BDes (Hons) Animation

Overview

• Animation at Ulster is a studio focused, highly creative course, specialising in computer animation for games, VFX, feature and TV animation.

Summary

• Animation has become in integral part of the film, television, games and design industries – from Jurassic Park to Avatar, Angry Birds to Call of Duty, Xbox to mobile. The field of animation has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years. With new distribution methods and technologies, your work will have many paths to reach a worldwide audience.
• During the course you will study drawing, the principles of animation and design, storytelling and narrative, design and the history, practice and theory of screen production. You will gain an understanding of creative and technical process using industry standard software in order to create interactive designs and computer animations.
• As animation is a highly collaborative environment you will learn the principles and practices through teamwork, while developing your individual professional practice. The course enables you to enter the industry with a range of exciting and rapidly evolving platforms as well as facilitating numerous opportunities for employment in a rapidly growing area at an international level.
• This course aims to provide you with specialist knowledge and skills necessary to develop and adapt your chosen career in the diverse creative practices associated with animation. The course aims to contribute, through the education of its students as adaptive and resilient designers, writers and thinkers, to the local, national and international practice of design in its current and future forms.

Foundation Year

• A foundation diploma year gives you the opportunity to explore a range of art and design approaches and disciplines to help you choose your undergraduate specialism.

We’d love to hear from you!

• We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.

Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:

• Course specific information
• Fees and Finance
• Admissions

BDes Hons Animation aims to provide you with specialist knowledge and skills necessary to develop and adapt your chosen career in the diverse creative practices associated with interactive design and animation. The course aims to contribute, through the education of its students as adaptive and resilient designers, writers and thinkers, to the local, national and international practice of design in its current and future forms.

The aims of the course are to:

• Enable you to acquire a high degree of knowledge, understanding and experience through the practice of animation; and to acquire a high level of practical, conceptual and aesthetic skills and the critical means to integrate them in design problem-solving;
• Enable you to pursue a high level of intellectual enquiry, independence, and critical awareness through academic conventions and through the creative practice of animation;
• Offer the opportunity to work collaboratively, on live projects, industry generated initiative and competitions, in order to gain essential work based learning experience and develop the transferable skills essential to succeed in the creative industries;
• Enable you to acquire experiences, skills and knowledge appropriate to the professional contexts of design interaction and animation.

For students on the Diploma in Professional Practice (DPP) International (DPPI) programme:

• Enhance an understanding of professional practice;
• Develop personal and professional skills.

For students on the Diploma in International Academic Studies (DIAS) programme:

• Enhance an understanding of another cultural educational environment;
• Develop self-reliance and independence.

Structure & content

• You will work both collaboratively and individually in an immersive studio environment on a wide range of animation based projects. Students will have the opportunity to develop your own specialist skills or study a range of areas to develop a wider understanding of the subject.
• First year provides you with the opportunity to work together on a range of projects designed to introduce them to the broad range of artistic and technical opportunities within the subject area. Creative problem solving and visual thinking are central in year one where you develop new world concepts, which become fertile ground for design thinking and creative experimentation. Students develop the skills and thinking to create 2D and/or 3D computer animated films and interactive designs using the latest industry standard technologies.
• Second year will cultivate an environment where each student can experience a wide range of facets within the spectrum of animation. Greater emphasis will be placed on the individual’s role within teamwork, mirroring the collaborative nature of the digital creative industries. You are encouraged to become increasingly aware of your strengths and how they align to roles and opportunities within industry.
• After successful completion of Year 2 you can opt to undertake a placement year. Many students avail of this exciting and valuable opportunity and see a great benefit when they return to study in their Final year.
• The final year focuses on students building a body of work in preparation for entry to the professional arena - this usually takes form through the development of a range of skills on both individual and group projects. Opportunities exist to embrace group projects to develop innovative outcomes with potential for commercialisation beyond the course through the Masters pathways on offer, which potentially integrate with the undergraduate programme.
• Throughout the course you will be provided with the opportunities and encouraged to engage with industry partners' events and, when possible, with industry led projects, as well as national and international competitions and festivals designed to showcase your abilities on a world stage amongst your peers. These include IDI Design Awards (Institute of Designers in Ireland), Dublin Animation Film Festival (DAFF), Animation Dingle Film Festival, Belfast XR Festival, RENDR Festival, and Pictoplasma.

Applying to the course also requires a portfolio submission.

• Generally, portfolio should include designs and development towards animated / screen-based media. It should showcase interest and understanding of animation or visual storytelling. It does not need to be complex or advanced as all the practical skills are taught from scratch on the course.

Could include for example:​

• Storyboards​
• Character designs​
• Asset or Environment concept art
• Simple 2D animation​
• A bouncing ball for example​
• Flip book​
• Simple 3D Modelling ​
• A simple character​
• asset/scene using simple shapes​
• A short stop motion animation ​
• A simple Film Edit/compositing/VFX

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

An appropriate blend of established and effective reaching delivery methods will be employed to enhance your learning experience and to achieve the learning outcomes of the course. Typically large group teaching will include lectures, studio practice, demonstrations and small group teaching will include seminars, teamwork /projects, critiques (feedback).

The Aims and Learning Outcomes of the BDes Hons Animation course will be achieved through a variety of teaching and learning methods, including:

• Tutorials – 1-1 and team will help to develop communication skills and verbally process problems and tasks in hand. These are essential to support student learning and pastoral care.
• Lectures – will impart essential information in traditional format. Case studies and the introduction of learning exercises within the lecture format will consolidate learning and introduce an opportunity for discussion and engagement. Guest lecturers from industry and academia will be invited throughout the programme to develop student engagement and understanding of the subject area.
• Workshop and Studio Practice – will encourage the importance of problem solving, testing and refining, whilst also have the opportunity to learn new skills, ideas and approaches from experts in order to become experts within animation.
• Practicals and Demonstrations – will introduce a process, technique or technologies to students by either a member of academic staff or a technician. They are a method employed to make you aware of the characteristics of transferable skills and technologies.
• Critiques – will encourage effective communication, reflection, sharing of opinions, evaluation of information, skills and ideas and provide opportunities for peer learning.
• Seminars – will encourage debate, reflexive thinking and good communication skills. They can facilitate deep learning: analysis, synthesis, evaluation of complex issues and construction of argument.
• Teamwork projects – will be at the core of design for interaction and animation as both a tool for maximising creativity but also as a mirror for industry. Collaborative learning provides the platform on which independent learning is nurtured. Giving you the opportunity to gain confidence, become aware of your strengths, and develop your own ideas. Tutorials, workshops and seminars will provide academic staff and students opportunities to discuss team progress, dynamics and evaluate member activity. These will be particularly useful in Level 4 and Level 5 as they mirror current industrial studio practice, preventing isolation and assisting retention.
• Blended learning – will offer the opportunity to consolidate and support face-to-face learning, communicate and share information with the wider cohort and develop essential digital skills. The course team will supplement and enhance module content including providing additional delivery of practical workshops, creating links to sources of further information, encourage online discussion groups the development of web based portfolios and continual use of the PDP, PACE, EDORT systems.
• Diagnostic, formative and summative feedback – Diagnostic feedback is valuable in the very early stages of learning; it allows you to reflect throughout your learning rather than viewing it retrospectively. Ongoing formative feedback is given in tutorials, critiques and studio seminars in verbal form on a regular basis and is crucial to student progress. Formative feedback is also offered when part of the coursework is submitted for assessment during the semester. Summative feedback is presented after assessment in written and verbal forms and offers a chance for you to reflect on progress and achievement and to receive suggestions for future direction.

The course team consider feedback crucial to both student and staff progress in that it:

• Identifies and clarifies good performance
• Encourages positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem
• Give assessment choice (where appropriate)
• Encourages 'time and effort' on task
• Encourages interaction and dialogue (peer and teacher-learner)
• Provide opportunities to act on feedback
• Develop self-assessment and reflection
• Informs and shapes teaching

Careers & opportunities
In this section

• Graduate employers
• Job roles
• Career options
• Work placement / study abroad
• Graduate employers

Graduates from this course are now working for:

• Jam Media
• Humain
• Enter Yes
• Paper Owl
• BillyGoat Entertainment
• Taunt
• Sixteen South Production
• Job roles

With this degree you could become:

• Character Animator
• Concept Artist
• Modeller
• Storyboard Artist
• Technical Director
• Visual FX Artist
• 3D generalist

Career options

• Graduates with skills in computer animation have many well-paid career opportunities available to them. Students have secured positions in national and international studios including Humain, Sixteen South, Paper Owl, Taunt, Jam Media, Flickerpix, Alt, Billygoat, MPC, Framestore, Feed Me Light, The Mill, and BlueZoo. Our Students have worked in diverse roles in industry including VFX artists on HBO's "Game of Thrones", Animators and Layout Artists for John Stevenson's "Middle Watch", Environment Artists for MPC, Concept Artists for Sixteen South and Paper Owl as well as many other companies in both animation production, Film, TV, Architectural Visualisation, animation for educational content, and video games.

Work placement / study abroad

• Students are strongly encouraged to undertake an optional work placement and/or take advantage of the excellent study abroad programme leading to the award of a Diploma in Professional Practice (DPP), Diploma in Professional Practice (DPPI), or Diploma in International Academic Studies (DIAS).
• The DPP is generally received either through UK studio based work or by joining the Enterprise Placement Year (EPY), through which students learn how to establish and manage their business (Studio or Freelance), while the DPPI includes working in international studios (subject to Visas and rights to work abroad). The DIAS allows for further study at an international institution under the Ulster University GoGlobal schemes including the International Student Exchange Programme (ISEP), Study USA Scheme, and Study Abroad Partnerships. You will obtain the appropriate award in addition to your degree's classification on successful completion of your Final Year.