2012 Assessment Animation
R. Brad Yarhouse 6/12/2012
A review was undertaken as part of an assessment of our 2D digital animation courses to determine how curriculum was constructed towards preparing students for graduation. Each animation course provides a component of our taxonomy for the market place.
· Several key areas in regarding the course description for 2D Animation II were considered incongruous with our current practices for learning development.
· Character design needed to focus on effective design for consistency and clarity.
· A standard for animation training that centered on acting/posing, lip synching, movement, design and timing.
A review of our current course descriptions for both Animation I KCDM 294 and Animation II KCDM 295 included language better suited for Syllabus rather then course descriptions such as:
· Demonstrate proficiency in animation techniques that include transformation, turnaround, 2 legged walk/run, four legged walk/run, and lip-synching techniques.
In reviewing the program it was important to recognize that the study of animation is independent from the types of software used to create the animation. Animation II in particular needed to express its focus on learning process rather then on a particular tool. Tools necessary for the process would be handled in the syllabus rather then the course description.
Finally, standard language used to describe course outcomes was recommended for greater clarity of our programs goals.