500 CAD
- Completion of Studio Principles, OR
- A certificate/diploma in animation from an accredited school/program
Program FAQ
You’ll build art across vehicles/props, environments, and characters, plus storyboards/animatics, colour scripts, and a final portfolio assembled through critique, mentoring, and iterative production.
Yes. Career Prep runs in workshop segments from Term 1 through Term 6, covering career paths, networking/social media, web brand, resumes/cover letters, and interview strategies. Attendance is mandatory and evaluated.
Delivery options may include on-campus or a hybrid format (a mix of on-campus and online) depending on your preferences. Contact Admissions to confirm availability for your start date.
For students who complete the 12-month program, you will receive your full diploma. For students who enrol in our Hybrid Model and only complete select stages (but not the full program), you will receive certificates of completion for all completed stages.
The program is a 12-month intensive.
Tuition for domestic students is C$25,950. Tuition for international students is C$34,000.
You will need to submit a visual art portfolio OR completion of VFS’s Foundation Visual Art & Design OR Foundation - Animation programs.
Your portfolio should include samples of your work that can include still-life drawings, life drawings, character or environment sketches, and computer artwork (e.g., Flash, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.). Maximum 12 pieces.
Possible careers include: Concept Artist, Character Designer, Storyboard Artist, Digital Illustrator, Book Illustrator, Comic Illustrator, Visual Development Artist/Look Dev Artist, Environment Designer, Splash Artist, Asset Designer, Web Comic Artist, Keyframe Illustrator, Digital Painter.
Yes, VFS’s Animation Concept Art diploma is internationally recognized. VFS is widely known in the global entertainment arts industry, and our animation programs are #1-ranked by Animation Career Review as training pathways for aspiring artists. VFS is recognized internationally as a leader in its field, with alumni working across major film, TV, and game studios worldwide.
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