Animation
About this course
Our specialist course is designed for passionate students focussing on a career in animation production. Join others who share your ambition of becoming a professional animator across film, TV, games or other exciting industries.
You will study practical and technical skills across a range of traditional and digital animation. By gaining a solid grounding in animation and related theories and concepts, you can make an informed choice as you begin to specialise in a chosen area.
Learning is reinforced by practical experimentation. Our hands-on programme nurtures creative collaboration, both at course level and across subject areas at the University. This can include live briefs and international competitions, helping you develop your specialism within animation.
The professional practice elements of the course are vital in giving you a broad understanding of the sector. Visiting professionals provide career development and industry insights, alongside supported work experience opportunities and fascinating studio visits.
As a result of our established industry contacts, visiting experts include animators, model makers, sound designers, scriptwriters, producers, and directors. Representatives from global brands such as Aardman Animation, Mackinnon and Saunders, Factory, Warner Media, Golden Wolf as well as independent animators Joseph Wallace, Lizzie Hobbs, Bianca Ansems and Maryam Mohajer have inspired previous degree cohorts.
Wherever possible, we encourage you to gain real-world experiences. We support you to network, collaborate, and find new career opportunities and clients, giving you the edge when seeking employment in this rapidly evolving industry.
Modules
Year one – Develop a comprehensive understanding of the principles of animation, from idea generation to end production processes. Exploration of the animation cycle covers narrative development, worldbuilding, character design, storyboarding, background/layout, and innovative media and animation techniques. Learn skills across 2D, 3D computer-generated, and stop motion animation. You’ll consider the practical, conceptual, and theoretical pathways open to you as an animator.
Year two – Collaborate with others to develop your own specialist practice using briefs and self-identified projects. You will focus on pre-production, animation, or post-production techniques as you progress. This enables you to further understand job roles and your interests within the animation production pipeline. Competitions, live briefs, and teamwork teaches you essential social, communication, professional, and entrepreneurial skills.
Year three – Using your new knowledge, you will focus on your own creative ambitions and develop a strategy for becoming a professional animator. You’ll negotiate your own projects, participate in competitions, attend conferences, and meet visiting professionals. Year three focusses on building a striking and unique portfolio that reflects the skills you have to offer any future employer or client, setting you up for a successful career in the industry.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
Leeds Arts University
Communication Design
What students say
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How do students rate their degree experience?
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Cinematics and photography
Teaching and learning
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Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
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Cinematics and photography
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Cinematics and photography
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£15k
£19k
£23k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
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Graduate field commentary:
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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