Imagine manifesting your colorful childhood imagination on screens large and small. Now imagine getting paid to do it all day.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 2021 to 2031 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Champlain was named as “Most Innovative School” by U.S. News & World Report in its “America’s Best Colleges” 2024 ranking of universities in the North.
The Upside-Down Curriculum helps you get started fast, pairing academic instruction with the hands-on experience needed to start a career in animation.
Based on your interest in the Animation major, we thought you also might like to check out these other academic programs and opportunities.
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.
Find the stories worth telling—then use your multimedia skills to tell them through a wide range of broadcast media, including podcasts, motion graphics, social media, and more.
Be a design thinker. Harness your creativity through print and digital graphics. Start building your portfolio right away.
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.
Learn how to turn ideas into profitable businesses or non-profit with an Entrepreneurship 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.
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.
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.
Bring ideas to life in unexpected ways.
Solve everyday problems to build a better future.
The born educator, the team player, the change maker, the advocate.
Turn concepts into digital reality.
The Filmmaking program at Champlain is just one of dozens of majors with a strong emphasis on doing, beginning in their first semester, as they work on short films. Early exposure to the industry helps students…
Continue ReadingTo help make the application process less intimidating, we asked three Game Art alumni for their tips on portfolios, landing their dream jobs, and advice for future Game students. At Champlain College, Game Art…
Continue ReadingThe 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 the application for admission into the Animation major, Champlain College requires the submission of a portfolio.
See our portfolio requirements for more specific information on what to submit.
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:
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.
The Animation Academy provides rigorous instruction for high school students interested in creating animations. Utilizing proven methodologies for animation learning, students will be exposed to the tools and techniques that professional animators use every day.
This program is for students entering grades 10–12 and recent high school graduates.
Learn More on the Pre-College Summer Program WebsiteImagine manifesting your colorful childhood imagination on screens large and small. Now imagine getting paid to do it all day.
3D-modeling in my first year in college? Yes, please.
Get ready to be inspired. The faculty in our Animation major are, well, animated!