BSc (Hons) Animation

This bsc degree in animation is designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills and vocational experience needed to enter this dynamic and rapidly growing industry. 

With access to high-tech facilities such as our six camera Motion Capture Studio, you’ll use innovative techniques and practices to create professional standard digital animations, and develop a strong foundation of knowledge in areas such as:

• Classical animation techniques
• Storytelling
• Still and moving image capture/manipulation
• Design, cinematography, modelling and animation
• Concept art
• Digital sculpting and compositing
• CGI lighting

This comprehensive programme is part of Screen Yorkshire’s prestigious Connected Campus initiative and carefully blends creativity and conceptual development with technical theory to produce talented multi-skilled graduates who are primed to embark on exciting and stimulating careers within the world of animation.

With opportunities to collaborate with partners in Qingdao (China), attend workshops and talks by award-winning professionals like James Butler (Animator, Peppa Pig), Iki Ikram (VFX Artist, Last of Us, Uncharted) and Ben Smith (Director, StarDog and TurboCat), as well as the chance to work on a bespoke studio project in your final year, you’ll develop into a competent and confident professional all set to enjoy a fulfilling career in animation.

What you will study
All module information is for 2024 entry, and is subject to change.

First Year
Core

• Drawing for Production
• 3D Character Modelling and Animation
• Conventions of Animation
• Story and Scriptwriting
• Creative Studio Production
• Introduction to 3D Computer Animation

Second Year
Core

• Advanced Character Animation
• Classical Animation
• Advanced Drawing for Production
• Facial Modelling/ Animation
• 3D Character Creation

Optional

• Look Development, Environment Creation, Lighting and Rendering
• Digital Compositing and Post Production
• Motion Capture
• Simulation Effects for Animation and Games

Third Year

• Study abroad or placement year.

Final Year
Core

• Individual Project
• Group Project
• Individual Project 2

Optional

• Motion Capture
• Look Development, Environment Creation, Lighting and Rendering
• Digital Compositing and Post Production
• Simulation Effects for Animation and Games

Placement Year

• This course offers you the opportunity to take up a placement year working in industry between your second and final year.
• During the second year of your study we organise a number of activities to help students find placements. These include sessions on CVs, interviews etc. from the Careers service at the University and presentations by both employers and previous year's students on their placements.
• Students who endeavour to, and take up the placement year will have support and guidance from a placements tutor throughout to monitor and support your progress.
• After completing the year, students return to study the third academic year of their course, and we often find students return with a drive to continue their studies.
• Many students continue their relationship with their placement employers working for them part-time, developing Final Year Projects with them or going back to them into graduate positions.

Learning and assessment

• Learning takes place in a wide variety of formats. Some days you will be in lectures and seminars, others you will be having personal tutorials, having a casual chat in a group project, or even having a transatlantic discussion with an industry professional.
• All modules require you to undertake independent study, supported through distance learning technologies such as our Virtual Learning Environment.
• Reading lists and suggested resources for independent study provide further direction, and regular contact hours and informal feedback throughout the course provides you with ongoing guidance and support. Assessments for modules mostly take the form of practical coursework, lab tests and written exams.

Our facilities

• Access state-of-the-art motion capture equipment - using Vicon motion capture cameras, you can record the movement information of human actors which can be fed into specialist software, manipulated, and transferred to models.

Career prospects

• This course will prepare you for a successful career in computer animation. We are very proud of our graduates: they have gone on to work in the UK and overseas for organisations including the BBC, Warner Brothers, Vicon, MGM, Industrial Light and Magic, Disney, Universal, Weta Digital, Pixamundo, Dreamworks, Andy Serkis’ Imaginarium and many others.
• Our graduates have worked on blockbuster movies including Avatar, Hugo, Gravity, Inception, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Warhorse, The Dark Knight trilogy and all of the Harry Potter films as well as numerous games.

Career support
The programme has been designed to meet the needs of industry.

• We have regular industry student engagement, and as many of our staff still work on their own projects and commercial work they are best placed to offer advice on the best way to approach industry to secure employment.
• The University is committed to helping students develop and enhance employability and this is an integral part of many programmes.
• Specialist support is available throughout the course from Career and Employability Services including help to find part-time work while studying, placements, vacation work and graduate vacancies. Students are encouraged to access this support at an early stage and to use the extensive resources on the Careers website. Discussing options with specialist advisers helps to clarify plans through exploring options and refining skills of job-hunting.
• In most of our programmes there is direct input by Career Development Advisers into the curriculum or through specially arranged workshops.

Study support
A comprehensive support network is here for you to ensure you reach your academic potential and go on to further success in the future.

You’ll benefit from a range of support services, including:

• Personal Academic Tutor
• student support / administration team
• Academic Skills Advice service
• Career and Employability Services
• Disability Service
• well-stocked libraries and excellent IT facilities

Our academic team is friendly and easy to access. We always answer communication promptly and all have regular office hours to provide advice and support.

Research
All our staff are research active, and are pushing the boundaries of their disciplines.

• The University of Bradford has a strong pedigree of world-leading research, and our aim is to ensure that students benefit from our staff’s insight into the future of their subject.
• The integration of new and innovative research findings into our curriculum, known as Research Informed Teaching, is a core value and one of the key principles driving the design of our programmes and our modules.