| Ranking | School | City |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trazos School of Digital Arts | Madrid |
| 2 | Animum Creativity Advanced School | Malaga |
| 3 | FX Animation - Barcelona 3D & Film School | Barcelona |
| 4 | Universal Arts School | Valencia |
| 5 | 9Zeros Animation School | Barcelona |
Our 2021 rankings of the top animation training programs in Spain. For this ranking we only consider professional training programs, that is, non-degree programs such as certificate, diploma, and similar programs that are not formal 4-year bachelor's degrees. For an explanation of our ranking criteria, click here.
Established more than 25 years ago, Trazos School of Digital Arts trains professionals in Technology and New Media, and in Digital Art disciplines such as 3D, Animation, Digital Marketing, Graphic Design, Motion Graphics, VFX, Video Games, Web Development, and more. The school, which has partnerships with Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, Maxon, Pixologic, and others, focuses entirely on job placement in the industry, as well as helping active professionals improve their skills.
Specific pathways for Animators include Professional Master Programs in 2D Animation with Toon Boom, 2D Design and Animation with Toon Boom, 3D and Animation, 3D and VFX with Maya and Houdini, 3D with Autodesk Maya, Advanced 3D with Autodesk Maya, Advanced Animation, Animation, Character Design and Animation, and VFX with Houdini. Trazos also offers Zbrush and Advanced Zbrush short programs.
Master Programs consists of 300 or 600 hours of study, Zbrush consists of 75 hours, and Advanced Zbrush consists of 150 hours. Students in all programs will produce a number of animated productions as well as a Final Diploma Project utilizing personal studio spaces and facilities that mirror a real professional studio.
Trazos School of Digital Arts has more than 10,000 graduates to date, all of them professionals in their field.
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 2007, FX Animation - Barcelona 3D & Film School has a 99% job placement rate, with graduates working at more than 800 companies around the world. The school offers specialized training in areas such as 2D/3D Character Design, 3D for Architecture, Animation, Games, Graphic Design, Photography, and Visual Effects.
Pathways for animators include an Advanced Master’s in 3D Design and Art for Videogames or VFX with Houdini and Maya, an Advanced Master’s in Compositing and Postproduction, a Professional Certificate in 3D for Graphic Design & Photography, and a “3D Master & Postproduction for VFX.” In 2021, the school added two new (short) programs including Art Direction for Cinema (five months) and Direct Sound (four months).
All FX Animation students will learn to master the latest methods, technologies, and software including Adobe After Effects, Avid, Nuke, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Maya, 3ds Max, V-Ray, Forest Pack, RailClone, Pro Tools, Adobe Premier Pro, DaVinci, Mari, Cara VR, SynthEyes, LightWave , and more.
Other program highlights include small class sizes (maximum 15 students), internship opportunities, and a final marketable animated production. Students have completed internships at companies such as El Ranchito, Deluxe, Entropy Studio, Digital Legends, The game forge, Scarecrow studio, B · Water Studios and Music has no limits, among others.
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 positions at major companies and studios such as Blizzard Entertainment, Disney, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation, Pixar, and many others.
9Zeros Animation School (Escola de Cinema de Barcelona – ECIB) offers courses and master’s degrees in 2D, 3D, Cinematographic Direction, Concept Art, Documentary Film, Editing, Film Directing, Photography, Scriptwriting, Sound, Stop-Motion, and VFX Animation. Per the school, 9Zeroes is one of the only institutions in Europe that combines all these cinematographic disciplines.
Specific programs for aspiring animators include a three-year Animation training program covering the three branches of Animation including 2D, 3D and Stop-Motion Animation. 9Zeroes is the only school in Catalonia that provides training in all three branches.
The program requires 180 credit hours of study to graduate. Upon completion of the program, 9Zeros/ECIB graduates have landed positions with major studios and companies such as Aardman Animations, Double Negative, Lightbox Animation Studios, Pixar, Weta Digital, and many others. Alumni have worked on productions such as Brave, Inside Out, Cars 3, Justice League, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hunger Games, The Jungle Book, X-Men: Apocalypse, and more.
