Are art/animation schools and degrees still worth it? 

The usefulness of free stuff online has a beginner's limit, which is why I second Toniko's thought that if (after learning from free stuff) you are still serious about animation it's worthwhile to purchase classes taught by artists you respect - either as replacement for college, or in addition to it. $800 or even $50 may seem super expensive but it's absolutely nothing compared to a $60,000 four year degree.

I would never have learned what I needed to without school. I think for some people they'll be able to learn what they need on their own and it's great that there are more resources for learning animation now, but I really benefitted from being in a school environment that made me push myself to do work and learn at a faster pace. I struggle to learn new things without structure and guidance because I'm scared of messing up. In school, you can see that everyone else is messing up vs. only seeing professionals online and using them as your measuring stick.

I think people misunderstand with art/animation school does. It mostly teaches you work habits/experience in the industry, and not technically teaching you how to be an artist/animator. From my own personal experience, having a degree got me into the door a lot faster than not having a degree. So take that how you will

im a sophmore in art school. lemme give my two cents. you dont need art school. period. in the digital age, you wont learn anything in school you cant learn for free online. what school gives you is an experience that helps you build work habits. if you can afford school, then you can do it if you want, but if you CAN'T, DO NOT go to school.

I bet the main simple summary of this video is simply “it depends”

Just wanted to add, if you're an introvert like me, you might have problems with the "form connections and community" part. I have taken a Bachelor without making a single connection and soon finishing my Master in another University without making any connections. So if you have that kind of personality and the core selling point for you is to make good friends, then take this into account

"You need a degree to qualify for a visa in the United States / another country" Me, born in a country where the animation industry is non-existent, meaning I'll likely HAVE to go abroad: "Neat"

Basically: If you CAN afford it, go for it, if you CAN'T afford it, DON'T GO. I went to college for digital art, it was great, shaped me into an adult and I was able to reasonably afford it with many grants. But if I had gone to a fancy animation school, well, instead of owing a car, I would be owing a fucking house. Being in debt for the rest of your life isn't worth it, it's just not worth it.

Being unable to afford calarts is kind of scary. The idea that if youre poor then you cannot attend “the harvard of art” and those who are able to afford it have a free pass... i know thats not how it is because there are scholarships and other resources, but it really can seem that way.

I actually think a degree in business is just as beneficial, if not more, for an artist. You can get an art degree, but if you don't get clients or if you don't get accepted to studios... you're stuck. I think branding yourself, doing commissions, taking online courses, attending art shows, entering contests, and creating working with clients, building friendships with people in the industry, learning networking, etc can all help you get your name out there.

I think every starting artist needs some kind of guidance. Art school "can" be one of the kind. But if you have some other ways to get that guidance(via academies, private teachers, videos etc.) I think art school can be a waste of money and time, especially when improving in art is your primary goal. If you want some other functions art schools provide, such as connections and colleagues, Art school is still viable option. As an artist who started late I feel kinda left out from the whole art communities and it doesn't feel good sometimes. It's okay career-wise but it's hard to overcome that loneliness when everyone around you isn't an artist and doesn't understand you.

JUST WHEN A I WAS NEEDING A VIDEO ABOUT THIS, THANKS

I have been interested in animation since I was little. I'm 28 years old now. I started school at 18 and stopped maybe 6 months later. Why? Because I met the girl. I got married. I had kids. I got locked into that dead end job. I can't even consider turning back time if I could. The life I have is still a life full of memories I treasure but enough is enough. I've waited too long. I've tried to learn the free way but ADHD is a pain. I need accountability. I need structure. I need guidance. I need friends. These are things I can only find in school.

In my experience as a foreigner who attended on of the art schools in the US, I could say that I benefited a lot from that experience. It's true that the school itself might not really care about you and they're just there to make money, and it's overly expensive, BUT I managed to take advantage of most of the resources that the school offers to learn and propel myself forward as much as I can. Also, it was extremely helpful for me to be close enough to "The industry" so that I could make as much connections as possible with the people who might be able to help me with my career, regardless if I had stayed in the US or not. And the friendships I made at school have become life long friendships, not just for professional reasons, but they actually became great friends of mine, who just happen to be working in the animation industry and even other industries, YOU are one of those friends that I really like and respect both as a person and an artist. While acknowledging that in reality, the way the school handles some things are quite problematic, as someone who had no background in animation prior to my time in the US, I was able to learn a lot. So I hope that's helpful for someone else.

I literally just finished uni and got my first job so many be it’s worth sharing my experience. I was 18 when I went of to university (England) I’d lived a really sheltered life so it was a big step for me. I was ready for uni when I was 16 though, like I hated having to wait to go. So I did a 3 year course, animation production, I got to learn about all the different job roles and learn animation and other skills like life drawing. I had been trying to teach myself these things but It was taking 5X longer without formal education. My uni didn’t teach us digital art so I kept teaching myself things like photoshop, and how to draw more specific things. The benefit from uni was learning the theory of animation, we did essays/ dissertation exploring in depth the history and application of animation/ the industry. Our teacher was really well informed. When I got to my third year, we made a group project which helped us make portfolio pieces. We also had the option of critique, and if you were someone who wants to learn you could constantly seek it out from the tutors. The university also had guest lecturers/ industry professionals, who taught us about how to get in the door, taught us the formality’s of applying for jobs in the industry- do’s and don’t- this was soooo helpful. We also got to talk to companies before we entered the work force and got the inside scoop on what they were looking for. For me personally it worked, I got an internship straight out of uni, bare in mind though I really was proactive with everything the professors were saying. Shortly after this I got a proper job at a studio working on a Disney Jr show, so much of the reason I got these jobs was the mentoring from my tutors. However I feel like it does depend on your uni and your work ethic. People came to uni, paid so much money and didn’t even bother to attend our classes...then they complain that they didn’t get jobs. So for me personally uni was really beneficial, I feel like it streamlined the process and meant I could learn from other peoples success/failures instead of trail by error.

My course was pretty disorganized from the start but covid-19 absolutely ruined my last year. Missed out on stuff like using facilities, work experience and a leavers presentation. In this day and age there are self-taught people that handle themselves brilliantly, but art school does provide you with a lot if you're not as well established and want access to some great software. It's more preparing you for job fields if anything. You go to art school for the experience, but with covid interrupting that it pretty much demolished my experience and left me feeling sour. Felt a little lost after, great timing I tell ya.

I went to a university ( for fine art degree)and then took extra classes at a community college ( for film and graphics). My goal was to attend the Disney animation internship in FL. Once I graduated they closed the one I wished to attend and hand drawn was pretty much canceled in the USA. I was unable to return to school. I feel like I would had a better change if there was more tutorial videos back then like there is now. Great news is I can relearn where that was not available years ago.

So What I'm getting is... YOU GET SCAMMED, BUT YOU GET SCAMMED TOGETHER!!! Frick Yea, I'm down

Your points of views are SO valuable. You mention here 3 topics that are really important to me. 1. Visas, this is a whole different ballgame for us the foreigners. Just getting the chance to compete at a professional level in these countries, takes us thousands of dollars and a huge personal effort that locals don't have to deal with, Thus, we need to take Uni to stand a chance in a professional Industry. 2. You have your own courses and still showing people some benefits of going to Uni, or learn from RU-vid. 3. The importance of community, whether is online or physical, we NEED a community that push ourselves to get better. Please keep doing this, is absolutely motivating.

Fastest click in the West

Having just been rejected by Sheridan but accepted into their Art and Illustrauion program, this was really helpful to watch since I’m still decently pessimistic towards digging myself deeper in dept, but also wanna go for connections and consistent practice in work ethic and structure alongside the actual art/animation skillset. I earnestly wanna keep improving my artwork and work somewhere in storyboarding/designing for film/animation, a little scared about going back after covid, but very willing to push through and try my hardest to keep at it 👍

For Canadian students/people interested, it will be very hard to find a job without a degree of some sorts in the arts. In Canada, at least, almost every single long term job will require you to have a minimum degree, many places won’t look at your work/portfolio if you aren’t applying with a degree.

I was in the position to hire animators and we did look at degrees for work ethic reason. One thing top animation schools teach you is work ethics. How to work with others, how to manage time, how to present your ideas, how to accept criticisms... The last one actually very important as you have to be trained on how to accept criticisms instead of just getting offended. Of course not ALL college graduates have these traits and not ALL non-college graduates lack these traits. But when you have to hire based on portfolio and resume which doesn't tell you about their work ethics, college degree is only thing to go by.

i went to music school and art school. school puts on pressure to complete projects. if you want to make public art projects, you don't need school but the bar is set high and will probably cost you the same amount. at the end of the day, you have to work your ass off and prove that you work your ass off and are willing to learn or take orders if its a job you want, you have to prove you can be employed. it helps to understand the jargon more than anything. there's a saying "you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk." being able to communicate effectively is the barrier to entry. so if you are self taught, at the very least, learn the language of the job.

I definitely benefit from the guidance and community schools provide. I’m someone that get’s too complacent without the people around me. I’m also someone who has too many hobbies, which gets in the way of my career. I seriously had one of my worst school years during COVID. Everything was Virtual learning, so that also included Virtual Life Drawing etc, some had to cope with inferior equipment, it was even worse during 3D class. All the international students had to cope with the scheduling with the different time zones. There’s a lot of benefits to schools like he mentioned, but it really comes down to the person. I’m someone who has to look over someone’s work/shoulder to fuel my drive to improve upon myself. And just as he mentioned, that community is so important. But I will say, for someone who lives domestically in Canada, the School tuition fees are manageable, so the debt is mostly an afterthought.

my experience in it was nothing more than connections I made, skill-wise, I learnt everything from the internet. So my 2cents, go for experience, not for learning specifically?

This was a great video since I'm going to graduate high school pretty soon and as an animator there isn't any animation colleges anywhere in my city so my choice is to move to Chico state college and I have never traveled or know about living independently but I'll be currently deferring to have some free time out of the education system. I see that its a relief to me when you said that you don't have to go to college because I have the internet for any knowledge I want, instead of what colleges "only expect" I think I can rest easy man lol, Maybe, still have a long life ahead of me.

Im an animation student from brazil and, even though my course wasn't the best, it was *100%* free! Im really thankful for all the oportunities that it lead me to :>

Great vid. When I first graduated HS I wanted to ultimately go into animation as a profession. It's my favorite medium and as a story teller that was the ultimate format I want to use. My parents urged me to pursue a more "sensible" degree, and so at a cheaper school, I took my other interest in CompSci, a definitely more reliable degree. I'm half way through Uni now and I still ultimately want pursue animation, using my degree here as a means of supporting my eventual pursuit into animation. But there was one question that's been bothering me: if I already have a degree by the time I start pursuing it, why the hell would I touch an art school. This vid helped a lot with that decision... to a point. If I do go to school, it probably won't complete the full course, but what you mentioned, alternative goals with a school like a yearly film and networking connections are definitely tempting. Not done with the first uni, so I have time to change my mind but this is definitely great. Might try a workshop first before making any financially large decision

School: Teaches you a guideline and strict format. Real life: Teaches you how to adapt, and really this is how the real world works, not by books by adaptability and being flexible.

Your voice is relaxing. Loved the video. Wish you all the best

my art school tells the student to crack the animation/photo editing software.. no student discount whatsoever..

I just understood for myself , that best decision for me are online courses, cuz even french animation schools which are not that expensive have age limits unfortunately. I hope certificate will replace somehow degree, I'm from 3rd world country n I'm 30 this year. Hope big studios do not discriminate internationals because of degree thing, cuz I can't afford Sheridan, Calarts, even french schools or japanese. Plus my age

I just graduated from CSU Northridge and I can say that it was a positive experience. As annoying as some General Ed classes were to complete, lots of them gave me new insights on life and made me a more tolerant person compared to the cringy, edgy teen I was in high school. I wouldn't have gotten a more rounded view of the world if I had gone to a strictly Art college.

I love these videos so much

Man, Calarts sounds so great, unfortenatly I dont think I'll ever set foot there

Connections and deadlines are some really good things, perhaps. Seena lot of artists mull this topic over too, but they're all pretty competent and tend to put out stuff consistently and reliably. Something must be going well in those schools despite the apparent uselessness some bring up.

Thanks to Biko I really needed this❤

You are the first RU-vidr I have seen that mentioned many international art students' struggles. I really appreciate that! I have seen many videos saying you should gap for a few years and figure out what you want. Well, many international students actually don't have that option. Sometimes, I even wonder whether the master's program I am pursuing is worth the money I spent. However, America has an incredibly open platform for artists and many great job opportunities that my country might not have. These opportunities are actually what I am seeking...

Professional art is an unorthodox occupation, and unorthodox jobs call for taking unorthodox paths. This is the way I like to think of it: Art school is something you go into when you already consider yourself a professional artist. Make your site, try opening your commissions, start your youtube, whatever monetary/public presence you would like to have as an artist. This may not see much success, and it doesn't have to be anything more than just the manifestation of those ideas you really wanna get out. But art school is a resource that * can * make that stuff the success you want it to be along the way. It's extremely hard to recommend art school to a 'student' instead of an 'artist'-- You aren't a fake pre-artist student at this point, you are a full on professional student with your colleges courses and resources occupying day time in place of a 9-5 that's paying the bills. It's SUPER important to have that perspective, something I struggled with a lot right out of High School while still seeing myself as an old kid being hand held through academics by the real grown ups. If you don't already have that grasp on your career or aren't comfortable enough to try to live the artist life yet, I think virtually any current day art school program (like it pretty much always has been in the past) will not guarantee teaching you this from scratch; at least while also paving the path with you to a viable artist career. That kind of program promise falls more into the "scam" camp, which unfortunately tends to make up a majority of the enrollment into these programs.

Very great timing, im just about to do my entry exam and i need more insight to make the right choice

To start you get what you put into College. For animation work on getting a portfolio so many schools have you focus on dumb assignments and neglect a good portfolio. I just graduated from UWM in animation, the school had some great industry vets yet a ton of unqualified teachers, most of the time I was teaching myself through youtube and practice. School is there to give you that piece of paper, in school I didn't learn anything, no digital painting classes, or drawing classes it was all about experimental filmmaking which for some people is great but it doesn't give you a job. Again work on your own stuff, sketch daily, make animations off of what you enjoy and it will help you.

Thank goodness. I've been working as a freelance artist at home in 4 years taking online commissions and I can't stop thinking about "is art school important for me?" and then thia video pop out! 😍👏

Thanks for this videos 🖤🖤

This video came at the right time

You definitely don't "need" school to get into the industry, but training definitely helps. You also learn more on the job anyhow. There are also some great courses online as well that will teach you everything you need to know. However, school ended up being the best path for me because it allowed me to access funds, network with others, and understand the pipeline better. A director I had met in school offered me my first job after graduation. And if you want to storyboard, for example, it helps to know how what you draw affects the layout and animation team. That being said, to each their own. After the first few jobs everything becomes equal and nobody cares where you went to school anymore.

I think as someone who's about to go into uni after this summer, the only big difference I've noticed so far is that with uni you'd be getting social and industry connections you wouldn't if you just took classes or online courses, whether it be through tutors/lecturers, other students or guest speakers. I think it's true that you can hone a lot of the skills on your own or with online tutorials or classes, but I think having access to the resources and guidance gives you more of an advantage when it comes to learning this stuff (especially if it's one-to-one but idk if that happens :/). I'm studying in the UK and we still need to pay around £30k for a three-year course, and I honestly wouldn't have gone to uni if I had other options because of the fees, but I still think that it gives you some sort of step up into industry if anything

I graduated college but I didn't get a degree in animation (my college didn't have that back when I started in 2013). Instead I majored in Digial Media because that'swhat the admissions office recommended. At first I thought Digital Media was the animation major. But as I progressed through my major, I noticed that majority of my classes were nothing but coding, coding, computer programming, coding, java, coding, cyber security, software development, and coding. Now I get it, computer science pay really good salaries, but it's not something that makes me happy nor can I tollerate it. Like coding really stresses me out because you have to think logically like a computer, problem solve, and tell a computer what to do basically. The most stressful part is trying to run my program and all of a sudden it's either glitchy or doesn't wanna work, all because I missed punctuation or I have a syntax error. Now you might be wondering "Well why didn't you just switch your major? Well I was thinking about switching to Business but I'm bad at public speaking, pitching sales, and accounting. Criminal Justice wasn't really my thing (not to mention that you don't need a degree to become a cop). By the time I graduated in 2019 (I was undecided when I first started college and I had to retake some classes, stupid calculus and discrete math) they added a film major. I could have switch to film but Financial Aid stopped helping pay for my classes and I was at the point of being done with school. Fast forward to today I'm still stuck at the warehouse job that I worked at during college. I tried applying to some office and bank jobs but they wouldn't hire me :( Anyway, I'm not trying to get side tracked. My question is, can I still get into the animation industry with a Digital Media degree, eventhough 90% of my classes are just computer coding classes?

"4k to 18k a year for a public university" "30-37k for private art school" Honestly for this price go to Europe to study, you'll learn some extra bonus stuff by traveling, I'm from France, there is good public schools that are free for 2D animation, design, illustration on so on! They can be hard to get in because there is a lot of candidates tho. And for private school, some are really good too, it's around 6k€ per year for 2D and 8k€ for 3D. Bonus the state give some money each month to help students to cover housing cost, and same for scholarship (Im not sure if foreign students can have it for this one..) And it's the same globaly in Europe; if you don't like the langage of the croissants There is probably some problems with this too, like visa, if the country has a bad english its hard to leave here (lot of school are used to international student tho and helps)

Thanks for the video

Loved this video!!! Can you please show us your portfolio or sketchbook for Sheridan and Calarts?

More cursed thumbnails to a blessed informative video. Love it

Great advice! Wish this video was around 4 years ago before I entered art school :(

Obviously it's too late for me to make any animations in my life; I'm waiting for my heart to stop beating on me at this point. However, I can say that if I had ever gone in the direction of animation as a career, this would be very impressive, well-thought-out presentation that answers the questions I'd have formed, thoroughly, succinctly, with perspective that answers additional questions as they come to be. Great work here; thank you for this. On a side-note, this is the first video of yours I've seen. The animations of yours you've shown us- and your processes- are impressive. Great work! May your name- and your income- become bigger and bigger going forward.

I'm a freshman (HS) and I'm starting to look at schools. This video helps alot

I’m majoring in graphic design and after finishing my first year I realized how much info I had access too whenever I wanted to teach myself. There’s little time to learn anything because we’ve always had projects and on top students can be hella shady af behind their “accepting of all weirdos” persona. I feel as though the drawing courses I took motivated me to do more art as a hobby or freelancing but not as a career since I’m not as consistent and would wind up hating it compared to design where I’ll be secure with a paycheck by the end of the month. I went to a university for graphic design because like many others, my family had the idea that a piece of paper worth 60,000 equates to worth but then found out about community colleges and how students get the same education for little cost, or how some go there before university. Wether it’s self-learning, community college or university- the important thing I found out is making the best of what I have and working hard in order to be great in my own way. I always used to feel less than because other Graphic designers learned photoshop and whatnot from a very young age while I was making doodles in my math notebook. I wasn’t good with branding and realized all of the steps to appear presentable for a portfolio were no walk in the park as I thought.

I'm graduating from a 3 year diploma in Fine Art, although it's a bit different from Animation, I think it has the same benefits. Deadlines to make you get better at time management, connections (lecturers, peers, etc), platform to show your work and ofc the paper as a credibility to back you up. I had the best time these 3 years but maybe for some people it's not the right path. If you can manage your own time and projects, there's definitely enough resources online for you to hone those skills. But for me it was quite helpful to have something to keep me on track. It's not exactly necessary but having the inside connections would really help propel your career. Having peers also give a sense of community and a more realistic standard of practicing art as an emerging/budding artist. Skills-wise they don't really teach us much, we had to learn everything by ourselves whether it be experiments or our own research. In short, school is good just for the community and connections. If you can afford it, why not try. If you can't or you think it's not for you, go wild and be free, have fun and do it your way! :) Whichever way you choose, it probably won't be easy. But don't lose hope. You'll get there!

I remember how I first wanted to go to CCAD when I was in my junior year in high school. Now I’m just okay with going to a liberal arts college like OSU or Otterbien.

I think if animation schools should be teaching the business part of how to SELL your art. Too many videos I've seen about learning techniques and concepts rather than getting your art/product out there. Of course, Art School is a waste now cause the guy who already graduated is teaching it on RU-vid! It feels like most degrees out there teach you to become an employee rather than be a leader. Art schools should be really teaching how to work in teams, how to find people that want to work, budgeting, financing, accounting, and legal issues. Remember that art is subjective. You don't need the Profs or the school to validate you as an artist.

The Philipines has like 4 art school, DLSU Benilde, IAcdemy, CIIT, and MINT. Im currently studying at CIIT and the equipments are nice its online for now but the school will rent us huion tablets, pocket wifis, and PCs. Our softwares are the adobe Creative cloud and Audodesk programs. The people are nice and the subjects are fun. My fav class was storybaording too bad it was online and had to cut down to 9 weeks instead of the usual 14 weeks and from 4 hour classes to 1/2 hours of online class and the rest of the hours goes to the consultation period which can last to about 2 hours or 30 minutes depends.

The industry just doesn't pay enough to make an almost 200K degree worth it. I still wish I could have gone to an animation college.

i'm in healthcare administration and I cannot do it anymore physically or mentally.. currently on the road to receiving my associates but I wish I went straight to art school after high school.

I’m 25 and a good artist,only 4 years of work experience in janitor field. I want to attend art school so badly but man it’s expensive and I don’t have the money for it. I can’t even afford a car…nor a house.

Sheridan, that's the school I'm trying to get into

I view art school as a way to stay motivated, since I have issues with that. When I participate in art classes, I have to do the work, and it makes me happy to complete an art piece when I feel like I have accomplished something.

I come from a pretty not wealthy family, and feel like even though I have 2 years left of high school, I won't be able to pay for school after I graduate. I've been thinking of online but I really want that college campus experience, but it might not be possible. Thanks for this video, it was very insightful!

To be honest I regret going to uni to learn animation because the course at Lincoln university is comeplete shambles. You hardly learn half of what they promise and they lie about everything or will hire people who dont even want to teach you so they literally dont teach you and ignore the students. I really just wanted to learn animation and make stories come to life. Uni was hell for me and I think people are mainly better off learning from professionals online at this point, so they can do it at their own pace and actually learn instead of paying alot of money for a piece of paper and no skills.

As a part-time instructor for one of the Top Ten animation programs in the US, one important factor has been omitted from both the video presentation (which was good) AND the subsequent commentary from the viewers (which was also good). The 'factor' in-question ceoncerns 'what happens to any art school graduates; foreign or domestic, well-to-do or desperately poor, best-of-class or marginal-at-best?' The art college I serve is staffed by noted professionals in their fields. The major studios know about this school and send representatives (prior to graduation) to review portfolios/storyreels/films of any student desiring a clean shot at a job in a particular studio. The instituions of learning that take it upon themselves to provide a direct means to find the best venues for good jobs for their alumni right after graduation are the places to take seriously. I'd be surprised if CalArts didn't have such an arrangement with the Big Boys too.

Im doing it to get other benefits from taking a course. Learning to improve all depends on u and can be done outside of school thru personal studies or free online tutorials but for the other stuff, school provides other benefits (connections, a degree ofc, getting that grind habit and forcing urself to get that portfolio made… and a personal thing, im going to school to officiate my choice choosing this career path 😅) Also the degree course im talking is just 1 year! I’m really going to push myself to improve myself too after this and before it (I’m taking a year gap)

Hmm...so you're saying I should get a Master's!

teacher literaly make me think if i fail my future would be bad, i so stress back then, why they said like that, that not even true.

i'm in france and seriously looking into public animation an master degree this year.. so far my only choices are the Goblins and ENSAD schools but the goblins cost 10 000 euros a year ... if i can't get into ENSAD i'll probably try an illustration or graphic design degree but i'm glad there are info about getting in the industry without school

If you really want to go to college go to top tier ones. Like calarts, sheridan, gobelins. In my experience colleges that only focus on print design, making banners and stuff like that are useless. You can learn same skills and way more - online. For free.

An important thing worth remembering is that from a work visa perspective you wouldn’t necessarily have to receive your degree in the US. There are some great schools in Europe for example where you end up spending considerably less for a fantastic education. Some people do the majority of their studies outside the US and then go to some kind of short courses in the US. There are some great schools in other countries that won’t cost you as much and you can still go to the US later.

Theoretically, you can.... take online resources. HOWEVER you NEED critiques from a pro on regular basis to hone your abilities. Being technically skilled vs having good artistic sense is like night and day difference. Many skilled artists you see out there who have solid foundation are from colleges. It's that when you are on your own, it's just hard to establish that foundation by yourself.

Ideally I would go to calarts if I could afford it/get in but this video does bring up some good points. Does anyone have reccomendations for online animation classes/workshops? I don't know where to start when it comes to looking for them.

my parents: no money zero support me: uh-oh *finishes local anim college* college degree: isn't equal to EU & US and doesn't qualify as much me: uh-oh...... *zero visa chance*

I wish people would differentiate because art schools and colleges which are very different things and there are so many different types of colleges that can benefit (not for profit schools of course lol) like I owe alot of my art discipline to my commercial art tech school in high school rather then college and many don't know what options they have at least in the US their state or city

I’m currently on my way to transfer to IUPUI to study illustration in fine arts. But now, I’m not so sure if the Herron school or art and design is the best choice for a job in animation, or if the school of media arts and science is a better choice, as that school offers courses in 3d graphics and animation. Though there are better art/animation schools out of state, universities in state, like IUPUI would be the easier/cheaper option. Any thoughts?

I went through the college system at "The Art Institute" and I'll agree, they find ways to try keep you going in their system. Place I went actually closed though cause bad management. The only thing I can say I got out the school was being heavily disenfranchised with the whole Professional animation world with bigger companies. It was coming down to politics rather than quality of your work. I'll stick with indipendant animation groups cause how bad it's gotten. I honestly wish I had found more online schoolings for cheaper pricings before going to college cause I would saved almost $80k. I learned so little, that I want say it was waste of time and money. BIg difference from other schools was that that college kept dumbing down the criteria because they were loosing students. All the teachers were still working in the field and knew what they were doing, but the school forced them to dumb it down to pass more students. By time it came for graduating shows, the quality of stuff being produced from previous years was just horrific...

What if you want to attend the art school because it provides connections to major animation studios and businesses? Edit: Also, is it also worth it to go and learn the technological side of animation? I know the rules of drawing and animation, but I have little experience with using Photoshop, computer graphics, drawing pads, etc.

huh, i thought this was waaaay older

been struggling with this lately, people have been saying how art school is a scam and you shouldn't, but also deep down i really wanna go out for the experience since i was a child but for that i'd probably have to go overseas, which...i don't really know. i've been trying to pursue engineering instead but it just feels wrong, i feel like wanting to do so much more with art but with not much options it's like people are telling me to pursue other things instead D:

As someone from the US. I just want a degree to be able to live in other countries. I've been looking into public schools because it's cheaper and doesn't mean the education is less than a private art school. I could also do the online lessons at the same time to fill in those gaps that aren't covered much in university. Still deciding on which public school to go to. The only public art school is in Massachusetts. Other schools I thought of were Tampa University and University of Hawaii. Another reason to go public would be to network with other students from other majors to collaborate with or have as clients. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Do You have any tips for getting into Calarts? I am just starting highschool this year but I really want to get in so I spend 2 hours everyday i can animating and 2 hours drawing from real life and doing exercises (half of the days I do the drawing part I do creative stuff so I won't get burned out) Do I need to put in more time practicing to get accepted any advice would be greatly appreciated Thanks.

IMO, Bachelors in Animation ; College is great if your not sure what you want to do within the industy/medium and your still figuring yourself out, but if you have a good plan of what to do, you can find way better resources online.

Just in time! I graduate today! Haha!

Even though I am still on the step of self-learning, I am happy of being Brazilian and to speak portuguese. There is an excelent school in São Paulo, called Méliès, and if I ever decide to pursue the whole 2-year course for 3D animation, THE FULL PROGRAM should cost less than 10k dollars. Moreover it can be done online. It isn't cheap in regards of the average Brazilian income, but I am "lucky" to work and live abroad, so I can have a good salary (in terms of currency) and save some money for it.

My daughter wanted to go to Kansas City Art Institute but dang it is sooooo expensive

Is it worth it at all to major in animation in college if you don't meet the requirements to get into a school with an adequate animation course? What are some alternatives? Where else can I learn the skills to become an animator at a professional level?

I have a University degree in Animation & digital art. Also working for 3 years as a 2D game Artist. I'm doing the procedures for a Canadian visa. They tell me I can get a Student visa. I wonder if there are cheaper options for studying something related to video games.

Hi Toniko, I have a very important question, I don't know if you're going to answer me, but I'm going to try, well I'm Brazilian and I want to be able to work in the field of animation,I already know how to animate and draw, but my parents want me to study animation at college because they think it's important and I also think it's important, however I still have doubts whether I continue or not, I'm afraid of leaving college and regretting it, my cousin majored in this field and she is working in the industry and told me it was worth it for her but still i have my doubts. another thing is that the diploma is interesting to live in another country, since I am from abroad. well sorry for the text, but I need your opinion on this, I don't want to disappoint my family and I want to be able to work with what I love, will it be that if I leave animation school I will miss certain opportunities? Thanks for the attention ❤

What do you think of double majoring. Animation and Business? Beneficial or not?

Can I get some advice about Ringling college of art and design? I’ve tried to do some research on it but I can’t really find anything of worth (relating to the topics of this video)

Great video at the right time! Thank you. But which software are you using in the background of your video?

the thing about this is no its pretty much not necessary especially a degree. They do focus on a demo reel and your cover letter but thats what they want to see.

regardless if not, my mother always told me to get a degree- doesn't matter what the degree is, but it's better to have one if you can go for it then to not. if its ends up not doing much, that's alright, but it's best to at least have it then not. however, i do think you don't need a degree to be successful. if you can't afford it or simply not interested in it, that's valid. im just going because i'd like to be able to say i have a degree, whether it chips out for me or not

I’m going to TAFE bc I want to learn how to animate to be able to get a job in animation

So if i want to become a storyboard artist at Studio Mir i have to get a degree? I’m from The Netherlands.

I actually got scammed 5700 euros per years for 3 years to get nothing tat they promized.. I didnt even got a degree.... I can say I learned stuffs but not enough to go for a pro career in animation the school was so messed up and learnig was a nightmare. I will never get in art school ever again now I have a huge dept I dont say all schools are like that but pls dont be fooled do good researshes ! I wish all beginners the best and to go thier way not to be forced in stuffs you dont want .. ty for reading leave a like pls