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I'm looking to get into animation, and I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about the schools in and around Toronto? I'm specifically interested in traditional animation and stop-motion, if possible. As far as I can tell, Sheridan's the only one that does stop-motion. I have three cousins that went to Sheridan College, and they say it's the best choice for animation, and it's a four-year bachelor program. Seneca also has an animation program, which sounds good in its description, though I don't really have much interest in computer animation. And this weekend at the comic convention I was handed a flyer for Max the Mutt Animation School, and it looks pretty decent as well. One advantage I see for Seneca, and possibly Max the Mutt, is that it would be cheaper than a 4-year program at Sheridan. So I'm wondering if anyone knows of any other schools or which of these three programs is the best? I tried googling and all I found were dozens of computer animation and gaming schools, but no regular animation. I also don't want to have to move much farther than Toronto, and I live in Waterloo right now.
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Aug 27, 2007 05:59
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I'd like some general art school/career direction advice. For some background, I've been writing and drawing my whole life. I never had any formal art instruction beyond grade 9 art, and I've been writing all through high school and through the few years of undergrad as a history major. Now, I want to pursue a creative career of some kind. I'm not set on any particular medium for sure, my main thing is that I've got stories I want to tell and want to get them out in whatever medium suits them best. With that in mind, I want to go to art school, ideally animation, and eventually work toward film, or something. For financial reasons, full-time schooling is unfortunately not an option for the foreseeable future. For those reasons a good animation program is out of the question, also since I have no decent finished work to use as a portfolio and don't meet the requirements having no senior art credits in high school. My big thing is that I'm 6 years out of high school, have nothing to show for it and hate everything I've done since then. I'm sick of being a loser and want to get better at the only thing I enjoy doing. I've been drawing non-stop for the past year trying to get serious about art and have some pretty well-developed stories and concepts for comics and other things I eventually want to do. Now all I need to do is get/hone some skills. I'm scrounging and pulling my life together and managed to get into Art Fundamentals, a one-year program at Sheridan College in Oakville, ON. The reason I chose that program is because if I can't afford a more advanced 4-year program, I can at least afford one year. This way, I'll at least get some training where I had none before, build a portfolio, and can then reassess from there. I'm also a big believer in taking responsibility for my own education and am trying to self-teach as much possible (drawing, digital art, reading up to try some DIY animation). I'm also of course constantly reading and learning here in CC. So what I'd like to know is if you guys think this is the best course of action given my limited means, and what else I can try and do to get myself ready for animation, comics, film in the absence of formal instruction. If further schooling does become financially feasible, bet your rear end I'll be all over it. I want nothing more than to be back in school learning, but I just can't for now beyond this one-year program. VVVV Yo! Anything I should know? General Ripper fucked around with this message at 02:42 on May 17, 2008 |
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May 13, 2008 04:14
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I posted some career direction questions a few posts up (here: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2563469&pagenumber=6#post343450394 ) and would really appreciate some input, so I'm bumping.
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May 20, 2008 01:04
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Villon posted:Be more specific about what direction you'd like to go. I'd say something different for film vs. animation vs. comics. Comics you could just self-publish, at least to get started- do a zine. Film you could become a PA to start with and get to know people. Animation you could draw like crazy and then teach yourself Flash. Well, specifically I'm wonderig if my taking art fundamentals at college is a good first step, having no prior training in anything. Beyond that, for film, Ive gotten myself into a project with someone where we'll both be learning from the ground up, with comics, I've similarly gotten involved with an old high school friend and his (weird anarchist wacko) zine, and animation, well... that's why I'm trying to hone my drawing/general art skills then once I'm competent I'd like to experiment with flash like you say, also stop-motion once I get a new computer. If I end up doing well on any one path I'll maybe stick with that, but at this point nothing is for sure, other than school in september. In my mind I'm taking the right steps, but I don't know anyone in real life who's into this stuff so I have no guidance beyond you guys. I just want to get on the right track early.
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May 24, 2008 16:35
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TheKingPuuChuu posted:Well, to update, I told my bosses I was leaving at the end of the week, and they got upset. My boss looked like he was going to cry, is that normal? Don't worry about that boss. You're moving on to bigger and better things and you were nice enough to give some notice. If they don't like it, that's their problem, not yours. Save your sense of loyalty for better employers.
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May 27, 2008 21:10
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Scudworth posted:Oh don't you worry, Art Fundamentals will kick your rear end and show you exactly what you're made of by the end. You'll definitely have a better idea of which way you want to go when you're done. Fundies was the hardest school year of my life, harder than the multiple years combined in Illustration. Its workload alone is enough to make you question whether or not you could truly draw/create for the rest of your life. I recommend it. Perfect that sounds like what I was looking for
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May 29, 2008 18:01
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I've been asking my family, teachers, classmates but the more I think and talk about things the less sure I am about anything. I'm 24, in my first semester of art fundamentals at Sheridan College in Oakville, ON. Long story short: I went through 3 schools between high school and starting and sheridan through various programs which in the end were all bad choices and so i'm getting back to the only thing I love and care about: art. In going to those other schools and switching around, I basically exhausted every possible financial resource and am around 25k in debt with nothing to show for it, and scrounged to pay for this year out of my pocket. I came into the program thinking I wouldn't be able to do anything more for lack of funds. Now that I'm at school, I'm loving it and want to continue onto another program from here, either animation or illustration (leaning toward illustration). Either choice would be a 4 year BFA program, and I'd be loving 28 by the time I graduate. Also I have no clue how I'd make it happen financially. I commute an hour to school and the expense, school workload and time spent driving is all killing me and I really can't imagine keeping this up for another four years. I could move closer to school if I get into a program, but I'm married and my wife doesn't want to move and whatever we'll cross that bridge when we get there. All that said I absolutely want a career of some kind in art. It's the only thing I'm passionate about and I know for sure from the last 6 years that I absolutely can't be anywhere near happy doing any of the other poo poo I've been doing. Also I have no qualifications or useful experience in anything so art is all I've got. So now we come to the point where I have no clue where to go from here. I don't even know what I want to do. Like I said I'm leaning toward illustration because I want something as fine arty as possible, and want to develop my skills because this semester-so-far of art fundies is the only formal art instruction I've ever had. My teachers all say I can't do poo poo without some kind of diploma or degree. I'm considering even maybe finding some short graphic design program somewhere just so I can find something marketable. I'm in love with the idea of freelancing and being free to also pursue my own projects, and all I know for sure is that I want to have the skills to render any ideas I may have. I'm working on some comics on the side, but that's very slow-going as I want to get it right, and that's purely to exorcise these ideas from my head and put the story out there. If I can make money off it I will, but that's not the goal. Is it at all realistic to think that I can build a career with just art fundies and working my rear end off on my free time (while working whatever soul-crushing work I can find in the mean time) to build as diverse a portfolio as possible? Is it possible to build a career from just making posters for local bands and poo poo until I can land progressively bigger and bigger jobs? I feel like the clock is ticking and I don't know what the gently caress. I'm in crisis in every way possible these days and I need to figure out a plan. Help me, internet. I need some input.
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Nov 26, 2008 02:12
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Authentic You posted:This is pretty dead-on. Doing art in itself doesn't NEED to be taught, but the surrounding things that an art-based education give you are also really really important. I must agree on the criticism bit. Getting ripped to shreds by your professors really helps toughen you up and get some perspective on your work, while at the same time you learn to look at a piece and be able to see why it needs work and how it can improve, and how to express it. Thanks to both you and Kitten of Doom. I'm applying to both illustration and animation and will see what comes of it in the spring. I definitely want the education but there are so many obstacles I want to give myself as solid a plan-B as possible. I figured for freelancing, knowing lots of local indie musicians, I could start doing promo art or concert posters for them around here, maybe start one of the zine ideas I've been throwing around forever and getting my name out there and developing more for my portfolio. I've also got 3 cousins in the creative field, all of whom went to my school. One's a 3D animator/concept artist, the other two are web designers/illustrators and all three have been helping me along the way, so I'm trying to maintain good ties with them to have connections when I get to that point. I want to build up as big and varied a portfolio as possible, throw it on a site and start sending people there to see it.
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Dec 3, 2008 05:51
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I've posted before about this, still deliberating. Sorry if I'm rambling. I'm in Art Fundamentals at Sheridan College in Oakville, ON. I love it. I'd always done art as a hobby but never considered it as a career, so I did a bunch of other schooling in university for history, was dumb about it and switched schools a couple times, all while exhausting every financial resource possible. Eventually I ran out of money and was going to school part-time and eventually stopped completely. Around this time I had some epiphanies about life, came out of some longtime depression, remembered art and my love for it, and here I am. Beyond that I have no clue. This is a one-year foundations program, so I'm done in April, and will only have a certificate, not even a diploma. So I have to do something else. Not be all e/n about this (though I feel very e/n about it all the time) but I'm 24 and have not accomplished a drat thing in my life thus far. All my friends and my wife have all graduated and are making money and going places, and I'm sponging off my wife going to school hoping to someday maybe be somewhat employable in some field I'll probably hate anyway. I've bounced from school to school, doing a few different programs and not finishing any of them. I feel like my education's just become a running gag by this point. I want to be employable, have skill,s be good at something and be productive. I also want to pursue artistic fulfillment. So far I'm on the path to neither. There are career paths I'm interested in, but they are varied and I don't know which to follow. I considered applying to Sheridan's animation program, not so much because I want to be an animator (the more I think about the less I do) but because it'd give me a more varied skill set than just doing illustration. I'd be able to illustrate, animate, and have the benefits of some film school-type experience too. I also want to apply to their illustration program as a back up. I'd love to be able to illustrate freelance or something cool like that. Jim Flora is a big inspiration on that path. My other big love is comics. I don't really read them actively, but I love love love the medium and am constantly dreaming up poo poo to make into comics and have a few long-term projects on the go. I read Scott McCloud and get so caught up in it, and am in love with the storytelling possibilities, the whole scene of comic creators that I read about, the future of the industry, the DIY side of self publishing and the creative freedom it brings... everything. No matter what I'll be doing some comics, but really I'd like to be making money doing it. Looking at things more pragmatically, I'm thinking about design, preferably print, or typography, or something along those lines that would make me more employable in the near term. I'm trying to self-teach these topics but my lack of direction is translating into a lack of motivation. A big hurdle is of course finances. I've got over 25k in debt so far, and I can barely barely keep afloat as it is paying for that. I've ruled out any further debt, as I have no indication that I'll be able to handle it any time soon. I'm also commuting about 100km each way to school from Waterloo, so gas and car expenses (yeah I bought a car specifically for school. never get a car) are killing me, but I'm toughing it out to finish this school year. I'd have moved, but I'm married and didn't want to uproot my wife from her job for an 8-month program. So this is a big strike against going for a 4 year full-time program at Sheridan. Either way, it's looking more and more like I should just forget about next year and work. I'm sick of living like a 19 year old, sick of being poor and it's very attractive to just say gently caress it and get back to work and actually be able to pay for things and enjoy life (though I won't enjoy life because I wont be doing art, just whatever poo poo job I get because I have no education or qualifications). So another option came to me the other day. I could try and do the Fine Arts program at University of Waterloo (10 minute walk from my door) part-time, and use my accumulated history credits from Laurier (the other university I went to) to cover the other academic requirements. So if this were to happen, I'd have a degree (which I wanted anyway. I loved history and academia I just didn't want to make a career of it) two teachable subjects as a backup in case teaching becomes an option for me, and good classical training as UofW's program emphasizes painting and drawing (even get my own studio in 4th year). This would work ideally for me because I could work and still go to classes, and I'm not worried about drawing it out part-time, as long as I can work to pay for everything. It's here in town so I can just walk or whatever for free and get rid of that loving car, and I won't have to disrupt things for my wife, who's already getting established in her work. I'm emailing the department heads and such but I want some opinions. Would I really be missing out by not going to Sheridan, who has great name recognition and a solid program? Does this seem like a good plan? I'm stuck under the weight of all my past bad decisions and can't make any new ones for fear of screwing up further. tl;dr: Help me CC, you're my only hope. update: I heard back from the UW people, saying yes it can be done part-time and I can get in as a mature student with most of my Laurier credits transferring over. I'm all but decided on doing this. My only hang up is that the application deadline for animation at Sheridan is Feb 2 and I'm wondering if not applying straight away for that would be a mistake. General Ripper fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Jan 29, 2009 |
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Jan 28, 2009 22:34
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yoyomama posted:I can't give much advice, but I thought I'd say a bit. Thanks for the reply, didn't catch this til later on. I let the application deadline to Sheridan lapse. Either way I need a year off to work. I'm pretty much settled on the UW option, as it works best for me, I think. Life decisions is tough. Meanwhile, I've ensured basically everyone I know knows I'm the go-to guy for any art services.
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Feb 7, 2009 22:45
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Does anybody know anything about University of Waterloo's BFA program? I'm finishing a one-year art fundamentals certificate program at Sheridan and have applied to UW for next year. I haven't heard back yet, but in the mean time I can't find much information about it other than the basic blurb on their site.
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Apr 15, 2009 03:52
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Edmond Dantes posted:I had written my life's story, so I decided to spare you all the drama and jump straight to some questions. Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada might be worth looking into for you. They have traditional and 3D animation, though the 3D program is post graduate. They're pretty renowned around here and close to the industries in both the US and Canada.
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Apr 29, 2009 21:35
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