Dream it. Draw it. Display it.

Your journey into the world of animation starts at SCC. If you've got a passion for bringing stories to life, our Animation for TV, Film, and New Media program is your ticket to an exciting career.

What does your future look like?

Program Location

Why Animation at SCC?

Express Yourself: Ever dreamed of making your stories come alive? Our program lets you do just that. Learn to animate and tell stories like never before.

No Boredom Allowed: Tackle hands-on projects that make learning animation feel more like playtime. We're serious about fun and creativity.

Learn in Our High-end Animation Lab: Talk about fast computers. Work in our modern digital animation lab with the same kind of machines and equipment used by today's digital animators.

Geek Out with Pros: Connect with area animators who've been in the industry trenches. They'll drop knowledge bombs on you and share the secrets of the trade.

What you'll learn

Animation Fundamentals: Master the basics, from character design to storyboarding. Lay the foundation for your animation journey.

Digital Tools Mastery: Get hands-on experience with cutting-edge software used in the industry. Learn to animate like a pro.

Collaborative Projects: Work on real projects with your peers. Build a killer portfolio that showcases your skills and impresses employers.

Did You Know

• Animation is a $250 billion global industry
• SCC is one of only a few community colleges in the country that offers a digital character animation program.

Key classes you'll take

• Art Foundations
• Story Development
• 3D modeling and sculpting
• Anatomy and Character Design
• Character Animation
• Character Rigging
• Portfolio Team Animation

What you can do after finishing this program

• Animator
• Storyboard Artist
• 3D Modeler
• Motion Graphics Designer
• Game Developer

Industry partners

• Grasshorse Studios
• Vitras USA
• Design Build
• Hans-Price Studio

Contact Us

Schedule an Appointment

The Animation for Television, Film, and New Media program will prepare students to enter into a wide variety of careers in computer generated animation for the information, entertainment, gaming and film industries.

Students will use state-of-the-art technology in SCC's Animation Lab located on the West Burlington campus.

The program will prepare students with instruction related to the fundamentals of film, art, computers and new media communications. Skills in storytelling, 3-D animation, production, modeling, texturing, rendering and lighting, motion graphics, stop motion, technical and character animation and demo reels will be emphasized.

This broad-based instructional program will also feature training in a number of industry-specific software applications, including Toon Boom Harmony, Photoshop, Blender, Maya, 3DS Max, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Premiere Pro and After Effects.

Summary Sheet

The summary sheet provides a program overview and other information.

Download the Summary Sheet.

Curriculum Sequence

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Fall Semester I	Course Title	Credit
ANI-100	Art Foundation for Animation	3
ANI-110	Introduction to 3D	3
ANI-120	Introduction to Animation	3
ART-133	Drawing	3
ENG-105	Composition I	3
	TOTAL CREDITS	15

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Spring Semester I	Course Title	Credit
ANI-111	Character Modeling and Sculpting	3
ANI-121	Character Animation 1	3
ANI-125	Story Development for Animation	3
ANI-150	Motion Graphics	3
ART-138	Figure Drawing	3
	TOTAL CREDITS	15

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Summer Semester I	Course Title	Credit
ANI-901	Portfolio I	3
DRA-110	Introduction to Film	3
	TOTAL CREDITS	6

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Fall Semester II	Course Title	Credit
ANI-212	Character Rigging	3
ANI-222	Character Animation 2	3
ANI-240	Team Animation I	3
ANI-251	VFX for Animation	3
MAT-712	Business Math	3
	TOTAL CREDITS	15

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Spring Semester II	Course Title	Credit
ANI-902	Portfolio II	4
ANI-241	Team Animation II	5
MUS-306	Digital Music Production I	3
MUS-185	Class Piano I	1
ART-143	Painting	3
	TOTAL CREDITS	16

ANI-100 - Art Foundation for Animation

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course will provide students with knowledge of foundational art topics with a focus on how they are applied to animation. Concepts focusing on form, design, perspective, value, composition and color will be combined with lectures that explore the foundations of drawing fully realized characters and creating compelling environment compositions. This course is designed to introduce concepts that will help students become better artists through demos, exercises, lectures and in-class critiques.  Co-requisite with ANI-110 and ANI-120

ANI-110 - Introduction to 3D

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course focuses on 3D modeling, texturing, lighting and rendering to introduce and help students develop foundational skills in 3D computer graphics.  Lectures and projects cover applications and tools used in the animation, film and game industries to prepare students to face both artistic and technical challenges when creating 3D works of art.  Co-requisite with ANI-100 and ANI-120

ANI-120 - Introduction to Animation

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course will provide students with an applied knowledge of the 12 principles of animation, namely: squash/stretch, anticipation, staging, straight ahead/pose to pose, follow through/overlapping action, slow in/out, arcs, secondary action, timing, exaggeration, solid drawing and appeal. Students will use a variety of techniques to help prepare them for animating in any medium. This course will be divided into demos, exercises, lectures and in-class critique to help students develop an understanding of Animation Principles and Techniques.  Co-requisite with ANI-100 and ANI-110

ART-133 - Drawing

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

A beginning drawing class in a variety of media using an assortment of subjects. The student will explore theories and concepts of drawing.

ENG-105 - Composition I

Lecture: 3

Credit: 3

A study of the principles of writing. Emphasis on rhetoric, mechanics and development of expository patterns: narration, description illustration, comparison/contrast, classification, process and cause/effect. Required for AA and AS Degrees. Prerequisite: Meet minimum test score requirements.

ANI-111 - Character Modeling and Sculpting

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course will provide students with knowledge of foundational art topics with a focus on how they are applied to animation. Concepts focusing on form, design, perspective, value, composition and color will be combined with lectures that explore the foundations of drawing fully realized characters and creating compelling environment compositions. This course is designed to introduce concepts that will help students become better artists through demos, exercises, lectures and in-class critiques. Prerequisites: ANI-100 and ANI-110.

ANI-121 - Character Animation 1

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course covers the processes and techniques used to animate believable and appealing body mechanics. Students will gain skills in the art of character animation while focusing on the application of the 12 principles of animation. Production workflows and techniques will be explored through practicing fundamentals while focusing on strong body and weight mechanics as well as good posing for animation. This course will be divided into demos, exercises, lectures and in-class critiques. Prerequisites: ANI-111, ANI-110 and ANI-120.

ANI-125 - Story Development for Animation

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to screenplay and story development for animation. The student will be introduced to the heroic myth, its story structure, and learn to relate it to modem screenplay construction through watching and analyzing screenplays. Fundamentals of cinema including framing, angles, cutting, camera movement and creating clear transitions will be explored as students are provided the opportunity to develop their own story ideas and learn the stages of a typical story development pipeline in animation. Upon completion of this course, students will have developed an individual story project through the animatic phase. Prerequisites: ANI-100 and ANI-120.

ANI-150 - Motion Graphics

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course will provide the student with a fundamental understanding of the motion graphics and
compositing workflows in animation. This course will be divided into demos, exercises, lectures, and
in-class critique to help students develop an understanding of how to plan, create, and finalize their own motion graphics and animated shots.

ART-138 - Figure Drawing

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course introduces the students to figurative drawing. We will focus on structure of the human figure and compositional representation through observation. An emphasis will be placed on refining skills of observation and proportioning of the picture plane. A dialogue on formal aspects covered in Drawing I will continue. Personal expression, approach and conceptual language will be covered through assignments and from a figurative historical perspective. Prerequisite: ART-133.

ANI-901 - Portfolio I

Lecture: 2

Lab: 1

Credit: 3

Portfolio I will help prepare the student for the next step, whether that is moving into the work force or presenting to the teachers at a four-year institution.  Skills taught in this class will include preparation of an electronic portfolio, career-advancement skills, resume writing, and interviewing.  By the end of
this course students will have begun work for their demo reel and/or an electronic portfolio that
showcases their unique abilities.

DRA-110 - Introduction to Film

Lecture: 3

Credit: 3

This course introduces students to the various language systems of film, including film-making techniques, creators, genres, narratives, ideology and film theory/criticism. Students will explore the cultural importance of cinema as art by analyzing selected movies and clips which demonstrate artistic excellence.

ANI-212 - Character Rigging

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

This course will serve as a step-by-step introduction to character rigging. Emphasis is placed on creating character rigs through exploring bone creation and placement, setting up constraints, working with inverse and forward kinematics, skinning meshes to bones and creating controls for animation. Lectures include a mixture of rigging demonstrations and techniques to help students create rigs that will allow them to successfully animate characters. Prerequisites: ANI-111 and ANI-121.

ANI-222 - Character Animation 2

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

In this course, students will learn how to bring a character to life through the exploration of pantomime acting and animating dialogue. Lectures and demonstrations cover topics including acting for animators, facial animation and lip-sync techniques. This course will be divided into demos, exercises, lectures and in-class critique to help students develop a better understanding of the subtleties of good animation while working towards producing demo reel-quality scenes. Prerequisites: ANI-111, ANI-121 and ANI-125.

ANI-240 - Team Animation I

Lecture: 2

Lab: 1

Credit: 3

In this course students will complete pre-production and begin to work on production phases of their
team animation project(s). Students will work as a team to craft engaging stories and develop assets
including props, characters, and environments for their animation projects. Emphasis is placed on the
identification and utilization of individual strengths in the context of a production environment.

ANI-251 - VFX for Animation

Lecture: 2

Lab: 1

Credit: 3

This course will provide students with an understanding of the visual effects and compositing
workflows in animation. Students will create realistic visual effects using various simulation tools and techniques such as texture effects, particles & dynamics, motion tracking & match moving and then
learn how to render and combine separate layers into a final image.

MAT-712 - Business Math

Lecture: 3

Credit: 3

This course provides a study of math fundamentals and their application to business situations. Topics covered include banking procedures, payroll and taxes, weights and measurements, fractions and percentages, commissions, discounts, mark-ups/mark-downs, borrowing and interest, and insurance copays and deductibles. Microsoft Excel and traditional methods will be used to make common business decisions.

ANI-902 - Portfolio II

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 4

Following successful completion of animation core coursework, this course will build upon Portfolio I and provide the student with guidance in promoting their skills as an artist and entering the industry.  Students will work to refine previously created projects or work on new projects to build a stronger, more professional body of work.  By the end of this course students will have created a demo reel
and/or an electronic portfolio that showcases their unique abilities.

ANI-241 - Team Animation II

Lecture: 2

Lab: 3

Credit: 5

In this course students will complete the production and post-production stages of their team
animation(s).  Character animation, effects, props, environments, and audio will be finalized to bring
stories to life.  Through an exploration of the production process, students will continue to develop and deliver content.  Through the exploration of the post-production process, students focus on rendering, compositing, and editing their final animation(s) to achieve polished pieces.  Emphasis is placed on the identification and utilization of individual strengths in the context of a production environment.

MUS-306 - Digital Music Production I

Lecture: 3

Credit: 3

Digital Audio Production I introduces students to basic theories and techniques of digital audio recording, editing and mixing. Instruction utilizes current industry software digital audio workstation and covers the fundamentals of the operation of the software, as well as audio and MIDI recording and editing. This course provides students with real-world examples and frequent hands-on assignments, that will provide a solid foundation in all aspects of audio production. Prerequisites: MUS-120 or MUS-185. Corequisite: MUS-185, if prerequisite is not met.

MUS-185 - Class Piano I

Lecture: 1

Credit: 1

Class Piano I introduces the student to fundamental aspects of playing the piano including music reading, appropriate performance technique, and keyboard understanding as it relates to basic melodic and harmonic structures.

ART-143 - Painting

Lecture: 2

Lab: 2

Credit: 3

A beginning painting course for non-art or art majors in a variety of media. A variety of subjects, theories and concepts will be considered.

Tyler Horn - Assistant Professor - Animation for Television, Film and New Media

Email: thorn@scciowa.edu
BFA, The Illinois Institute of Art at Schaumburg