Dreaming of going to animation school but not sure where exactly? This video tour for Academy of Art University just might hold the answer you’re looking for.

Come and join Shaun Featherstone, the department’s Freshman Studies Lead, as he shows you around the School of Animation & Visual Effects.

Follow him as checks out the different facilities in campus, such as the Storyboard lab, 3D Animation Lab, Stop Motion Lab, and animation class studio.

Faculty member Daisy Church then takes over to walk you through what they do in the 2D Animation Lab. Meanwhile, Tom Bertino, Graduate Director, allows us a peek into what goes on in a typical class in an animation studio.

Showcasing Student Work

You’ll also see in the video the products coming out of these labs and classes from our animation school in the form of awesome student work. The Ribbon producer, MFA student Jean Ahn, describes her experience as working “with lots of amazing artists [and] I’m really glad we actually finished this film and brought it to the big screen.”

Madeline Baartman, who also happens to be the 2019 Valedictorian, says of her exquisite La Vie A Paris:

“I came in not really knowing much about any of this. Academy of Art really helped me recognize the potential that I had. I never in a million years would have guessed that I would be able to produce something like this.”

Madeline Baartman , BFA School of Animation Valedictorian, Class of 2019

As for Apollonia Thomaier, MFA student who worked on Monsters in the Dark as writer, director, and producer (yep, that’s definitely a doozy!), she says that “[T]he fun part about this project was they gave us freedom to do what we want to do and trusting us to get it done ourselves. It felt like the industry where they said, ‘It’s truly yours. You ride or die with this thing.’”

The School of Animation’s graduates have also proven the credibility and authority of the program as they move on to build their professional careers in the industry, proudly carrying the Academy name.

But before they even got there, the Academy has always been behind them and the students to fulfill their potential as artists and creatives.

Spring Show – Industry Day

One way the Academy does that is to showcase the best works of the best students at the end of the school year through the Spring Show.  Here, not only do they exhibit student work to their peers and mentors, but also more importantly, to actual industry practitioners.

Needless to say, this is an important event precisely because you just might get that coveted job offer on the Spring Show floor.

But don’t let us talk your ears off! As Shaun said, the best way of doing this is letting the work speak for itself.

Hit play, enjoy, and see for yourself why our animation school is recognized as one of the world’s best!

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Can’t wait to get the Academy of Art experience yourself? Apply now! Interested in finding out more about the School of Animation & Visual Effects? Request information from our admissions representatives.

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Hero image screenshot from School of Animation & VFX Tour