Animation: Courses one can study

Find out the different Animation courses one can pursue if they want to make a career in this field. Also, get an idea of the topics/ subjects taught in different Animation courses.

An extremely creative field, Animation as an industry is fast gaining popularity due to the fame and recognition received by many animated movies in the recent past such as – Inside Out II, Super Mario Bros., Frozen II, Despicable Me 4, etc.

However, taking up animation as a career requires immense hard-work and working extremely long hours. So, much so that making the movie Avatar took close to four years. Similarly, the movie – Monster University was also completed in four years and it took a little more than 100 million CPU hours to render the movie in its final form.

As per the latest news reports, by the year 2025, the demand for animators would go up by 17%. Sources also share that within the next 2-3 years around 70,000 job posts would be created for skilled animators.

However, in order to be well-versed with the nuances of the animation industry and the task at hand one needs to receive training from a good college offering an animation course.

In this article, we will be listing the animation courses to become an animator. Apart from that, we will also be specifying the topics you will be made to study as part of these courses.

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Types of Animation Courses One Can Pursue

The animation courses offered at different educational levels can be categorized into two major categories based on their focus and the techniques used.

Animation Courses Based on Focus Area

2D Animation: These courses focus on teaching skills and techniques required for creating flat, two-dimensional objects, characters, and backgrounds through traditional hand-drawn methods or using 2D animation software tools.
3D Animation: These courses aim to teach students to create three-dimensional (length, height, and thickness) characters, objects, and other details shown in animated content.
VFX: Visual Effects or VFX are not courses are not a type of animation courses. But they are complementary to animation and allows VFX artists to make animated scenes more realistic through the addition of realistic looking objects and effects, such as giant creatures and buildings and natural elements, including fire, water, smoke, wind and others.
Character Animation: These courses focus on helping students specialize in animating characters, including human beings, animals, and creatures.
Stop-Motion Animation: These courses are based on the stop-motion technique, which involves moving objects slightly and then capturing their images frame by frame to create an illusion of movement.

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Animation Courses Based on Techniques Used

Traditional Animation: These courses teach animation using the traditional method of hand-drawing characters, objects, and backgrounds.
Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI): These courses use computer software tools to manipulate images and create animations.
Stop-Motion Animation: These courses use the stop-motion technique, as described above.

Note: Some courses may combine elements from different categories, such as a course that covers both 2D and 3D animation techniques.

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Animation Courses

Animation Syllabus

Animation Career

Animation Admission Process

Popular Animation Courses in India

Aspirants can pursue Animation courses at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Apart from this, students can also opt to pursue a short-term course in the Animation stream. Some of the courses you can join in order to become a part of the million-dollar animation industry are as mentioned below.

Top UG Level Animation Courses

Candidates can opt to pursue an Animation course at the undergraduate level. Most UG level animation courses are of three years duration.

BSc Animation

Some topics that are taught to animation stream aspirants as part of a BSc in Animation course are mentioned in the table below:

Elements of Information Technology	Introduction to Programming Languages
Basics of Animation	Foundation Art
Computer Based 2D Animation	Multimedia & Computer Graphics
Introduction to 3D Animation & Modeling	Introduction to Mass Communication & Media Literacy
Technical English	3D Animation
Production Process	Multimedia
Composing and Editing	Colour Theory
Layout and Perspective	Sketching and Landscaping
Script Writing	Content Development Direction
Gaming Technology	Digital Editing and Motion Graphics
Special Effects	VFX
Gaming Production	Languages (Tamil/Hindi/French)

BSc in Animation and Multimedia

Some topics that are taught to animation stream aspirants as part of a BSc in Animation and Multimedia course are mentioned in the table below:

Experimental Animation	Foundation course in Classical Animation
Principles of Animation	Computer Laboratory on 2D Animation
Introduction to 3D	Computer Laboratory on Multimedia
Animation Techniques	Audio Video Tools &Technology
Computer Laboratory on 3-D Graphics Animation Design	Computer Laboratory on Interactive Multimedia Advanced Animation Principles
Digital Television Production	Computer Laboratory on 2D Ink Paint Compositing Techniques
Computer Laboratory on 3D Modelling	Computer Laboratory on Web Designing & Development
Production for Animation	Computer Laboratory on 3D Character Design
Computer Laboratory on Compositing	Computer Laboratory on Maya Fundamentals
Computer Laboratory on 3D Character Animation	Fundamental of Game Technology
Direction for Animation	Computer Laboratory on Gaming Technology
Computer Laboratory on Advanced Concepts of 3D Materials, Lighting & Rendering	Computer Laboratory on Advanced 3D Animation
Computer Laboratory on Advanced Animation Tools	Computer Laboratory on Emerging Animation Technologies
Computer Laboratory on Game Development	Computer Laboratory on 3D Character Design
Computer Laboratory on 3D Advanced Modeling, Character Rigging, and Rendering