Top 25 International Animation Training Programs - 2021 School Rankings

Vancouver Institute of Media Arts (VanArts) was founded in 1995 with Academy-Award winning Animator/Director Lee Mishkin as its founding Program Director. The school offers a variety of focused Diploma Programs designed to prepare students for careers in Acting for Film & Television, Broadcasting, Character Animation, Game Art & Design, Professional Photography, Visual Effects Production, and Web Development.

Students in all VanArts programs benefit from small class sizes, a specialized, adaptable curriculum, courses taught by industry professionals with decades of experience at studios such as Disney, Dreamworks, and Industrial Light & Magic, and an international network with degree pathways available through industry partners in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S. The VanArts network (which also includes partners in Canada) provides the opportunity for students to complete their bachelor’s degree in as little as one year after graduating. Deakin University (Australia), Emily Carr University of Art + Design (Canada), Full Sail University (US), Media Design School (New Zealand), University of Gloucestershire (UK), and Woodbury University (US), are just a few options.

For aspiring animators, VanArts offers a 2D/3D Character Animation Program that begins with the Principles of Animation (Initiating Force, Path of Action, Lead/Follow, Timing/Spacing, Physics and Body Mechanics) and progresses to Honing Skills, Lighting, Rendering, and the Demo Reel. Course, topic, and workshop highlights for the program include Acting and Performance, Adobe Premiere, Asset Building, Character Animation, Editing & Audio, Harmony, Life Drawing, Lighting, Maya Fundamentals, Rendering, Story, and Visual Language.

The 2D/3D Character Animation Program takes just 12 months to complete and it leads to a Diploma. Graduates of the program work at studios such as Bardel Entertainment, Framestore, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Titmouse Studios. Program alumni have worked on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Hotel Transylvania 3, Spider-Verse, The Angry Birds Movie 2, Transformers: Rescue Bots, and many others.

Combining career and professional skills training with theoretical knowledge, Seneca provides a polytechnic education to 30,000 full-time and 60,000 part-time registrants. With campuses in Toronto, York Region and Peterborough and education partners around the world, Seneca offers degrees, graduate certificates, diplomas and certificates in more than 300 full-time, part-time and online programs, now most of them virtually. Seneca’s credentials are renowned for their quality and respected by employers. Co-op and work placements, applied research projects, entrepreneurial opportunities and the latest technology ensure that Seneca graduates are highly skilled and ready to work.

Located on the grounds of York University, the Seneca@York Campus houses the School of Creative Arts & Animation. Pathways include an Advanced Diploma in Animation (ANI) and Graduate Certificates in 3D Animation (DAN), and Game Art and Animation (GAA).

The three-year Advanced Diploma in Animation covers Traditional and Computer Animation. Students will learn to animate characters and scenes, design, and draw storyboards, and practice applying theories of motion, timing, storytelling and digital technology to produce “high-quality” animations and designs, says the school. Students will also receive hands-on learning that will enable them to “utilize the equipment, facilities and computer software currently used in the industry.” Graduates of the program are prepared to pursue careers in feature film and gaming studios as an animator.

In the eight-month 3D Animation Graduate Certificate, students will develop skills in Animation, Compositing, Lighting, Modeling, Rendering, and Rigging. They will also learn project management skills and storyboard drawing techniques. Graduates can pursue careers such as 3D Painter/Texturing and Lighting Specialist, Character Rigger, Digital Animator, Modeler, and many others.

The Game Art and Animation Graduate Certificate covers Animation, Design, Lighting, Modeling, Scene Staging, and Texturing. Art Direction and Production Management are also part of this eight-month  program. Graduates are prepared to pursue careers such as Animator, Level Builder, Level Designer, Lighting Artist, Modeler, Prop Artist, Texture Artist, and many others.

Students in all programs benefit from internship opportunities and Seneca’s affiliations and associations with ACM SIGGRAPH, Computer Animation Studios Ontario (CASO), Toon Boom Centre of Excellence, and Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI).

National Film and Television School (NFTS) opened in 1971 as The National Film School. The only UK film school with its own television studios and post-production facilities, NFTS serves more than 400 students enrolled around 40 MA, Diploma, and Certificate Programs. Specific programs for aspiring animators include an MA in Directing Animation, a Diploma in Model Making for Animation, and Certificate in Character Animation.

Students in the MA in Directing Animation will study all forms of Visual Storytelling, along with Traditional and Digital Media including Drawn 2D, 3D, Stop-Motion and Life-Size Pixilation. Program highlights include collaborative workshops with other filmmaking disciplines, the chance to work in real production facilities and on real projects, and the opportunity to develop, produce, and direct a graduation film, while leading a fully crewed team.

All NFTS students will also have the opportunity to attend the school’s masterclasses program, with animation guests including, Michaël Dudok De Wit (Father and Daughter, The Red Turtle), Glen Keane (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast), Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings, The Boxtrolls), and David O’Reilly (The External World, Please Say Something).

The Diploma in Model Making for Animation is the only UK-based program of its kind located in a dedicated film studio environment. Students in the program will learn to create professional models, sets, props, and puppets. Projects will be completed individually and as a team, and students will engage in challenging modules, workshops, and tutorials, some of which will take place online. During the last few months of the program, students will work with MA students on their animation graduation films.

The Certificate in Character Animation is a 12-week, full-time, intensive and practical course based in the Aardman Studios in Bristol. The program covers core animation skills, drawing, and acting, culminating in a short character animation sequence.

The MA Program may be completed in two years and the Diploma Program takes one year to complete. Internship opportunities are available and both programs require a full-time commitment.

The One Academy (TOA) was established in 1991 by a small group of entrepreneurs and pioneers renowned in the fields of New Media Visual Communication and Effects. This Professional Art and Design School is a tertiary institution, registered with the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. Open to artists from around the world, TOA offers Degree, Diploma, and Certificate programs. A three-year Diploma in Digital Animation is offered for aspiring animators.

Students in the program will work with mentors in an industry-oriented environment while building their portfolios and demo reels. Students will also have access to “international industry-standard facilities,” says the school, allowing them to “experience and explore the variety of state-of-the-art-media, properties, techniques and surfaces to develop their cutting edge skills.”

Course highlights include Cartoon Character Design, Compositing & Editing, Conceptual Rendering, and Visual Storytelling. At the end of the program, students will complete Final Project Development and a Portfolio Presentation.

Graduates of The One Academy have landed positions at major firms and studios such as BBDO, DreamWorks, Leo Burnett, Lucasfilm, Ogilvy, Rhythm & Hue, Ubisoft, and many others.

Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology Algonquin (Algonquin College or AC) was formed from the merger of the Eastern Ontario Institute of Technology, established 1957, and the Ontario Vocational Centre, established 1965. Named after the First Nations people who lived in the area, the school opened with roughly 120 students and a staff of seven.

Today, Algonquin serves nearly 20,000 students enrolled in over 350 programs in dozens of departments and schools. The School of Media Design offers 22 programs, including a three-year Advanced Diploma in Animation and a 28-week Drawing Foundations for Animation and Illustration Certificate.

The Animation Diploma Program “focuses on acting and body mechanics,” says the school where students learn “traditional, 3D, tradigital (using Toon Boom`s Harmony) and video game animation techniques.” Courses for the program are taught by faculty members who have worked for studios such as Disney, Sony Image Works, Warner Bros. Animation, and many others.

Course highlights include 2D Digital, Animation Design, Business Studies for Animation, Character Design, Design Thinking, Gesture Drawing for Animation, and Scriptwriting for Animation. Courses are offered in the classroom or lab, entirely online, or in a hybrid mode, which combines classroom sessions with online learning activities.

Through Independent Study courses, students will develop Animation, Layout, Rigging, Special Effects, and Storyboarding skills, as they “concentrate on developing a portfolio specific to the job they wish to pursue in a studio.”

Graduates of the program are prepared to pursue positions such as 3D Animator, Animator, Background or Layout Artist, Character or Location Designer, or Tradigital Modeler or Rigger at a professional animation or game studio. “Other employment opportunities might include working on feature films, animated TV series or commercials.”

Students in the 28-week Drawing Foundations for Animation and Illustration Certificate Program will explore Character, Creature and Environment Design, Life Drawing, and Sculpting. Sculpting and painting with digital tools and software is also part of this immersive studio program. Students will create a portfolio and exhibit their best work at the Annual Showcase.

Graduates of the program may pursue careers in Animation, Book Illustration, Comic Books, Concept Art, Gaming – Anime, Graphic Novels, and more.

Established more than a decade ago, Animum Creativity Advanced School (Animum) offers graduate programs, more than 500 software workshops, and Autodesk Training. The school offers a number of benefits for students such as free classes with professionals from 3D Animation, Graphic Design, Modeling, and Photography, workshops, and talent scholarships awarded each year. In addition, all Animum graduates have access to “an exclusive service” that provides the opportunity for alumni to promote their reel or portfolio to agencies, companies, and studios, both nationally and internationally.

Animum Creativity Advanced School serves hundreds of students in more than 30 countries enrolled in programs delivered face-to-face and online. Animation pathway’s include Master’s degrees or shorter programs in 3D Animation and Illustration, Advanced 3D Production, Advanced Cartoon Animation, Animation for Video Games, Animation or Modeling of 3D Characters for Cinema and Videogames, Digital Drawing and 2D Animation, and VFX and Composition with Houdini and Nuke.

Courses and workshops include Advanced Cartoon Animation, Animation of 3D Characters for Video Games, Animation of Creatures for VFX, Digital Composition with Nuke, Explode Your Reel – Animation, Fundamentals of 2D Animation, Fundamentals of Drawing, Foundations of 3D Production with Autodesk MAYA, and Rigging 3D Characters.

Graduates of the Animation Programs at Animum have landed positions at Advertising Firms, Animation and Game Studios, Motion Graphics Studios, VFX companies, and more. Framestore and Illumination Mac Guff are just a few companies that have hired Animum graduates.

Established in 1994, Universal Arts School (UA) has two campuses in Valencia, Spain and one in Hollywood, California. The school offers a Character Animation Bachelor's that takes 33 months to complete, a Character Animation Diploma that takes 25 months to complete, and a 17-month Character Animation Master's. Programs may be completed on campus or online and all students have the opportunity to complete a final project and professional demo reel.

Other program highlights include access to more than 200 top mentors and nearly 100 speakers and collaborators working at benchmark studios within the film and game industries, the Start-Up component, which helps students develop the skills needed to start their own business, and internship opportunities.

In addition to starting their own studios, graduates of UA Animation Programs have landed positons at major companies and studios such as Blizzard Entertainment, Disney, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation, Pixar, and many others.

Max The Mutt College Of Animation, Art & Design (Max the Mutt) was founded by artists and animators in 1996. The school highlights small class sizes, individual instruction by working professionals in the field, and workshops and programs that prepare graduates for careers in animation.

Max the Mutt offers an Animation Diploma (Classical & Computer Animation & Production), and two Diploma programs that are unique in Canada: a four-year Diploma in Illustration & Storytelling for Sequential Arts (ISSA); and a four-year Diploma in Concept Art for Animation & Video Games.

The Animation Diploma is a three-year program. Students will take both Classical and Digital Animation courses, as well as Drawing classes, Acting for Animation, Background Painting/Design, Character Design, Cartooning, and a sequence of Storyboarding, Storytelling, and Visual Language courses. In the third year, students will produce an original short, using 2D Computer Animation.

In the final year, students will move on to advanced courses in 3D Animation and, in groups, they will participate in a simulated 3D production experience directed by an industry professional.

Maxx the Mutt hosts an Industry Event that showcases graduating students and their work. The event is “well attended by representatives from animation and gaming companies,” says the school. In addition to the opportunity to showcase their best work in the final year of the program, students will put the finishing touches on their professional portfolio, demo reel, and online profile page.

Graduates have been hired at Disney Design Group, Guru Studios, Mercury Films, Pipeline Studios, Pixar, See Creatures, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Warner Bros. Games, and many others.

The ISSA Diploma Program (formerly three years) has been enhanced to include an extra year that includes a “two-semester graphic novel development course that will leave each graduate with a package that can be pitched to publishers,” says the school. The program covers Adobe Suite, Creating Mobile Comics, Digital Media, Graphic Design, Illustration, and Storyboarding for Advertising. Core courses for the three-year Diploma remain a part of the new Diploma Program.

Courses cover creating, penciling and inking comics, storytelling and scripting for comics, and children’s book illustration. Graduates are prepared for a variety of positions in Advertising, Animation, Gaming, Multimedia, Publishing, and more.

The Concept Art for Animation & Video Games Program provides an “in-depth curriculum based on suggestions and portfolio requirements” from major animation companies and game studios. The program includes a mix of Animation, Cartooning, Fine Art, and Illustration courses, as well as concept courses and instruction “in all necessary computer software from Photoshop to Maya.”

Graduates of the program have been hired at Corus/Nelvana, Guru, Portfolio Entertainment, UbiSoft Toronto, Warner Bros. Games, Yowza Animation, and many others.

Founded in 1992 as an Institute of Higher Learning, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) serves more than 15,000 students enrolled in dozens of programs in seven schools. The School of Design & Media offers a full-time Diploma in Animation & Visual Effects that teaches students to create virtual worlds, and 2D and 3D moving images.

Courses for this three-year program are taught by professionals from major studios Animal Logic, DNEG London, Industrial, Light & Magic (ILM), Lucasfilm Singapore, The Method Studios, The Walt Disney Co Asia, and Ubisoft Asia. Course highlights include 2D Character Design, 3D Character Animation, Advanced Lighting and Rendering, Animation Principles, Audio Creation, Business for Digital Media Industry, Cinematography for Visual Effects, Compositing, Creative Producing, Dynamic Effects, Game Story Creation, Digital Marketing, Mixed Reality Experience Design, Motion Capture Techniques, and Sequential Art. Students will also complete an internship during the course of the program.

NYP’s Diploma in Animation & Visual Effects opens doors for graduates to further their studies at local and international universities such as Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), ArtCenter College of Design (USA), DigiPen Institute of Technology (USA), Savannah College of Art and Design (USA), Vancouver Film School (CAN), Bournemouth University (UK), and University of Hertfordshire (UK).

Graduates also go on to land positions at Animal Logic (Australia),Blizzard Entertainment, Crave FX (Singapore), DNEG (UK, Canada), Industrial, Light & Magic (ILM), Netflix Animation (USA), Sony Pictures Imageworks (Canada), and many others.

New3dge is a Digital Arts Training School that opened in 2010. This private school serves more than 100 students enrolled in Animation, 3D & VFX, and Game Design programs. Students in all programs will work in teams to complete a number of projects, including a final graduation project.

Specific program options for aspiring animators include the 3D Animation & VFX Master. The curriculum covers the creation of characters, matte painting, storyboarding, polygonal modeling, rigging, rendering, 2D animation, film production, integration of virtual elements in real photo or animated shooting, perspective analysis in the image and video tracking, compositing, post-production and finalization, integration of sound into image, and more.

The first year of the program consists of traditional preparation in drawing, modeling, and sculpture. In year two, students will learn 2D and 3D computer graphics techniques. In year three, students will deepen their knowledge of computer graphics and choose a specialization. Students will refine their skills and complete the final graduation project and portfolio during the fourth and fifth years of the program.

Graduates of the 3D Animation & VFX Master Program at New3dge are prepared to pursue careers such as 3D Animator, 3D Graphic Designer, Artistic Director, Character Designer, Environmental Designer, Production Manager, Setup/Rigging Specialist, Storyboarder, and many others. 

Founded in 2008, The Game Assembly (TGA) is a polytechnic school that trains game artists (3D), game programmers (C++), and level designers. With an additional location in Stockholm, TGA offers programs that allow students to spend 1/3 of their education in the workplace. This component of the program, known as Learning at Work (LiA), takes place towards the end of the program.

Other TGA highlights include small class sizes (16 students), the opportunity to collaborate with students from all disciplines, partnerships with numerous gaming studios, and courses taught by industry professionals.

Specific program options for aspiring animators in the Game Animator Diploma. Students in the program will learn the 12 animation principles, animation of both mechanical and living characters, motion capture and keyframe animation, rigging of 3D models, Autodesk Maya, and Motion Builder. Throughout the program, Game Animator students will create eight games, from concept to playable game.

Students will collaborate with other game artists to bring the characters to life in both gameplay and cinematics. All projects “follow the same working methodology that companies in the industry use,” says the school. The Game Animator Diploma Program takes 2.5 years to complete, full-time.

Founded in 1967, Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning (Humber College or Humber) is known for its “Centres of Innovation (COIs),” which “reinforce the interdisciplinary collaboration the college is known for in five areas,” says the school. This includes Creative Business, Entrepreneurship, Health and Wellness, Social Innovation, and Technology.

When Humber opened, it had just few hundred students enrolled in classes in the skilled trades. Today, the school has three campuses that serve more than 80,000 full- and part-time students enrolled in over 150 programs in a number of faculties and schools. The Faculty of Media & Creative Arts offers an Advanced Diploma in 3D Animation.

Students in the program will “develop a blend of the most relevant digital and analog 2D and 3D art skills, as well as an understanding of creative and technological processes,” says the school. Students will also “learn to translate traditional art and design into models of characters, objects, scenes and virtual worlds,” and “develop cinematography and design skills.” During the final semesters of the program, students will complete an Internship, Capstone and Portfolio.

In just six semesters, animation students will be prepared to pursue roles in the Advertising, Animation, Film & Television, and Video Game industries.