From cartoons, to billboards, to full scale animated films – art is a very vital part of our everyday life. The arts generate $763.6 billion per year, or 4.2 percent of the GDP. Through a creativity intensive program, we teach students computer animation and how to create their own film. We educate each participant by using software used in industry to make animated films. We also help each participant to establish their digital portfolio – a great place to store their work and display it to others (including colleges). Companies such as Pixar and DreamWorks recruit students who specifically have these skills. The average salary of an animator is 74k.

Animation, while often thought of as a modern medium, has been being used in different forms since 1906. Throughout the last century, we have used it to entertain, as propaganda, and to tell stories that invoke emotion. The purpose of this program is to teach students how to express themselves in this medium and guide them as they create their own animated story. This program not only builds self-efficacy in the field, it also gives them a project they can be proud of for years to come.

Animation is important because it makes us be able to tell stories and communicate emotions and ideas in a unique, easy-to-perceive way that both small children and adults can understand. Animation has helped connect people throughout the world in a way that sometimes writing and live-action films cannot.