2D animation programs?

[Kecky]

Hey everyone, I'm currently 'between schools' - i.e. practically a dropout. I spent 2 years at Missouri State, because I had good scholarships, and finally realized that I was wasting my time. So I resolved to stop wasting my time and find a school where I could actually learn about traditional animation.

So, what's out there? I longingly looked into MCAD and SVA for a while, but the price tags made me shudder a little bit. Then I got a heads-up about the presence of great Canadian animation schools, so I've been looking into some of those recently as well.

I feel like I'm missing a lot of good options though because whenever I try to do a search for animation programs it turns up every single school with a 3D program, which is NOT what I want. Can anyone recommend something to me that I might not have thought of yet?

[Cheslav]

Look at ToonBoom Studio an ToonBoom Digital Pro http://www.toonboom.com/.

[Rebelismo]

You have Gobelins in France. They seem to produce some of the most impressive
work. But they also have some serious requirements.
There is a lot of schools in California, with Calarts being one of the top ones. And Sheridan, Vanarts etc. in Canada.

Can you draw really well?

[thesinfulsaint]

Calarts is very difficult to get into, and it's pretty expensive (Somewhere around 50k a year, I believe, all expenses included). However, there's no better place to learn traditional animation. I think they only accept somewhere around 10 freshman students a year.

[Maxine Schacker]

Check out Max the Mutt Animation School in Toronto, www.maxthemutt.com.

[Kecky]

You have Gobelins in France. They seem to produce some of the most impressive
work. But they also have some serious requirements.
There is a lot of schools in California, with Calarts being one of the top ones. And Sheridan, Vanarts etc. in Canada.

Can you draw really well?

I like to think I can draw all right - however, I know I've fallen into the rut of drawing out of my head all the time and I need some serious practice drawing from life. Building up my portfolio with observational work is one of my reasons for taking time off from school right now.

I'd never heard of Sheridan and their website didn't seem very in-depth; do they have a good program? What about Capilano?? I'm also looking at VanArts right now and yes Maxine, I'm definitely considering Max the Mutt. :)

thanks!

[Rebelismo]

The thing with drawing for animation, is that you REALLY have to be able to draw out of your head. Imagination. You have to have a great sense of volume, proportion, design, body language, acting and you have to think in a series of drawings.

All of those things should go hand in hand with observation. Think what you want to do with it first and foremost. School is secondary to that.

Check this film out:
http://www.gobelins.fr/galerie/animation/gen2006-3.htm

School is really a mixed bag. If you can find someone that's passionate about teaching, and sincere, then learn from them. If it's a mass produced type of situation, with a lot of money involved, then be careful.

[Maxine Schacker]

Max the Mutt is not "mass produced" and our tuition is affordable. All our instructors are working professionals, and all of them care about their art form(s). We require mature, dedicated students who are hard working, meet deadlines, can accept direction and have a sense of humor.