Classical Animation Curriculum

The Career Prep track is a workshop series delivered in 3-hour segments from Term 1 through 6. The key topics are intended to equip students with essential skillsets for pursuing employment in their industry and position of choice. Students will explore their preferred career paths, understand the importance of networking and social media, begin creating their web ‘brand’, produce industry-specific cover letters and resumes, as well as examine strategies for nailing the perfect job interview. Attendance is mandatory, and students will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis based on attendance of workshops.

It is often said you can't know where you're going until you know where you've been. This is especially true of the ever changing animation industry. Major events in animation are self documented in milestone cartoons many of which students will view in this course. The course consists of lectures followed by film clip screenings and discussions.

Life drawing is the backbone of any art-related field, and animation is no exception. Regular practice at life drawing improves one's artistic performance in all stages of animation production. Through gesture drawing you will have the opportunity to further your animation skills by focusing on what’s most important in the pose. You will study basic anatomy by exploring the different elements of the human body and how they relate to each other. Additional techniques for improving proportions and simplifying gesture lines will be discussed and practiced.

In order for an artist to be able to draw dimensionally, a thorough understanding of perspective is essential. This applies to not only drawing backgrounds but placing characters within those backgrounds. This course covers principles that range from a basic, traditional perspective to the more complex as it pertains specifically to animation. Students will learn one, two and three point perspective as well as grids, three point curved perspective, 360° rotation and shadow perspective. These principles will be applied to a series of in-class assignments. The course will consist of lectures and demonstrations, followed by discussion, in-class exercises and out-of-class assignments.

An animated production often requires many animators to bring just one character to life, yet the character has to look and act consistent. This is achieved by a set of 'model sheets' created by the character design department. Besides a solid drawing ability, a character designer relies on knowledge of design aesthetics, composition, and how the character will animate. In this course you will discover and practice the fundamental character design principles, professional techniques, procedures, and terms used in the creation of characters and model sheets. Following an introduction and examples of various types of model sheets and their uses, you will study the various disciplines of character design, including the importance of the 3/4 pose, the use of different proportions to create a stereotype, character analysis, developing complimentary and contrasting characters and exploring different character designs and styles. You will apply the various techniques to create concept drawings which can be used for your final film project. The course will consist of lectures, demonstrations, in-class exercises and in-class assignments.

It is the animator that breathes life into a character and makes them come alive on-screen. Regardless of the medium used, the animation principles required to make characters believable are the same. With a focus on traditional, hand drawn character animation, you will, through interactive lectures and hands-on exercises, practice production procedures and key terminology used in the industry. You will see how keys, breakdowns, and in-betweens all combine to make fluid action. Through the study of the basic principles, you will explore squash and stretch, anticipation and settle, the wave principle and overlapping action, and apply these principles to your assignments. You will have the opportunity to develop your skill in clean-up, the technique of producing a finished, polished drawing from an animation rough. Furthermore, you will learn the proper labelling of all artwork, including exposure sheets and folders. You will practice these principles in your course assignments—mastery of these principles is vital for the success of any animated industry production or student project.

Digital Animation 1 will introduce digital tools and techniques that will lay a foundation of skills to be able to translate the pricipals of traditional animation in to a digital workflow. You will be primarily using Toonboom Harmony to do all course work. This will be done with mostly inclass exercises designed to get the animator comfortable with appling what they are learning from other courses.

The Career Prep track is a workshop series delivered in 3-hour segments from Term 1 through 6. The key topics are intended to equip students with essential skillsets for pursuing employment in their industry and position of choice. Students will explore their preferred career paths, understand the importance of networking and social media, begin creating their web ‘brand’, produce industry-specific cover letters and resumes, as well as examine strategies for nailing the perfect job interview. Attendance is mandatory, and students will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis based on attendance of workshops.

An artist is a visual communicator, and the language of visual communication is composition. Without a thorough understanding of the dynamics of composition, an artist is illiterate. This course takes you through a series of assignments that range from the deceptively simple to the increasingly challenging. You will study and apply principles of composition and perspective such as theprinciple of threes, placement properties in positioning, line and movement, depth of field for clarity and impact, spatial relations of surface division, subliminal lead flow, and direction of lines. The course will consist of lectures and demonstrations followed by discussions and in-class and out-of-class assignments.

Life drawing is the backbone of any art-related field, and animation is no exception. Regular practice at life drawing improves one's artistic performance in all stages of animation production. Through gesture drawing you will have the opportunity to further your animation skills by focusing on what’s most important in the pose. You will study basic anatomy by exploring the different elements of the human body and how they relate to each other. Additional techniques for improving proportions and simplifying gesture lines will be discussed and practiced.

Digital Animation 2 will add to the skill you learned from Digital Animation 1 – Term 2 will be focusing on getting proficient animating in a “rigged” digital animation workflow. You will be primarily using Toonboom Harmony to do all coursework. This will be done with inclass exercises as well as after-class work designed to get the animator comfortable with “rigged” style of animation.

Throughout the entertainment industry, storyboards and animatics form a blueprint that previsualizes and directs all aspects of a production. Before production begins, a storyboard is created to visually tell how the events will unfold in a film, whether it is animation or live-action. Often one of the most challenging, yet creative roles in a production, storyboarding draws upon one’s skills as a storyteller, actor, director, and artist.This course builds step by step, from the creation of basic storyboards and animatics through to advanced directing techniques of storytelling, action blocking, camera work, lighting, sound design, and editing. Using state of the art technology, you will create digital storyboards and animatics of industry quality. This course incorporates lectures, hands-on exercises and assignments as well as access to the expertise of industry professionals.

The look and setting of an animated production can take the viewer away to fantastic, imaginary places. Setting the tone for acartoon world requires the skills of the background designer.This course covers the fundamental principles of background design, exploring a variety of graphic design styles. You will learn theterminology used in this aspect of production and the difference between design and layout. You will learn how to match an existingdesign style and create an environment that establishes the identity of a character. Through the development of thumbnailsketches, you will piece together a location from storyboard panels.This course will consist of lectures followed by in-class assignments.

In Animation 2 students will explore forms of movement that range from technical to highly exaggerated. You will learn how to solve the problems involved with rotating a character in three-dimensional space. You will be introduced to “explosion” timing and practise the techniques required for both the two-legged and four-legged walk, including the calculation of foot slip and arm and leg patterns. The importance of being able to animate a good character walk cannot be overstated, and is always considered a valuable addition to a demo reel.

Fire, smoke, and water are some examples of natural elements that have physical laws and unique properties of their own. You will study some of these laws and have the opportunity to put them into practise as you explore the world of effects animation. Starting with a candle flame, you will progress to a water drop, create an explosion and then discover how bubbles work.This course will consist of lectures followed by examples and in-class assignments.

The Career Prep track is a workshop series delivered in 3-hour segments from Term 1 through 6. The key topics are intended to equip students with essential skillsets for pursuing employment in their industry and position of choice. Students will explore their preferred career paths, understand the importance of networking and social media, begin creating their web ‘brand’, produce industry-specific cover letters and resumes, as well as examine strategies for nailing the perfect job interview. Attendance is mandatory, and students will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis based on attendance of workshops.

In order to build confidence in your drawing abilities, repetition is essential. In this final term of life drawing, you will review and refine methods explored in previous terms as well as explore new ground. You will have the opportunity to further your skills in drawing hands and feet, which for many artists are the most challenging aspects of the human figure. Proficiency in portrait drawing is a valuable asset to have, and a portion of the term is devoted to developing your strengths in this area. You will also discover how folds and creases in clothing are formed and affected by the anatomy of the human figure. Life drawing will be a crucial part of your portfolio, and you will devote a number of class hours to the preparation of suitable pieces which will best represent your drawing ability.

Before animation begins, a storyboard is created to visually tell how the events will unfold in the cartoon. A storyboard uses small, sequential drawings, much like a comic book. Often the most challenging, yet most creative role in the creation of an animated project, storyboarding draws upon one’s skills as a storyteller, actor, director and artist.Following an introduction to visualizing camera angles, students are introduced to the breakdown of board panels and the use of thumbnail sheets. They will learn proper labelling and presentation techniques as well as the various camera and shot choices. Students will create storyboards that include emphasis on action and acting and dialogue. This course will consist of lectures and in-class assignments.

One of the most important objectives for an animator is to be able to show weight in both characters and objects, as this makes an action convincing and believable. You will delve into this activity immediately and discover the properties of weight, force, and inertia. You will continue to strengthen your skills by working out an action to a set length of time and explore the pros and cons of animating in silhouette. You will break down a complex set of actions to discover how strong posing and clear staging is important in reinforcing expression. All the assignments in this course involve intricate movement and are all potentially good demo reel pieces.

Continuing with the specialized field of environmental animation, you will have the opportunity to build upon the skills learned in Effects Animation 1. You will study the properties of a water splash, pixie dust and a moving curtain and explore ways of capturing these properties in a series of drawings.This course will consist of lectures followed by examples and in-class assignments.

Digital Animation 3 will add to the skill you learned from Digital Animation 2 – Term 3 will be focusing on more advanced animation in a “rigged” digital animation workflow. This term will start to focus on acting and walk cycles. You will be primarily using Toonboom Harmony to do all coursework. This will be done with in-class exercises as well as after-class work designed to get the animator comfortable with a “rigged” style of animation.

Colour is often an overlooked, underestimated, and misunderstood basic element of visual design. This is usually due to a number of factors: limitless possibilities, seeing colour as an afterthought, and over-simplification of colour schemes. The aim of this course is to break down the complexities of colour theory into basic elements within the greater context of design. We will begin with the importance of colour in design and build upon this idea as we explore more sophisticated approaches to colour mixing. The course will allow the student to learn these principles through lecture, examples, discussion, and, most importantly, practical application. The student will gain a basic understanding of colour theory and corresponding terminology with which they can use to analyze reference and create their own colour schemes. With continued exploration of these powerful tools, students can begin to create personal colour “signatures” that give their work confidence and power.

The Career Prep track is a workshop series delivered in 3-hour segments from Term 1 through 6. The key topics are intended to equip students with essential skillsets for pursuing employment in their industry and position of choice. Students will explore their preferred career paths, understand the importance of networking and social media, begin creating their web ‘brand’, produce industry-specific cover letters and resumes, as well as examine strategies for nailing the perfect job interview. Attendance is mandatory, and students will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis based on attendance of workshops.

Putting a voice to an animated character gives it a deep dimension and further believability. Following an exercise in basic lip sync, you will proceed with planning, thumbnailing and animating a character to pre-recorded dialogue. Being able to make a character act appropriately to dialogue is vital to one’s skillset as an animator. You will receive one-on-one feedback from the instructors and your animation will be graded on the strength of the posing, expressions, and timing.

Now that you have learned the basic elements that go into making an animated film, you will focus this knowledge and create your own animated project. You will go through the entire production process from initial concept to finished film, completing projects approximately 90 seconds in length. This encompasses storyboard, layouts, character and background design, rough and clean animation, ink and paint, and sound. Films are not censored though instructors strongly encourage tasteful content. All completed films are compiled onto a class show reel for graduation screening as well as the school libraries. Whenever possible, the VFS staff selects the best projects to enter into competitions and festivals.This course will consist of an opening lecture followed by one-on-one interaction and guidance.

Life drawing is the backbone of any art-related field, and animation is no exception. Regular practice at life drawing improves one's artistic performance in all stages of animation production. You will study basic anatomy by exploring the different elements of the human body and how they relate to each other. Proficiency in portrait drawing is a valuable asset to have, and a portion of the term is devoted to developing your strengths in this area. You will also discover how folds and creases in clothing are formed and affected by the anatomy of the human figure. Additional techniques for improving proportions, blocking in values and simplifying gesture lines will be discussed and practiced.

Digital Animation 4 will continue to add to the skill you learned from Digital Animation 3 – Term 4 will be focusing understanding what it takes to “rig” or build a character. This is necessary for all animators in order to understand the mechanics of the characters that you are animating. During mid-term, there will be option to either choose to animate a “studio test” animation assignment or you can choose to continue to create a rigged character for your Final Film project. You will be primarily using Toonboom Harmony to do all course work. This will be done with in-class exercises as well as after-class work.

The Career Prep track is a workshop series delivered in 3-hour segments from Term 1 through 6. The key topics are intended to equip students with essential skillsets for pursuing employment in their industry and position of choice. Students will explore their preferred career paths, understand the importance of networking and social media, begin creating their web ‘brand’, produce industry-specific cover letters and resumes, as well as examine strategies for nailing the perfect job interview. Attendance is mandatory, and students will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis based on attendance of workshops.

Over 7 classes we will work towards solidifiy the tecniques that will be used for each student to achieve the specific look for the backgrounds for their final film project. Each student will have milestones to submit final versions of their background artwork.

Students will focus and create their own animated projects. The students go through the entire production process from initial concept to finished film, completing projects approximately 2 minutes in length. This encompasses storyboard, layouts, character and background design, rough and clean animation, and ink and paint, and sound. Films are not censored though instructors strongly encourage tasteful content. All completed films are compiled onto a class show reel for graduation screening as well as the school libraries.This course will consist of an opening lecture followed by one-on-one interaction and guidance.

Over the course of 7 classes we will cover what tools and techniques are the best fit for the colour production for their animation. These tools and techniques will vary from artist to artist. We will be covering tools for clean up stage of the animation and how to paint that animation. We will also be coving techniques for basic compositing animation with Special FX and Camera tecniques.

Life drawing is the backbone of any art-related field, and animation is no exception. Regular practice at life drawing improves one's artistic performance in all stages of animation production. This term will concentrate on reviewing and revising character poses for final film assignments.

The Career Prep track is a workshop series delivered in 3-hour segments from Term 1 through 6. The key topics are intended to equip students with essential skillsets for pursuing employment in their industry and position of choice. Students will explore their preferred career paths, understand the importance of networking and social media, begin creating their web ‘brand’, produce industry-specific cover letters and resumes, as well as examine strategies for nailing the perfect job interview. Attendance is mandatory, and students will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis based on attendance of workshops.

Students will focus their efforts on completing animation for their final films. The final portion of this course will be used to complete final line and prepare animation for post-production. You will apply professional production procedures, organizational processes, work habits, and the standards required to complete client-ready animation. To be successful you will apply your project management skills and assimilate constructive feedback from your instructors and industry mentors.

Now that you have learned the basic elements that go into making an animated film, you will focus this knowledge and create your own animated project. You will go through the entire production process from initial concept to finished film, completing projects approximately 90 seconds in length. This encompasses storyboard, layouts, character and background design, rough and cleananimation, ink and paint, and sound. Films are not censored though instructors strongly encourage tasteful content. All completed films are compiled onto a class show reel for graduation screening as well as the school libraries.This course will consist of an opening lecture followed by one-on-one interaction and guidance.

The Career Prep track is a workshop series delivered in 3-hour segments from Term 1 through 6. The key topics are intended to equip students with essential skillsets for pursuing employment in their industry and position of choice. Students will explore their preferred career paths, understand the importance of networking and social media, begin creating their web ‘brand’, produce industry-specific cover letters and resumes, as well as examine strategies for nailing the perfect job interview. Attendance is mandatory, and students will be evaluated on a Pass/Fail basis based on attendance of workshops.

This class will guide you through the process of creating an animation demo reel. What are the common ways that studios are looking to hire animators. We will also cover portfolio websites and other tools to get noticed when looking for a job. You will have a demo reel ready by the end of the 7 classes ready for review.