RISD/Ringling PLEASE HELP

[leigha]

hey--

i'm an aspiring animator/concept artist who's recently been accepted to a couple of wonderful art schools around the globe...
but i have a serious dilemma.

i attended ringling's precollege program last summer and was seriously impressed by their animation program. as an aspiring animator i had figured that ringling was the school for me. i applied, got accepted, and got a scholarship to boot.

however, i also applied to risd and recently discovered that they are giving me nearly a full ride's worth of scholarship money. ringling's scholarship just doesn't compare to that.

at this point it looks like im going to attend risd but im a bit concerned about what program to pursue. id like to work for dreamworks or pixar and i read on risd's website that they have offered internships at these companies and that they have a certificate computer animation program...

so should i go to risd and study illustration? have any of you attended risd, and if so have you studied CA there? is it worth it to take on the 80k of debt to pursue an education in CA at ringling (that sounds crazy right now... but i need to know :/)?

im curious as to whether any readers of this website have advice that could help me out.

thanks!!! :D

[drd]

Hey, whats up? It's Daniel from precollege, if you remember. Anyways, that's cool that you got into both Ringling and RISD.

I've decided on Ringling above other schools, even if it costs me more in the long run; I just see myself there, and their illustration program is incredible. I wish I could give some more advice but im just as ignorant as anyone else trying to decide on colleges.

Best of luck in your decision.

[thesinfulsaint]

Well, if you really want to become an animator, you will get a far better education at Ringling. RISD doesn't really have a character animation program--it's more experimental stuff. Ringling's animation program is very much focused toward industry standards.

However, I think the important question to ask yourself is why you're getting into this field. Do you like the field of animation because you like to draw? If you really love to draw and paint, you might be happier in an illustration program. Do you love motion? Could you see yourself building objects in 3D all day? What about painting texture maps or lighting 3D sets? If you are more passionate about these focuses, Ringling will be a better choice.

There are people at Ringling who have found success in 2D venues like Visual Development and Storyboarding out of the animation program, but they are usually people who thought they wanted to be animators going in, but realized they just loved to draw. Either way, things will work out OK. :)

[YnY-u]

Wow, congratulations! Not many people get scholarships to RISD, let alone ones that big.

People who are interested in concept art and animation at RISD usually go in to the illustration department which offers 2D (and a few 3D) animation classes of its own as well as having a fairly close relationship to the Film/Animation/Video department. thesinfulsaint made some good points. If you are interested in 3D animation, RISD doesn't have too much to offer, but if you are interested drawing and 2D animation, then RISD will probably be a great choice.

Have you visited RISD?

[artmessiah]

Well, if you really want to become an animator, you will get a far better education at Ringling. RISD doesn't really have a character animation program--it's more experimental stuff. Ringling's animation program is very much focused toward industry standards.

However, I think the important question to ask yourself is why you're getting into this field. Do you like the field of animation because you like to draw? If you really love to draw and paint, you might be happier in an illustration program. Do you love motion? Could you see yourself building objects in 3D all day? What about painting texture maps or lighting 3D sets? If you are more passionate about these focuses, Ringling will be a better choice.

There are people at Ringling who have found success in 2D venues like Visual Development and Storyboarding out of the animation program, but they are usually people who thought they wanted to be animators going in, but realized they just loved to draw. Either way, things will work out OK. :)

Take heed to her advise it is very true.

Ringling is a great school tho for Computer Animation, they pull all the stops to make sure you get the best education and industry experience possible in the 3d animation area. Just make sure animation is the direction you want to go.

[TROGLODYTE]

Here's a bit of insight....I am an Illustration major at Ringling and I have had Kathy Altieri (hiring director for Dreamworks) visiting in THREE of my classes so far. And I've only been at Ringling for 2 years AND I'M NOT EVEN C.A.! ...just to give you an idea of how important the Ringling animation program is to the big animation houses out there.

[Aozora-Hime]

so if I wanted to work on story development, character development, story boards and visual work, (and even more or less 2D animation, not so much 3D) then is animation still the way to go? I mean, illustration would seem better, but animation just sounds like it could be more job specific. I just see illustration being more "free lance" and not so much a stable position (not saying being an animator is a permanent thing either!) for a company. I love to draw and I appreciate 2D animation (done with Flash in my classes) but Im not a big fan of 3D. Im in a modeling class and its not my cup of tea.

[ewroin]

As a RISD FAV student, I guess I could give you a better understanding on what animation would be like here, and perhaps illustration.
RISD doesn't have a major which is devoted to animation. We have a film/animation/video program, in which you gain an overall understanding of f/a/v. After your freshman foundation and sophomore (where you take film, animation, video courses) year, you select a concentration in film or animation for the rest of your college career. It is indeed more experimental than most animation programs (it can't compare to Ringling or Calarts...seriously), but in another sense it is good because you get a deeper understanding of each process and it helps solve problems in the long run (this is me bullshitting). Just kidding, I personally like how things run here, but I can't speak for everyone. It all depends on what you really want.
You seem to be more interested in the conceptual aspect of animation, and I think that illustration is what seems more of what you're looking for. Illustration and Animation are very similar, and concept/character design/etc., in RISD at least, is one of the larger principles.
I don't think you'd need to major in animation to get hired by an animation company; tons of illustrators from different backgrounds are hired for concept work and character design, not just animators. If you're that concerned about not majoring animation in college, you could just take a couple of courses and get a sense of what its like. If you do come to RISD, we do have a dual degree program (however personally I'm not too sure about it. Ask me why if you're interested), and for FAV majors, we have opportunities where you can take a number of courses in other majors, such as Illustration (however, this would be harder to do the other way around).
I hope this helped...

[SandyAndy]

I'm a RISD Illustration Sophmore. Don't be concerned. We have pleenty of resources to help you pick your major. We have seminars, alumni talks and laid back group discussions with alumni from different departments who do what you want to do, or who know people who are on the same track as you. the list of resources goes on.

Good luck.

[Tuesday]

I also struggled for a long time trying to decide between going into animation or concept art, and decided to go into Ringling's Game Art & Design program (starting next year) because it's geared more towards illustration and finished, digital concept art - if you're sure you want to go into animation and not illustration-type stuff, then I think Ringling's Computer Animation program would be best.

If you do want to do more finished concept art pieces, then maybe the Game Art & Design program would be better for you. Even though you don't seem concerned about your particular major, I'm just explaining because 'concept art' is such a broad term, and I discovered after quite a bit of research that GAD would fit me better than CA. But by concept art you might just mean storyboards and such, so if that's what you mean, then you can just ignore this hahaha.

Anyways, back on topic. Since Ringling focuses on both 2D and 3D animation, I think for industry and job preparation your best bet would be there. With there being a limited amount of jobs in 2D, and 3D being the big thing that has all the jobs now, I've heard from everyone that you can't get by as an animator unless you know 3D - it's the basis. And less and less companies are willing to pay extra money to train animators when they could hire someone who already has those skills. You don't want to graduate only to find out you have to go to graduate school to learn 3D 8( So yeah, I'd say go with Ringling!

But whatever you decide, I hope it goes well for you! Good luck on your decision! c8

[leigha]

As a RISD FAV student, I guess I could give you a better understanding on what animation would be like here, and perhaps illustration.
RISD doesn't have a major which is devoted to animation. We have a film/animation/video program, in which you gain an overall understanding of f/a/v. After your freshman foundation and sophomore (where you take film, animation, video courses) year, you select a concentration in film or animation for the rest of your college career. It is indeed more experimental than most animation programs (it can't compare to Ringling or Calarts...seriously), but in another sense it is good because you get a deeper understanding of each process and it helps solve problems in the long run (this is me bullshitting). Just kidding, I personally like how things run here, but I can't speak for everyone. It all depends on what you really want.
You seem to be more interested in the conceptual aspect of animation, and I think that illustration is what seems more of what you're looking for. Illustration and Animation are very similar, and concept/character design/etc., in RISD at least, is one of the larger principles.
I don't think you'd need to major in animation to get hired by an animation company; tons of illustrators from different backgrounds are hired for concept work and character design, not just animators. If you're that concerned about not majoring animation in college, you could just take a couple of courses and get a sense of what its like. If you do come to RISD, we do have a dual degree program (however personally I'm not too sure about it. Ask me why if you're interested), and for FAV majors, we have opportunities where you can take a number of courses in other majors, such as Illustration (however, this would be harder to do the other way around).
I hope this helped...

HI
im so very sorry i forgot about this thread! thank you so much for all of your advice (this includes everyone who was kind enough to respond :D)- it really helped a lot.

so im a freshman at risd this year and i just attended the fav open house and was very impressed. ive really taken into consideration what you've told me though and id like to check into illustration as well. my main reason for wanting to be an animator is because im very much oriented towards commercial art. i want to make films and ive been under the impression that ill be more likely to be hired by a company as a concept artist if i know how to use maya and do other... animation-y things (haha. that sounds pretty dumb but i hope you catch my meaning XD). im very interested in hearing your take on risd's duel degree program because ive been strongly considering a duel major in illustration and fav.

thank you so much for all of your advice! youve been so helpful (and i really hope you get this response)!!

[ewroin]

HI
im so very sorry i forgot about this thread! thank you so much for all of your advice (this includes everyone who was kind enough to respond :D)- it really helped a lot.

so im a freshman at risd this year and i just attended the fav open house and was very impressed. ive really taken into consideration what you've told me though and id like to check into illustration as well. my main reason for wanting to be an animator is because im very much oriented towards commercial art. i want to make films and ive been under the impression that ill be more likely to be hired by a company as a concept artist if i know how to use maya and do other... animation-y things (haha. that sounds pretty dumb but i hope you catch my meaning XD). im very interested in hearing your take on risd's duel degree program because ive been strongly considering a duel major in illustration and fav.

thank you so much for all of your advice! youve been so helpful (and i really hope you get this response)!!

Oops! Sorry I'm late in responding. Welcome to RISD!

My personal opinion about the dual degree program is a bit negative because it requires you to attend RISD for an extra year, and with the structure of RISD, FOUR years wouldn't be enough time for ME (personally) to be fully immersed within TWO majors. The class arrangement of it for each year is also awkward because Dual degree isn't an official option; it's kind of a secret loop hole in the system that students aren't supposed to consider. Thus, scheduling could very much be an issue since you have to figure most of it out yourself. The Dual degree program is also a lot of work; the only people who really succeed at it are the people who have clear and set goals with what their trying to achieve.
If you are one of these type of people, an FAV and Illustration dual degree is plausible since the laid-back approach of FAV and the more structured aspect of Illustration create a balance. Just don't expect the whole thing to be a trip to the candy store.
If you're looking to have a larger focus as an illustrator as opposed to an animator, but you aren't really looking for a hectic schedule, I advise you to major in illustration and try to get yourself into FAV courses. It'll be difficult seeing that FAV is a much smaller department than Illustration, but I think that if you make sure to email the professors of the courses you're interested in ahead of time and convey to them your interest, you will have a good chance. Brown students are able to take FAV courses frequently, so I don't see why illustration students can't.
I'm sure that saying that you majored in both illustration and FAV would be something good to put in your resume, but if you're looking to get a job as an illustrator, companies are going to look at your skill as an illustrator only, not an illustrator AND animator. Mentioning that you have experience or taken a course in FAV would be fine.
I hope I answered your question correctly. Good luck!