Calart?

[onurbasaldi]

I was looking for a good animation school to go to and I was wondering if Calart was a good college. If anyone goes there. is it a good school?

[Beaumaines]

I'm not a CalArts student, but I've only heard good things about their animation program. I think they're supposed to have the best 2D program in the country, but since jobs are scarce in that area. According to their catalog, they do have some 3D classes, but I don't know if those are any good.

[fletchgirl]

I graduated in 2002... your experience may be different... are you interested in 2d or 3d?

anyway, if you want to learn the craft of 2d animation, :) Calarts is the way to go. if you only want to learn 3d, it won't be the school for you. what do you want to know specifically? are you coming out of highschool or somewhere else?

[onurbasaldi]

I wanted to do 3d animation. I will be coming right out of high school(junior right now). What is a good 3d animation school, I know there are tons of people from Acedemy of Art, and Ringling.
Also, do you have any suggestions on how to get in to top schools (like draw alot, from life or from the book, or start learning to animate as soon as possible). Did grades matter?

[fletchgirl]

hmm... i'm not sure calarts is the place for you at the moment...

HIGHSCHOOL:
i came out of high school as well, and i wouldn't recommend it... in order to get your degree, you have to take at least three uh, "regular" (we call them critical studies) classes a semester. your first year, that means you will be taking twenty one units a semester. because you have quite a few animation related classes. i don't know if that means anything to you, but that is hard work. the second semester, it is nearly impossible to do anything because you do a film a year. i mean, quite a few teachers understan this, but not all of them. i failed about one critical study a year, which meant my senior year, I could hardly do animation because i had to pass all of my crit. studies. and i had to take like, nine that year. so, and actually, i would recommend this to you no matter where you go (if you're going to art school), and any person coming out of highschool, take at least a year, go to community college, and get as many of those classes out of the way as you can. Check with the school you're trying to get into, they may be helpful in telling you what kind and how many classes you need to take... then, when you go to school, spread the rest out so you can concentrate on your art making.

3d:
about 3d... calarts does have 3d classes, and when i left, they were working on a 3d program, where everyone takes 2d for 2 years, then, you can branch off. however.... we just got a new dean of film/video, and i've heard they through a wrench in that idea. WHICH WOULD BE AWFUL. the director of animation is pushing very, very hard for this, so, hopefully it'll work out, in which case calarts would be great for you. (I would suggest calling and asking them what their plans are for 3d. 1-661-255-1050 that is the number for the main switchboard at calarts. just ask for character animation.


GRADES:

it depends on which school you are going to... calarts has no grade requirement. mostly i think this because a lot of people do not come from high school, the average age at calarts is 23. other schools looked at GPA or ACT/SAT scores... mostly art schools don't care as much because getting in is merit based. actually, most schools should have this info on their website.

SUGGESTIONS:

yes, DRAW A LOT. you do not need to know how to animate at all, because that is what school is for. if you have some experience, go ahead and send in a reel. DRAW DRAW DRAW DRAW DRAW. from life. do not send any drawings of cartoon characters, especially someone else's cartoon character. I didn't even know HOW to draw a decent looking character, and now my main focus is character design. again, that's what school is for. also, do not only include drawings from class. show that you take your sketchbook everywhere. in order to show them this, TAKE YOUR SKETCHBOOK EVERYWHERE! draw in it! all the time! in my entry portfolio, i had drawings of the kids i babysat, zoo drawings, and, the one i think really helped me get in, drawings of my sisters team practicing volleyball. quick action sketches. show them that you have a concept of movement. this i think will help you get into any animation program. show your absolute love for drawing. also, make sure you have some hand and feet sketches. the things people are most likely to leave out of a drawing are hands, feet and the face. work on these. if you are going to animate, the hands and face are essential.


good luck! :thumbsup:

whoa this is long.

[onurbasaldi]

thanks for the imput fletchgirl. You have defenitely been a great help. Here are some of the stuff, and I have recently started doing life drawing, which are also on their. Are the life drawing at the bottom of the page good enough. I still have a year to go, and I think I am definitely going to apply their. I looked on their website and they do have a computer animation section. Again thank you for the informaiton.

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14456