Atlantica's 3D Animation Program is your first step in making this dream a reality. At Atlantica, our programs are taught by Industry Professionals to ensure that your training and experience is unlike any other in Atlantic Canada.
Our system is structured so that participants graduate not as students, but as Industry Professionals ready to take on the world of Digital Art. With your passion and hard work, you'll compile a digital portfolio that will enable you to break into this highly competitive Industry.
Our graduates are instructed on their own individual work station. Upon graduation, they are qualified to start careers as a:
- Layout Artist
- 3D Character Animator
- 3D Modeler
- 3D Character Modeler
- 3D Texture Artist
- 3D Character Rigger
- Visual Effects Artist
- Lighting and Rendering Artist
- Motion Capture Cleanup Artist
The program is a complete course starting from the ground up where the basic fundamentals are covered and honed in drawing, story boarding, life drawing, story telling and of course, classical animation.
Students in our program have their own work station, which is not shared with other course participants.
While the student creates the foundation needed to truly excel in the program, he or she is also learning the fundamentals of digital design and 3D software, including modeling, texturing and animation. This early marriage is essential for the development and preparation necessary to advance to the second year ready to tackle the task of making your own 3D short film.
The second semester begins with advanced techniques and ends in the simulated production experience of 3D film making. Nothing is omitted as the student learns advanced techniques in design, script writing, story boarding, 3D modeling, animation, special effects, lighting, and rendering.
This structure is extremely effective because the student learns in a real-life production environment with industry deadlines and milestones to ensure industry level quality. The experience becomes invaluable, resulting with a seamless transition from classroom to the actual work force.
The Atlantica 3D Animation Program is unique and effective and is designed only for those willing to commit to the rigorous training necessary to break into the highly competitive digital industry. If you've got the passion, desire, and the commitment, then this course is your springboard to the world of 3D Animated Television, Feature Films, and Video Games.
Type of course: Full Time
Length of course: 65 weeks
Atlantica's 3D Animation Program uses a developmental approach, as opposed to the traditional teaching style found in the majority of Digital schools today.
It is highly intensive, contains no fluff or fillers and is designed to develop the student from a novice to an industry professional during the 65 week duration.
The first year contains the building blocks for success, developing the skills necessary to create, from start to finish, a short film while working within a simulated production environment. This short film will include and reflect all the skills obtained within the 65 week duration, showcased in a visually superior style than the vast majority of student or entry-level demos today. The reason this approach is so effective is the unique structure and approach to achieving the end result- a complete simulated production experience, guided by Atlantica's Industry Professional Instructors to ensure complete success.
The classroom is the production suite, and the classes will name their teams to simulate a professional environment. This removes the individuality of the students and replaces it with a team responsibility, which parallels the real world industry studio environment. The team will strive to produce a class demo, their student films being the contributing factor. This professional approach ensures that each student will develop to the best of their abilities.
Students may have a portfolio requirement prior to acceptance and a screening process will help ensure that only the serious student will be accepted. Students, regardless of their initial skill set, develop dramatically under this structure, putting them in a great position within the highly competitive entry level stage.
The software used by Atlantica is the Industry's leader, Maya, and to ensure the effectiveness of the production simulated environment, each student will have his or her own work station for the entire duration of the course.
Module 1- Weeks 1-8
Drawing for Animation A fundamental study of the skills needed for 2D and 3DAnimation. Includes basic drawing with some layout and design. This course is imperative, as the skills learned here will be practiced by both the 2D animator and the 3D animator for the rest of the program and ultimately the entire career of the artist.
Introduction to 3D An introduction to the 3D software, Maya, focusing on familiarity with the software while exploring the capabilities with respect to Animation and Modeling, with an emphasis on the latter.
Life Drawing I An introduction to Life Drawing, focusing on drawing shapes and studying objects and of course studying the human figure. This course is imperative, and will be practiced every quarter except the final. It's importance cannot be undermined, as it helps keep the artist sharp with returning to basic fundamentals and repetitive practice. All great studios offer Life Drawing to their professional artists on a scheduled basis.
Film Study I An introductory study of Film, with an emphasis on style. Students will introduced to films while studying the elements involved, including direction, editing, and lighting. Films will range from Silent to modern action, foreign to independent. This course will give the student an appreciation of the art of film making and motivate them with their own personal projects.
Module 2- Weeks 9-16
Life Drawing II A continuation of the practice of Life Drawing. Skills are developed slowly but progressively. No demo reel is complete without a showcase of Life Drawing, which represents the skills and understanding of the artist.
Character Design & Storyboard I An introduction to designing characters in 2D, the emphasis here is on style. Students will develop their ability to create stylish characters. This course will also showcase the students skills obtained from Life Drawing and Drawing for Animation. They will then learn to apply these skills to a storyboard after learning the basic fundamentals, a pre-curser to the approach they will take when beginning to make their final films.
3D Modeling I Students will take a practical intense approach to modeling in 3D. The emphasis here will be on modeling non-organic objects such as chairs and other small objects and then entire rooms, then larger more detailed projects while using photographic reference. They will then photograph an outdoor structure like a building, etc, and model the elements while trying to match the individual photo references. This course is the first big step for the student, as it begins to develop the modeling skills needed to create the sets and props for the final film projects.
Film Study II A continuation of the previous study, developing the students appreciation of film, it's style and elements, and the art.
Module 3- Weeks 17-24
Life Drawing III Continuing the artists ability to draw what they see, the student is developing progressively with the intention of retaining pieces for their portfolios and demos.
Character Design & Storyboard II Students continue to develop their abilities with designing stylish characters. Projects become larger and the ability to tell a story with the learned elements by the use of storyboarding continues to develop.
3D Modeling II Students continue with more difficult projects focusing on non organic modeling. The emphasis here is on efficiency while maintaining the highest quality. Organic modeling is also a focus and a substantial project is produced which will showcase the ability to model sets, props, etc.
Module 4- Weeks 25-32
Introduction to Classical Animation An introduction to Classical animation, focusing on basic fundamentals. This course will be the opportunity to apply basic, classical principles while using the software, Flash . This course is imperative for development, as all the skills learned here will be applied to the 3D courses.
Life Drawing III Continuing the artists ability to draw what they see, the student is developing progressively with the intention of retaining pieces for their portfolios and demos.
3D Modeling III An introduction to 3D character modeling. Students will develop skills in modeling different types of 3D characters, gaining skills while preparing for the production of their final projects. At the end of this course students will have 3D animated renders of their characters to include in their final portfolios or demos.
.3D Animation 1 The student will now be ready to apply the classical skills learned in the Intro to Classical Animation course, to 3D character models. This class is possibly the most intense study, with many small and a few large projects, all designed to further develop the skills needed to create a professional quality short film.
Module 5- Weeks 33-40
3D Animation II The continuation of developing character animation skills with projects and exercises to hone the basic fundamentals needed to begin production of the short film.
Story Development 1 The students will be encouraged from the beginning to think about ideas for their short film project, and will ultimately study countless classic and modern short films within the first 40 weeks. In this intense class, the students will be collectively sharing individual ideas for their individual projects. The collaboration is highly effective and nurtures the importance of teamwork, an element that might just be the most important trait involved in production. Using various texts, including modern and classic, the students will create and develop the ideas for their final projects.
Production Modeling 1 While developing the final drafts of their stories, the modeling for their films will be completed in this class. This will include characters, props, sets, etc, all under the watchful guidance of the instructor. Digital Texturing and painting will also be a focus. Models will ultimately be finalized and will include final textures, ready for production.
Pre-Production Techniques This is a course covering all film techniques while using texts such as 'Shot by Shot'. Camera's, lighting techniques, storyboarding, spatial connections, editing, scene staging, depth of frame, camera angles, point of view, and the various types of stable compositions and moving camera shots will be covered. This is the final stage before production begins for the short film.
Module 6- Weeks 41- 63
Film Production With all elements ready for production, it's time to implement every skill and every asset to date. This is the production phase of the course, where the film is finally produced. This stage is the most intense and the realism of the experience will allow the student ultimately to enter the workforce seamlessly.
Introduction to Special Effects With the team now in production, certain films will require special effects, and it's within this class that they will be individually addressed.
Lighting and Rendering for Production Perfectly timed with the students in production this is the opportunity to prepare for the final rendering of the short films. Lighting techniques, and various rendering styles will be addressed all in preparation for the final project.
Module 7- Weeks 64-65
Portfolio Development With all assets completed, this 2 week period will be used to tie loose ends and ultimately compile the portfolio, or demo, which will showcase all of the work from the entire course, including the final project short film.
