Computer Animation College: How to Choose the Right One for You

A computer animation colleges offer courses in either 2D classical animation, 2D digital animation, 3D animation, or game development.  There are a plenty of animation colleges – some are really good whereas some are worthless.  However, while marketing them, the colleges only highlight about their strength, and the weakness becomes evident only after the student has enrolled and probably already put a lot of money for the desired course.  The students who are yet to choose a computer animation college face difficulty in choosing the right one for different reasons.  However, if the students and the parents are careful about a few things detailed below, they can find the computer animation college of their choice.

To start with, the student should understand which area of animation program does he want to learn and whether he himself is suitable for that particular area of computer animation.  If the student is very good in drawing and would like to continue to draw in his work life, he can opt for 2D classical animation course.  If the student is good in drawing but would like to use software to produce animation films fast, he can opt for flash.  If 3D films fascinate the student, he can opt for a computer animation course in 3D animation.  If the candidate is passionate about games, a course in game design will be the right choice.  Apart from it, students who are not that confident about their drawing ability can do well in some departments of 3D animation or game design.

Once the area of animation program is chosen, then the student should start finding the colleges who are offering courses in the same.  Often students tend to decide on the basis of large advertisements, friend’s suggestion, or on the advice of clever marketing persons and counselors, which may be misleading and may result in significant loss of money, time, and career opportunity.

Good colleges usually have (a) Courses that are full-time, i.e., 7-8 hours a day for five days a week (b) Excellent infrastructure (c) Faculty members with at least 5+ years of production experience and (d) Excellent placement record and (e) Excellent demo reel of previous students.  Even if the college is new and cannot show works of previous students or a placement track record, at least the other three points should be present in the college.

If the above is kept in mind then students can choose the right college, which will ultimately be beneficial for all concerned – the student, parents, banks who are funding the student’s education by providing education loan, the animation college, and the industry at large.