What do i have to study in college in order to go to animation universities?

Question

i'm going to college right now but i am planing to change few of my courses. which courses do i have to take? and does Animation have a good future in it? what can you actually do with a degree on Animation? is there enough jobs out there for Animation? where would an Animation crater get a job at?

Answer 1

First of all if you think, "i'm doing this to get into the entertainment industry", you may as well stop, the chances of you getting highly paid for animation is slim to none.  You have to do something more realistic.

Also the word animation is too vague, do you mean cartoon animation, 3D rendering animation, stop start animation, CGI animation or computer based animation.  

If you have made up your mind, I would suggest doing Graphic Design, you get 6 design briefs over 2 years and you can choose what you want to do.  You can also choose how you do it, I did an animation in college, I did a comic design and airplane and console designs too, I flew across the course and got A's for everything.  You can only do it if you are naturally creative and can think of original ideas, if your solely determined to do animation, you might as well, just take up some other boring course.

I am doing product design and technology with advanced CAE at university, which is 3D design and engineering, so I put my A-Levels to good use and took up a practical degree course with actual job prospects and they pay isn't bad either.

I did a lot of designs and computer animation during high school too, I just got into it as a hobby, if you have no experience in this, please don't waste your time.  You need to know how's it's done as college doesn't actually teach you how to animate as there are too many forms, you would have to self teach it.

Pick something more realistic, i've heard too many people saying they want to do it and end up working in a supermarket, you need to be outstanding, you have to be 1 in a million to succeed in this area.

Answer 2

Most people who major in such things end up at Starbucks or doing data entry. You have to decide if you are the 1 or 2 in a thousand who has the talent, perseverence, and personality to pursue it.(also helps to have family in the business)

Good Luck.

Answer 3

I'm not sure about the courses, but I know that Teeside University (Newcastle) is one of the best in England for animation.