Bachelor of Fine Arts in 3D Animation & VFX

Nyfa’s bachelor of fine arts in 3d animation & vfx is an accelerated three-year, eight-semester, full-time study undergraduate program. Nyfa makes this accelerated schedule possible by creating an extended academic year allowing students to complete three full-length semesters in each calendar year. 

Learn How To Make 3D Animation & VFX Content

• NYFA’s Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in 3D Animation & VFX degree immerses prospective visual artists in all aspects of the discipline. The program is an intensive practicum in visual storytelling, where students emulate the workflow and pipeline of a professional production by creating unique projects that gradually increase in complexity. Under the guidance of faculty with experience from major studios including Disney, Dreamworks, Universal, and Netflix, students develop practical skills in the latest software and technology.
• In this hands-on program, students learn to incorporate fundamental elements of visual storytelling to their projects, dissecting principles and techniques rooted in the real world and discovering how they apply to a CG-generated world. This enables students to tell a cohesive narrative through words and images, giving them the opportunity to mimic reality and photography or create more stylized imagery. By the end of the program, students have a demo reel that demonstrates their talent and skill set.

Curriculum
The BFA students at NYFA’s 3D Animation & VFX School follow an intensive curriculum and achieve multiple learning goals. During their time at NYFA’s 3D Animation & VFX School, students:

• Develop fundamental technical and creative skills, such as how real lights correspond to CG lights, as well as how real world cameras and lenses correspond to CG cameras and lenses, understanding the imperfections of photorealistic images
• Learn how to bring inanimate objects or characters to life using the twelve basic principles of animation
• Build skills in traditional drawing and sculpting in order to understand their fundamental concepts to digitally paint and sculpt
• Study disciplines that include modeling (characters and environments), texture painting, look development, lighting and rendering, animation, rigging, MEL and Python scripting, compositing, dynamics, matte painting, and character design
• Use industry standard software and equipment which may include Autodesk’s 3D Maya, MotionBuilder, Pixologic’s ZBrush digital sculptor, SideFX’s Houdini FX, Chaos Group’s V-Ray, and Foundry’s Nuke compositing and editing program

To get more information about the BFA program’s coursework, please see NYFA’s Course Catalog or request more information. Please note that software is periodically updated to reflect changes in the industry.

Projects

• Students in the BFA program create a variety of original content, including their 3D Animation Thesis Project.

Liberal Arts and Sciences

• The discipline-specific learning goals are bolstered by studies in Natural and Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, and Math and English. Students complete their LAS studies in an upper division Arts and Humanities elective during their last semester of the program.