Animation Major
Imagine manifesting your colorful childhood imagination on screens large and small. Now imagine getting paid to do it all day.
Bring your art to life.
Animation is as deeply technical as it is creative. Unlike other Animation programs, Champlain’s BFA is designed with the next era of digital arts, media, and storytelling in mind, challenging you to transform your imagination into animation using advanced tools and technology, fine arts training, theory, and more.
Some of the skills and techniques you will learn can be applied to animate cartoons, 2-D and 3-D movies, video games, and more, including:
- 3-D animation, 2-D animation, and motion capture animation
- Green screen staging
- Character development, storyboarding, and screenwriting for television, web, and film
- Post-production editing and compositing
- 3-D modeling, drawing, illustration, and stop-motion
- Using industry-standard animation and visual effects software, virtual production using game engines, and sound mixing
What Is Animation?
At its core, animation is the art of turning characters and scenes into moving pictures. In the past, animation was done by hand-drawing each individual frame and playing them in rapid succession to imitate motion and fluidity. While some animators, like claymators for example, still use traditional practices, modern technology allows for many ways to animate using software.
Why Study Animation at Champlain?
Our signature Upside-Down Curriculum offers immediate experience—like learning the principles of animation in your first semester—so you can begin identifying your creative interests and strengths right away. From there, our expert faculty provide individualized space and support to help you focus your talents, refine your skills, and stand out in a competitive industry.
Our faculty—who hail from Warner Brothers, HBO, and National Geographic, among other big visual brands—understand that those “how’d they do that?” reactions don’t just happen—they need some magic. That’s why collaboration is the cornerstone of our highly interdisciplinary Animation BFA program. In immersive, studio-like environments, you will be producing projects alongside Filmmaking, Game Art, Graphic Design & Visual Communication, and Interaction Design majors to build a portfolio of professional-level work and experience by the time you graduate.
Different By Design
No Wasted Time
Take critical foundational courses in animation in your first semester. There’s too much to learn both artistically and technically to not start your animation classes right away. Take intro to animation and intro to filmmaking classes in your very first semester and take courses in 2-D or 3-D animation in your second.
Rigorous Learning for A Competitive Industry
Pairing fine arts, rigorous studio experience, and historical underpinnings with systems-based thinking, industry agility, and digital proficiencies, the BFA in Animation is uniquely designed to give you an ambitious edge in media art.
The Art In “State-Of-the-Art”
You’ll have access to the same advanced game engines, production equipment, motion capture equipment, and green screen technology that have made Champlain a top school for game art and filmmaking.
Montreal: International Animation Hub
Our international campus in Montreal, Canada, puts you right in the center of a hotbed of animation and visual effects studios. In this artfully innovative and culturally rich city, you can get hands-on experience at powerhouse studios and gain valuable industry insight. Other study abroad options can send you to places like Japan, the epicenter of animation drawing.
Facts & Stats
According to Glassdoor.com, animation professionals earn competitive salaries, reflecting the high demand for their specialized skills.
Job growth for animators and visual effects artists expected between 2023 to 2033 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Champlain was named a “Most Innovative School” by U.S. News & World Report in its “America’s Best Colleges” 2024 ranking of universities in the North.
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Sample Courses in the Animation Major
The Upside-Down Curriculum helps you get started fast, pairing academic instruction with the hands-on experience needed to start a career in animation.
Second Year
Fourth Year
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Based on your interest in the Animation major, we thought you also might like to check out these other academic programs and opportunities.
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Majors
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Game Art Major
Champlain College is a gaming industry hub, and the Game Art program builds your creative vision and your technical skills to make you job-ready.
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Graphic Design & Visual Communication Major
Be a design thinker. Harness your creativity through print and digital graphics. Start building your portfolio right away.
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Filmmaking Major
Master the production of motion pictures and understand the global business of filmmaking. Use the latest tools, work on real projects, and turn your vision into reality through observation, imagination, storytelling and technical skill.
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Minors
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Entrepreneurship Minor
Learn how to turn ideas into profitable businesses or non-profit with an Entrepreneurship minor.
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Graphic Design Minor
Perfect your technical skills while learning how design impacts messaging and vice versa. Explore the latest digital-image software and learn how to create professional communication materials.
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UI Design & Implementation Minor
Bridge the gap between design and software development. Create dynamic designs and implement them with code for mobile apps, web apps, and other forms of electronic media.
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Writing Minor
Develop strong writing skills in technical writing like journalism and grant writing and more creative writing like poetry and fiction. Increase your media literacy and written communication skills.
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Areas of Study
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Creative Arts & Communication
With many majors to choose from, you decide how to bring your ideas to life and communicate them to the world.
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Cybersecurity, Computer Science & Digital Technology
Solve everyday problems to build a better future with one of these tech-centered majors.
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Education, Humanities & the Sciences
The born educator, the team player, the change maker, the advocate. Which of these human-centered majors fits you career goals?
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View Our Student Work
Animation Admissions Requirement
The Animation major at Champlain College is a visual art program focused on the creation of 2-D and 3-D art assets and animation for games. To be successful, students must enter the program with a strong aesthetic ability and a passion for creating visual art using both traditional and digital media.
As part of your application for admission into the Animation major, you have the option to submit a portfolio of your work, which is recommended, but not required.
Suggested Areas of Study
We anticipate that our Animation students will come in with basic drawing skills. It is valuable for you to have experience creating in a range of media. Here are some suggested areas of study and exploration that are helpful, but not required:
- Traditional drawing and painting including the human figure and perspective
- Art History
- Film and Animation History
- Sculpture, traditional or digital
- Adobe Creative Suite, especially Photoshop
- Any digital painting tools
- Maya, Blender, 3DS Max, Z-brush or any other 3D package
Career Success
Build animation skills and hone your craft while learning to collaborate and contribute to large-scale projects with complex teams, just like you will after graduation.
Your Career Outlook
By the time you graduate, you will …
- Develop and present a professional portfolio of your work;
- Identify industry standards and apply those standards to your own work;
- Render an image from observation, applying the concepts of perspective, anatomy, color theory, movement, and composition as appropriate;
- Articulate, analyze, and evaluate the meaning of your work and understand the social context in which the work exists; and
- Synthesize trends, theories, and movements in the development of new ideas.
You’ll Find a Career In…
- Visual effects (VFX) artist
- Virtual production artist
- Motion graphics animator
- Marketing and advertising creative
- Virtual environment designer
- Stop-motion animator or claymator
- Web and mobile designer
The Latest News From the View
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Pre-College Summer Program: Champlain Game AcademyThe Champlain Game Academy offers an intensive residential pre-college program for high school students entering grades 10-12 and recent high school graduates. Like the Game Studio, our program emphasizes teamwork and creative collaboration across all the game development disciplines. In order to understand how a professional game development team works, students will be introduced to all aspects of game development.
Learn More on the Pre-College Summer Program Website
More Inside Animation Major
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Overview
Imagine manifesting your colorful childhood imagination on screens large and small. Now imagine getting paid to do it all day.
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Curriculum
3D-modeling in my first year in college? Yes, please.
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Faculty
Get ready to be inspired. The faculty in our Animation major are, well, animated!