If your talent is traditional drawing, your interests include classic animation and you aspire to being a member of a game development team, then perhaps you have what it takes to become a games animator.
Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology (DLIADT) provides a BA degree in animation. While the course provides most of the required skills for a games animator, it’s emphasis on theory of animation, the core skills required and the history of the art-form, give graduates a good store of flexible skills.
Course co-ordinator Thelma Chambers emphasises that the course is designed with integration in mind – it is intended that graduates will be able to integrate their work in a wide variety of media forms.
In first year the course concentrates mainly on 2D animation and the hands-on building of 3-D models. Once this foundation has been laid students are taught modern animation packages like 3DSMAX and Flash from scratch, no previous knowledge of these programs is assumed.
The course is linked with the course in radio production which also runs at DLIADT, giving students access to full recording studio and audio mixing facilities at the college.
The final project requirement operates on a “menu” system enabling students to either focus on one kind of animation (3-D for example) or to present a lot of shorts in different styles and formats. The course provides 720 hours of time for completion of this project.
In the past, graduates from the school have gone to work for games companies in the U.K. but most graduates enter into film, advertising and internet work. The course is full-time for four years with no part-time option, but if you are interested and would like to learn the basics there is a programme which runs on Saturday mornings aimed at school leavers in particular.
Essentials:
Location: Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland
Course: B.A. in Animation
Duration: 2 years
Course Strengths:
Provides students with skills needed for games animation and more, includes a solid basis in theory and principles of animation.
Course weaknesses:
There are no major games industry links to speak of, the course provides only minimal exposure to programming (Flash).