Animation for Television, Film & New Media - AAS

West Burlington campus

Curriculum Sequence

Fall Semester I Course Title Credit
ANI-101 ANIMATION SOFTWARE I 3
ANI-106 INTRODUCTION TO ANIMATION 3
ANI-116 EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT 3
ART-133 DRAWING 3
DRA-110 INTRODUCTION TO FILM 3
ENG-105 COMPOSITION I 3
Semester Total: 18
Spring Semester I Course Title Credit
ANI-102 ANIMATION SOFTWARE II 3
ANI-117 STORY FOR ANIMATION 3
ANI-210 INTERMEDIATE ANIMATION 5
ART-138 FIGURE DRAWING 3
Take 1 of these courses:
ENG-221 CREATIVE WRITING 3
LIT-209 FORMS OF LITERATURE: FILM ADAPTATION 3
Semester Total: 17
Fall Semester II Course Title Credit
ANI-103 ANIMATION SOFTWARE III 3
ANI-211 ADVANCED ANIMATION 5
ANI-118 DESIGN FOR ANIMATION 3
ART-120 2-D DESIGN 3
MAT-110 MATH FOR LIBERAL ARTS 3
Semester Total: 17
Spring Semester II Course Title Credit
ANI-104 ANIMATION SOFTWARE IV 3
ANI-166 CAPSTONE AND DEMO REEL FOR ANIMATION 3
ART-143 PAINTING 3
Take 1 of these courses:
ANI-932 INTERNSHIP 4
ANI-941 ANIMATION STUDIO PRACTICUM 3
Semester Total: 12-13
PROGRAM TOTAL: 64-65

ANI-101 - ANIMATION SOFTWARE I

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course will introduce students to basic computer use and to the basic processes used in animation. Students will use industry standard software to develop art assets and will be exposed to topics such as 3D modeling and sculpting, basic rigging and skinning, animation, materials and lighting and texture mapping.

ANI-106 - INTRODUCTION TO ANIMATION

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course will provide students with an applied knowledge of the 12 principles of animation, namely: squash/stretch, anticipation, staging, straight ahead/pose to pose, follow through/overlapping action, slow in/out, arcs, secondary action, timing, exaggeration, solid drawing, and appeal.  Students will use a variety of techniques to help prepare them for animating in any medium.  This course will be divided into demos, exercises, lectures, and in-class critique to help students develop an understanding of Animation Principles and Techniques.

ANI-116 - EXPLORING HUMAN MOVEMENT

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course explores drawing fully realized characters and provides students with a simplified understanding of human anatomy. Students will learn to analyze figures to gain an understanding of strong body and weight mechanics as well as a good posing for animation. The groundwork for figure drawing will be established through a series of gesture and character studies with an emphasis being placed on building form through basic shapes, silhouette, proportion and expression.

ART-133 - DRAWING

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

A beginning drawing class in a variety of media using an assortment of subjects. The student will explore theories and concepts of drawing.

DRA-110 - INTRODUCTION TO FILM

Lecture: 3

Credit: 3

This course introduces students to the various language systems of film, including film-making techniques, creators, genres, narratives, ideology, and film theory/criticism. Students will explore the cultural importance of cinema as art by analyzing selected movies and clips which demonstrate artistic excellence.

ENG-105 - COMPOSITION I

Lecture: 3

Credit: 3

A study of the principles of writing. Emphasis on rhetoric, mechanics, and development of expository patterns: narration, description illustration, comparison/contrast, classification, process, and cause/effect. Required for AA and AS Degrees. Prerequisites: Meet minimum placement test score requirement.

ANI-102 - ANIMATION SOFTWARE II

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

Students will learn more advanced modeling & sculpting techniques to complete a low and hi-resolution character model. Students will also be introduced to basic lighting and compositing techniques. Prerequisites: ANI-101

ANI-117 - STORY FOR ANIMATION

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to screenplay and story development.  The student will be introduced to the heroic myth, its story structure and learn to relate it to modern screenplay construction through watching and analyzing screenplays.  Students will be provided with the opportunity to develop their own story ideas and learn the stages of a typical story development pipeline through application and lecture.  Upon completion of this course, students will have developed an individual story project through the animatic phase.  Prerequisites: ANI-116, ENG-105

ANI-210 - INTERMEDIATE ANIMATION

Lecture: 2

Lab: 6

Credit: 5

Students will gain skills in the art of character animation as well as production workflows and techniques by practicing the application of the 12 principles of animation. Students will build a solid foundation of timing through comprehension of the subtleties of animation, while focusing on strong body and weight mechanics as well as good posing with strong silhouettes. This course will be divided into demos, exercises, lectures, and in-class critiques. Prerequisites: ANI-106

ART-138 - FIGURE DRAWING

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course introduces the students to figurative drawing. We will focus on structure of the human figure and compositional representation through observation. An emphasis will be placed on refining skills of observation and proportioning of the picture plane. A dialogue on formal aspects covered in Drawing I will continue. Personal expression, approach and conceptual language will be covered through assignments and from a figurative historical perspective. Prerequisite: ART-133.

ENG-221 - CREATIVE WRITING

Lecture: 3

Credit: 3

Instruction and practice in multiple genres of creative writing. Students study the art, craft, and discipline of creative writing by reading, discussing, and critiquing the work of prominent writers; by experimenting with various writing methods and techniques; and by reading, discussing, and critiquing student work. Instruction, practice, and workshops will address elements of creative writing such as content, structure, form, and style in particular and multiple genres. This course may be repeated for up to 6 credit hours. Prerequisite: ENG-105 with a grade of C- or better.

LIT-209 - FORMS OF LITERATURE: FILM ADAPTATION

Lecture: 3

Credit: 3

Focuses on the relationship between literary works (fiction, drama, nonfiction, poetry or graphic literature) and their adaptations to film. Students explore the adaptation of literature to film; how the elements of plot, character, setting, point of view, symbol, and theme are adapted or altered from literature to film; and how film adaptations influence our understanding of both literature and film. Prerequisite: C- or above in ENG-105.

ANI-103 - ANIMATION SOFTWARE III

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course teaches the skills necessary to create complex bipedal character rigs. Students will discover forward kinematics, inverse kinematics, constraints, and more in this step-by-step introduction to character rigging. Students will also gain a deeper understanding of both technical and character animation including applying motion capture data to rigs. Pre-requisite: ANI-102 Animation Software II

ANI-211 - ADVANCED ANIMATION

Lecture: 2

Lab: 6

Credit: 5

This course covers the processes and techniques used to create believable and appealing body mechanics as well as an exploration of topics such as facial animation and lip-sync techniques in animation. Quadruped body mechanics will also be analyzed to create physically accurate motion for creatures. This course will be divided into demos, exercises, lectures and in-class critique to help students develop a better understanding of the subtleties of good animation, working towards producing demo reel-quality scenes. Prerequisites: ANI-210

ANI-118 - DESIGN FOR ANIMATION

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course will provide students with an advanced knowledge of animation design topics including prop, environment, background, and character design.  Concepts focusing on form, design, perspective, value, and color will be combined with lectures on workflow techniques and troubleshooting.  This course is designed to help students become better artists through demos, exercises, lectures, and in-class critiques centered on resolving pipeline and design issues that may occur during the creation process.

ART-120 - 2-D DESIGN

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This beginning level course for either non-art or art majors allows the student to explore a variety of two dimensional media such as pencil, ink, pastel, watercolor, acrylics, etc., applied on paper and other types of surfaces. A variety of design styles and methods will be introduced using the various elements and principles of design.

MAT-110 - MATH FOR LIBERAL ARTS

Lecture: 3

Credit: 3

Math for Liberal Arts is a survey course for students who have little background in mathematics. Topics include survey of sets, numbers, algebra, geometry, probability, and statistics. This course is not intended for Mathematics and Science majors. Prerequisites: MAT-062 or equivalent with a minimum grade of C- or meets minimum placement testing requirements.

ANI-104 - ANIMATION SOFTWARE IV

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course will provide students with an understanding of the visual effects and compositing workflows in animation. Students will create realistic visual effects using various simulation tools and techniques such as texture effects, particles and dynamics, motion tracking and match moving. Students will gain deeper knowledge of rendering to combine separate layers into a final image. Students will also learn advanced design principles as well as the social impact capable with motion graphics. Prerequisite: ANI-103.

ANI-166 - CAPSTONE AND DEMO REEL FOR ANIMATION

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

Following successful completion of animation core coursework, this course will provide the student with a basic and broad familiarity in marketing theory and foundation in branding as it potentially revisits elements in professional development.  This class is designed to improve student's marketing skills and understanding of specific branding topics and big picture issues of how various aspects of marketing fit together from a brand equity perspective in order to apply it to the final project.  Once a brand strategy is determined, students will help promote their ability to enter the industry workforce.  They will use previously created projects to edit together a demo reel and create an electronic portfolio to use after graduation.  This course will integrate all facets of the animation course work. Prerequisites: ANI-103, ANI-118, ANI-211

ART-143 - PAINTING

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

A beginning painting course for non-art or art majors in a variety of media. A variety of subjects, theories and concepts will be considered.

ANI-932 - INTERNSHIP

Lecture: 0

OJT: 15

Credit: 4

This course is designed to provide the student with a practical experience in computer animation prior to completion of the Associate of Applied Science degree. The internship is supervised by the program coordinator.  This course is also designed to help students develop materials and skills necessary to obtain and maintain employment.  Prerequisite: ANI-103, ANI-118, ANI-211

ANI-941 - ANIMATION STUDIO PRACTICUM

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course is designed to provide students with a practical experience in computer animation prior to completion of the Associate of Applied Science degree. This course is intended for non-interning students.  This course is also designed to help students develop the materials and skills necessary to obtain and maintain employment.  Prerequisite: ANI-103, ANI-118, ANI-211

Tyler Horn - Assistant Professor, (319) 208-5000 ext. 5256

Email: thorn@scciowa.edu
BFA, The Illinois Institute of Art at Schaumburg

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