Hey, I posted this on the new members section but no one replied :(
I'll try posting it here because it is a life decision in which I need help.
Hi, I'm a student from México, and my dream is to study animation (I mainly like 3d) I'm currently studying animation in a great school in México but I think it's not that good at teaching animation. There are 2 other schools I`ve been looking at that are smaller but the plan of studies looks really good (very similar to the ones in seneca or vancouver) and I think the teachers know their stuff. I'll attach images of the plans of study and I would really appreciate if someone could give me advice of the best decision I could make.
Here are the links (they are in spanish, but the words are similar to english):
First school: http://www.escuelaescena.com/index.php/3dprograma
Second school:
http://mexico.sae.edu/programas/lice...macion-digital
Traduced:
Fundamentals of Design
Communication Design
Drawing Basics
Digital Audio and Video Production
Human Figure Drawing
Design Theory
Narrative and Character Development
Digital image
Principles of Digital Photography
2d Animation Principles
Scriptwriting and storyboard
Color Theory
Digital Illustration: Design Lay-out and Background
Principles of 3D Modeling
2D Animation
History of Modern Art and Animation
3d Animation
Digital Editing Techniques
Animated Film History
Modeling Scenarios and Objects
3D Character Animation: Rigging
Visual Effects by layering system
3d Character Animation: Body Mechanics
Visual Effects by System Nodes
typography
Technical Performance and Body Movement
3D Character Animation: Body Language
Visual Effects: 3D Integration
History of Visual Effects
Visual Effects Motion Graphics
Legal Framework for New Media
Project Design and Pre-Production
Workflow Animation Studios and Post-Production
Business Management in New Media
Animated Short Film Production I
Animation: Broadcast Circuits
Business Management in New Media
Animated Short Film Production II
Digital Animation Workshop
My current school:
https://serviciosva.itesm.mx/PlanesE...=No&VerEqui=Si
If you don't understand something please ask me (or google)
I would be really thankful if someone could help me.
Have you looked at their show reels, from their students?
Yeah, but only the ones from my current school, I went to see their final showreel and the first one was a short film with no animation, the second one was a really good 2d animation with a nice story, the third one had really good modeling, but they didn't finish the animation so it had no textures, lighting or shading, and the final one used 3d characters in real places, and this one's characters lacked detail and didn't seem like they had life and the movement didn't seem natural.
From the first of the other schools, I saw a show reel of some stop motions they did in the first trimester which looked pretty good, then they showed me some models done in 4th trimester and looked photo-realistic. They told me they didn't have complete animations in that moment but I'm going this week to talk with the director of the school.
And I haven't gone to the other school but in their webpage they show some of their work. Here: http://www.escuelaescena.com/index.php/showcase
What do you think? And thanks for your help beforehand.
This kind of query has been answered here many times before--I'd suggest looking at some of the other threads in the Educators section.
But lets give you the Reader's Digest ( shortened) version?
Do you want to do animation as a hobby??
Then look at student reels. They'll give you an idea if the school is "artsy" enough and covers enough stuff to make pretty pictures.
Do you want to do animation "professionally"??? As in a career that you can make money off of?
Then ask to speak/confer with the school's alumni--that is, the graduates of the animation programmes they run.
The alumni can tell you if they gained employment in their field of training , and if the programmes were actually of any use in preparing them.
That's the only reliable gauge you have as an applicant, as ALL other information as school can pass along to you can be bogus.
Ignore what they say about the instructors, ignore what the school claims about "job placement" for its graduates, ignore alumni from OTHER programmes the school may offer--trust ONLY in what the alumni from the actual animation programmes you are looking at for advice.
The school's primary goal is to gain enrolments, that is how they make money to run as a business. As long as they can lure students to enrol, it doesn't matter to them how good their programmes actually are--though some schools are genuine.
If the school isn't "very good at teaching animation", then its probably not a good school to enrol in for animation, even if its the only school around you.
If the school has animation alumni, but only very few of them are actually working in animation as a career, then its not a very good school.
If the school does not have alumni that you can consult, or they will not allow you to contact them, then the school is not worth going to for professional training.
"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)
Thank you!!, I saw a reel made by some graduates of my actual school and I really liked it. I'm gonna try and contact more alumni but I'll leave you with their reel so you tell me what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iV1BM-rtTxA
And thank you for your help :)
And I really want to do animation profesionally, it's my dream, that's why I am studying it as my professional career, so I'm really going to investigate the work done by the alumni.
the best way to know whether a school is good,is to ask its students.