Animation College, Auckland campus and Rotorua campus
Animation College was established in 1989, is part of the ACG Colleges Group, and has built a solid reputation since then as New Zealand’s character animation specialists. Animation College is the only college in New Zealand to offer degree and diploma level courses specialising in 2D & 3D animation.
The College was founded by Ex-Disney Animator John Ewing (101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book, Sword in the Stone) in 1989. Building a solid foundation of traditional animation knowledge. We stay in very close contact with the animation industry, so not only are we up to speed with the latest animation trends and technologies, we’re constantly talking to the people and businesses that could be your employer one day.
Our curriculum emphasises true character animation. No matter whether you chose to specialise in 2D or 3D, the principles of great animation remain the same. At Animation College you’ll learn how to create characters that convey real emotions, mimic life, and evoke empathy in the viewer. You’ll also learn to tell stories that inspire, influence and entertain. Once learned, you’ll have those skills for life and will find that they are transferable to any software, medium, or technology you will encounter in the industry today or in years to come.
If you have a passion for animation, you’ll love the challenges and opportunities we can offer to expand your creative potential.
The Animation College Auckland campus is located the top two floors of Otago House at 385 Queen Street. The Animation College Rotorua campus is located the top two floors of 1220 Eruera Street, Rotorua.
The facilities on both campuses have been custom fitted to suit the needs of the students and to facilitate the running of our collaborative learning environment.
Study at Animation College
Diploma of Applied Animation 2D (level 6) (2 years)
2D animation is a traditional hand-drawn craft, based on the practice developed by Walt Disney. It focuses on drawing techniques and anatomy knowledge. Stages of movements are analysed and broken down into storytelling drawings (more commonly known as ‘keys’ and ‘breaks’). Drawings are then filmed in sequence, set to dialogue or music and composited using specialised software to produce fluid animation and bring characters to life.
Diploma of Applied Animation 3D (level 6) (2 years)
3D animation (or computer generated imagery) uses three-dimensional computer models to animate characters by combining several styles of animation; these include 2D techniques of keys and breaks, the stop-motion process of sculpting a character as a model, and the puppeteer control system of articulated points of movement. These are more commonly known as key-framing, modelling and rigging.
Diploma in Digital Media (level 7) (1 year)
The Diploma of Digital Media (DDM) is an intensive one-year course of study designed to refine students’ fundamental animation skills and develop knowledge gained in the previous two years. This final year exposes students to the entire production pipeline encountered in a real working studio environment. It is largely self-directed and students are expected to manage their time and workload efficiently. The pace is demanding, replicating the pressures and deadlines of working life in the industry. This prepares our students for a much easier transition into the working world. The main focus, as always, is on producing top quality character animation and performance.
Bachelor of Animation (level 7) (3 years)
Animation College’s Bachelor of Animation is a three-year course, with an option to go on to a fourth, Honours Year. The degree gives you everything you need to enter the animation industry as a specialist in Story and Character, World-building and Visual Effects, or Interactive Media and Games.
The first two years are devoted to giving you a thorough grounding in all disciplines, so that you can work effectively with other specialists in studio teams, or as a generalist. The third and fourth years let you dig deeper into your chosen field to develop expertise. Fourth year also has you working on original, large-scale stories and interactive concepts, and collaborating with commercial studios and business entrepreneurs on innovative projects.
What sets Animation College qualifications apart from the rest is our focus on teaching storytelling and animation principles to evoke emotion and engage audiences. This gives our students opportunities to develop their creative abilities, understand animation at the deepest level, and work with writers and entrepreneurs to create original and compelling commercial products.
International Fees 2017
NZ$ 18,950 per year Diploma of Applied Animation 2D (2 years)
NZ$ 18,950 per year Diploma of Applied Animation 3D (2 years)
NZ$ 18,950 Diploma in Digital Media (1 year)
NZ$ 18,950 per year Bachelor of Animation (3 years)
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