Last Updated on September 21, 2023 by Flavia Calina
The right college can help launch your illustration and animation career, whether you plan to work in advertising, fashion, publishing, entertainment, or tech industries.
Choose an illustration program that fosters your creativity and professional artistic development. Explore various studio areas to discover your creative voice and technical expertise.
Curriculum
A well-designed curriculum is essential for a successful career in illustration and animation. Unlike a textbook, it is a guideline for the learning experience and contains several components, including goals for student learning (skills, knowledge, and attitudes); content (the subject matter in which the learning experiences are embedded); sequence (the order in which the subjects are taught); learners; instructional methods and activities; instructional resources; and evaluation.
Whether you’re an illustrator or animator, keeping up with the latest skills and trends is essential to stay competitive. Abbey Lossing, a freelance illustrator, shares her story about how learning to animate her illustrations has helped her gain more work.
It’s also worth considering which career path you’re interested in, as each involves a different creative process. For example, illustrating requires drawing a still image on paper or an object, while animation consists of progressive pictures to simulate motion. Trying to do both may cause burnout, so it’s best to pick one career direction and learn how to hone your skills in that area.
Student-Teacher Ratio
The student-teacher ratio is among the most important statistics when choosing a college. This metric expresses the number of students for every professor at a college or university.
The lower the ratio, the more individualized attention students can expect from their professors. Moreover, it is also easier for professors to provide various academic support services like advising, mentoring, and thesis oversight.
Higher ratios, on the other hand, often translate into large classes that may need to be more engaging and interactive. In such cases, it can be difficult for professors to keep up with the student’s progress and offer personalized feedback.
However, while the student-teacher ratio is a valuable metric to remember, it is only sometimes accurate. For example, student-teacher ratios do not factor in part-time teachers or teaching assistants; they exclude faculty teaching virtual graduate-level courses. Therefore, when comparing student-teacher ratios between colleges, it is essential to understand the context and methodology behind their calculations. Some recommend opting for a school with a low student-teacher percentage but don’t be swayed by a single statistic alone.
Facilities
In addition to offering suitable courses, the best colleges for illustration and animation will also provide facilities for its students. This includes studios, computers, and other equipment enabling students to create and produce work. These studios will also have lighting and other essential tools to give students the best learning experience.
Some of the most reputable illustration schools aren’t illustration schools in the traditional sense but rather art departments with more extensive educational facilities. These facilities will typically offer a degree program in illustration that can help prepare artists for satisfying careers in this field.
The college’s location is also essential for students pursuing 2D and 3D animation degrees—many of the top animation schools can offer students a direct pathway into the industry. The college’s faculty also plays a significant role in students’ success, and many top animation professors are professionals with years of industry experience. Visiting their classrooms and working with their students is an invaluable part of the learning process.
Internships
Students can also take advantage of internships and fellowship opportunities. These can help them learn more about the industry, hone their skills, and build connections that will be useful once they are ready to seek employment. Moreover, these experiences will help them hone critical soft skills like teamwork and communication, which can also boost their resumes.
Some of the top illustration schools offer an internship program. Some offer hands-on learning opportunities to help their students gain real-world experience. The department also provides a senior portfolio curriculum that allows students to develop their creative identities as illustrators.
It allows students to intern at Hollywood studios such as Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar, Nickelodeon, and The Jim Henson Company. The school also provides a program that gives its students an immersive 10-week immersion-based animators’ and designers’ studio culture and production process. The college’s alumni include various professionals working in animation, including animators, artists, producers, directors, and more.
Career Services
Most college offer career services – a team of professionals ready to discuss your career options and help you plan how best to use your talents. They are a valuable resource that can be accessed throughout the entire duration of your degree.
The services offered by the college can help you explore your skills and interests, understand workplace expectations, hone soft skills such as leadership and communication, and help you understand the value-add of your degree. They can also provide you with internships and job placement opportunities.
A college’s career services department can also provide you access to mentors in your field of interest. These can be great advice as you pursue your illustration and animation career.
You can also get career services from the school’s other departments or through a network of external contacts. For example, if you are a film student, you could work with the film department to create artwork for student films or contribute cartoons to the school newspaper. This can boost your portfolio, give you practical experience, and connect you with other students with the same interests. Read more exciting articles on Today World Info
