Robin Wilding

Animation is an exciting, dynamic and growing field—and good thing, because there are plenty of aspiring animators anxiously waiting in the wings to become the next Chuck Jones. But where exactly are all these animators going to be absorbed into the industry? 

Well, animation jobs tend to gravitate towards artistically focused epicenter cities that cater to entertainment sectors—like film and gaming—so living and learning in Bummsville, USA (population: 37) likely won't cut it if you want to be a successful animator.

Female cartoon characters generally fall into one of two categories: sexy or hideous. We've already shown you the sexiest cartoon characters, now its time to dredge to the bottom of the barrel for the top 25 least-sexy cartoon chicks. Keep in mind though, throughout our list of the most hideous, that they're not ugly, they're just drawn that way. Just kidding—they're ugly.

The animation education industy has never been so competitive, with schools competing for students and students competing for a small number of available industry jobs. The job rate and student employability has dropped to the lowest in years, so a top-notch animation education has never been so critical.

All this has made choosing the right animation school extremely difficult. To help students navigate through the world of animation schools, we've put together the Top 100 most highly-regarded and sought after animation schools on the planet. This list of the Top 100 Schools in Animation, Gaming and Design was compiled via a mixture of school reviews, industry-reviewed lists like the Princeton Review, and via a survey of the animation industry professionals and recruiters from companies like Pixar, J.J. Sedelmaier and DreamWorks who were featured in our Interview Series. And without further ado, here are your Top 100 Schools in Animation, Gaming and Design: 

In honor of the formidable animation legends, special effects greats, comic company superheros and phenomenal producers we have put together an industry-voted list of the 100 most influential people in the animation industry. 

By surveying trained professionals, historians and restorationists (many of whom participated in our Interview Series)—and then a whole lotta' research—we put together this list, along with bios, of the biggest names and most influential contributions that have helped shape the animation industry that we know today. From Disney to DC and Paramount to Pixar, and back again.

Without further ado, here are your Top 100 Most Influential People in Animation in suspense-building reverse order: