Animation and visual design

Learn a highly specialised craft, and bring to life the weird, wonderful—even impossible.

Though the use of 3D animation and visual effects, society is able to tell powerful stories, communicate with astounding clarity, and visualise what's not yet possible in the physical world. Not only is there opportunity in entertainment and advertising—dynamic visualisation is crucial to industries such as medicine, architecture, and product design.

Opportunities for graduates are boundless, so get started today by exploring our animation courses, visual effects courses, and similar courses in digital media.

animation-character-design-drawing

What you'll learn

Courses will typically begin with the basics, teaching you to generate a concept and craft an engaging narrative. You'll also delve into the principles of general design, character design and motion. Once the basics are in place, you'll move into key areas of the course, and learn the associated tools and technologies. These key areas include:

  • Animation
  • Visual effects (VFX)
  • 3D modelling and rendering
  • Specialist areas, e.g. texture and lighting
  • Production planning

To ensure you exit the course with work to show, you may undertake subjects that help you plan and develop your personal portfolio.

Visualise the end-goal

If you're pining for a career in the film, television or advertising industry, there are a range of pathways for graduates of animation and visual effects:

  • Animator - Bring characters and objects to life by simulating movement and emotion.
  • Visual effects artist - Manipulate video to create effects that were not captured during filming.
  • 3D modelling and rigging - Create 3D puppet-like assets, ready for use in animation.
  • Concept artist - Create a look and feel for the production.
  • Storyboard artist - Plan how a production plays out, shot by shot.
  • Specialist artistic roles - Refine the finer details, such as texture and lighting.
  • Compositor - Use a well-rounded skillset to finalise each scene.
  • Production roles - Manage the logistics of production.

Graduates may also find themselves in visualisation and simulation roles, working in areas such as medicine, or design fields like architecture, product design, industrial design, or theatrical set design.

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