Study Animation in UK - Find UK University

Students enrolled in Animation courses in the UK learn the fundamentals of sketching, character animation, graphics, and video production, which are required for a successful career in these fields. There are a lot of classes that are taught by professionals working in the sector who have a lot of experience in this highly specialized subject. You will be required to create work that can be utilized in movies, television advertising, cartoons, and computer games, and you will already need to have foundational talent both creatively and technically.

The students will not only be instructed in the fundamental practical skills that are necessary for success, but they will also study conceptual and theoretical subjects such as art, design, communication, narrative, and scripting. Students have the opportunity to join production networks for 3D, CG, games, and films in the United Kingdom and worldwide through the use of animation media.

Animation Career in the UK

You will be prepared for jobs in cinema, television, advertising, and computer game development if you earn a degree in animation, in addition to other fields of digital media that are more general. Because the animation industry is so competitive, recent graduates may have to start their careers in lower-level positions as they hunt for their first role. Freelancing is a common choice for many animators as their careers advance since it gives them the freedom to select the projects they work on and the clients they collaborate with.

Some people were responsible for creating those characters, but the animation crew was the one who brought those characters to life. With the help of design software and hardware, technology and skills can be used to make a character come to life. When you're done with your training, you'll have a lot of different career paths and industries to choose from. The following are some of the more important ones: The new media, often known as internet media, Printing press, Production of Animated Films Advertisement of Video Games, Film & Television and E-learning.

Entry requirements for study animation in the UK

Portfolio of creative work: Although the majority of animation programs do not stipulate what courses you should have studied in school, all of them require applicants to submit a portfolio of their best work as part of the application process.

The typical prerequisites for the IELTS are an overall score of 6.0 and no score lower than 5.5 on any one section.

Best universities for study animation in the UK-

Find information about the top universities in the UK offering animation and game design programs, as ranked by the Guardian University Guide 2023, below. This will help you discover more about the most reputable animation programs in the UK-

1. University of Hertfordshire

Earning a degree in 3D Digital Animation and Modelling from University of Hertfordshire will provide you with the advanced level of knowledge and abilities required to be successful in the 3D animation industry of today. Creativity, character design, story, cinematography, special effects, and compositing are given a lot of weight in this game. Become skilled in character animation, digital modelling, virtual lighting, and virtual camera work, and focus on developing these skills. You will be responsible for the film’s sound design, which includes commissioning, purchasing, or writing the music, as well as the voice acting and sound effects.

2. UWE Bristol

There are three separate campuses that make up UWE Bristol inside the city of Bristol. It is both an exciting place to live in and an exciting place to go to school because it is both a vibrant and diversified city and has a huge student population. Bristol is also a center of industry, which means that there are several options for graduate jobs and networking right on its doorstep. In the Guardian’s league ranking for UK institutions in 2022, it was placed 36th out of 121 total entries. Approximately over the course of the past six years, an investment of over 300 million British pounds has been made in the campus amenities. According to the results of the Graduate Outcomes Survey that were released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) in 2021, the university has an excellent reputation among employers.

This is supported by the fact that 90.2% of the university’s graduates are either working or continuing their education 15 months after graduation.

3. Manchester Metropolitan University

You will become a member of the Manchester Metropolitan University community if you choose to major in animation here. You will work across a variety of creative approaches – just like the pros do – in order to cooperate on group projects that span multiple fields of study, working alongside professionals in the fields of photography, sound engineering, filmmaking, video games, and the media. Learning takes place in a brand new, purpose-built building that is outfitted with the most recent emerging technology for animation, filmmaking, and other areas of media production.

In the same way that they replicate the methods of the industry, they also work with the industry-standard tools. As an animation student, Manchester provides the perfect environment in which to study.

4. University of Arts London

You will create, explore, and play with 3D digital technology as you establish a specialized personal practice in this age of unprecedented opportunity for experienced visual gamers and sequential image-makers from University of Arts London. Real-time animation and immersive digital world-building are two areas that are experiencing tremendous advancements as a result of the industry’s rapid evolution. Experimentation and the acquisition of advanced technical skills will allow you to initiate unique strategies that are motivated by critical comprehension and introspective consideration.

Throughout the duration of the class, you will develop 3D computer animation sequences and materials, either independently or as members of creative teams comprised of students majoring in a variety of media fields.

5. Anglia Ruskin University

Make a living doing something you love by putting your artistic skills to use in the fields of animation or illustration. These two disciplines are becoming more central to visual discourse, and there is a rising demand for creatives who can provide fresh, arresting visual material. You may learn the fundamentals of visual painting and animation in their Illustration and Animation course. Because of the fascinating and rapidly developing nature of the field, and the prevalence of digital technology in their work in tandem with more traditional methods, they frequently employ visual language to convey complicated ideas and information.

6. Teesside University

This animation program is ideal for those who wish to enter the field of cinema, television, or video game animation and visual effects. The cutting-edge facilities we provide allow you to hone a wide range of creative and technical abilities that will serve you well in a variety of fields. There is a strong focus on developing expertise in areas such as 2D and 3D animation, compositing and digital visual effects, 3D modelling and rigging, 3D lighting, texturing, and rendering, concept design and storytelling, advanced computer-generated techniques, professional portfolio development, and teamwork.

7. Nottingham Trent University

This state-of-the-art degree program will allow you to investigate all facets of 2D and 3D animation. In addition to gaining knowledge of scriptwriting, character development, storyboarding, and cinematography, you can acquire the analytical and technical abilities necessary to generate animated works by attending classes. The professional, creative, intellectual, and technical skills necessary for working successfully in the international animation industry will all be covered in this course. Learn about animation in a manner that is reflective of both the present state of the art and the practices of the industry.

Through studio practice, academic research, and study, you will get the chance to investigate the various subgenres that fall under the umbrella of animation. At the conclusion of the course, you will have created an animated thesis film as well as a professional show reel that is customized to your own personal career goals, and you will be prepared to launch a career as an animator.

8. University of Bolton

The innovative and student-centered programs at the University of Bolton‘s School of the Arts are supported by faculty with deep domain expertise and extensive professional experience in their respective fields. They regularly revise their curriculum to accommodate shifting industry standards and guarantee that you have access to the most cutting-edge knowledge and skills available. Earning an animation degree and illustration from them will equip you with business savvy and provide ample opportunities to hone your technical chops.

You’ll be given lots of opportunities to practice and improve your skills with a variety of illustration, animation, and digital software tools that are used in the industry today. After covering the fundamentals of both animation and illustration, the second half of the course allows you to focus on one or the other while delving deeper into digital and experimental image-making techniques.

9. University of Bedfordshire

There has been a rise in the need for workers with both creative and technical skills in the digital creative industries due to the rising usage of computer animation and visual effects in TV, cinema, and design. The animation course will provide theoretical and practical instruction in the entire creative process, from idea generation to final product, to help fill these new positions in the digital creative industries. Your skill in computing for the creative industries will grow as you learn to use industry-standard tools to create digital content for entertainment, education, and promotion.

10. University of Lincoln

Lincoln’s Arts Foundation Year is an alternate integrated entrance route into a variety of Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs in the College of Arts. Students in the Arts Foundation Year take a set of mandatory modules designed to give them a broad introduction to the creative arts and the foundational knowledge and abilities they’ll need to go on to study a more specialized area of the arts at the sophomore and junior levels. Each student’s foundation year curriculum is individually designed to meet the requirements of the degree program to which they aspire upon completion of their first year. Students who are interested in studying a creative field but aren’t sure which direction to go in will also find this animation course helpful.

Undergraduate animation courses in the UK

• Animation and Professional Practice Year BA (Hons)

• Animation Production BA (Hons)

• Animation and Games Art BA (Hons)

• Animation (4 Years with First Year Level 0) BA (Hons)

• Graphic Design and Animation BA (Hons)

• Computer Animation Technical Arts BA (Hons)

• Digital Animation BA (Hons)

• Animation BA (Hons)

• Visual Effects Animation BA (Hons)

• 2D Animation and Stop Motion BA (Hons)

• Animation (Foundation Entry) BA (Hons)

• Illustration and Animation (with Foundation Year) BA (Hons)

• Animation and VFX BA (Hons)

• Animation BSc (Hons)

• Animation (4 Year) BA (Hons)

Postgraduate animation courses in the UK

• MA in VFX

• MA in 3D Design

• MA in Digital and Visual Communications (Animation)

• MA in Visual Effects (Advanced Practice)

• MA 2D Animation and Stop Motion

• MFA in Animation

• MSc in Animation & VFX

• MA in Animation

• MSc in Computer Animation

• MSc in Digital Visual Effects

• MA in Illustration and Animation

• MA in Animation Production

• MA in 3D Computer Animation

• MSc in Computer Animation & Visual Effects

• MA in Animation (Advanced Practice)

Tuition fees for study Animation in the UK

It is believed that the overall average price of tuition for courses taken in the UK falls somewhere between 15,000 and 25,000 pounds.

Final words

The two have something in common, and that is animation! Animated shorts typically incorporate a wide variety of elements, such as motion design, visual graphics, and special effects. Those with creative brains will have a much easier time finding work and expanding their opportunities inside this industry. However, you must first earn a specialist animation degree before you can even consider looking for work.