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Animation School - Do You Really Need To Spend All That Money?
Is it worth spending the money to attend an Animation School?
The answer to that question depends on what your ultimate goal as an animator is and whether
you believe going to school will help you further those goals.
You are bound to receive lots of advice on whether you should attend an or save your
money and just learn animation from online courses.
It's important to weigh the pros and cons of each decision. Is your goal to work for
a company like Pixar or Disney? Or is your goal to create simple animations for fun in
your spare time?
The article does an excellent job of examining the type of education you can expect to gain
from both online and classroom courses. It also explains the pros and cons to both options
and presents a third option as well - blended learning environments, where students learn
in the classroom and online simultaneously.
“Animation School is worth every single penny”
However, there are also a lot of advantages to getting your animation education through
"In terms of training, few actually get the "right" training. They go to a crash course
program which teaches you about certain software packages in 3 short weeks, put together a
rather weak demo reel in the same timeframe, and then hit the streets looking for a job.
These people, in my opinion, have no training at all because they know nothing of the art
of animation, nothing about lighting, nothing about story telling.
They just "think" they know the software.
The majority of the failures occur amongst these individuals. Sound a little disheartening?
It should.
You are attempting to break into the film industry. You are just like an actor auditioning
for a part. Everyone wants the part, you have to want it more than anyone else, so much
so that they couldn't cast anyone else but you for the role."
Thanks to Animation Arena for that quote from their website article "Choosing An Animation
School."
The article reveals several great reasons why you should consider going to animation
school. Chief among them is that going to a school will give you a fantastic opportunity
to network with professionals already in the industry and people that are trying to break
in just like you are.
Remember - today's novices are tomorrow's experts!
Going to school also gives you easily available access to the latest technology and computer
programs to hone your craft. Chances are, there are a lot of things you'll get to use
in school that you'd never be able to do at home.
So, back to our original question - Do you really need to spend all that money to attend
animation school?
There isn't a Yes or No answer to that question. It just depends on what you are trying to
do, and what you are comfortable with. If you already have some animation experience,
then I say take a quick workshop to boost your learning (whether it’s a new skill
to take a quick intro class to make sure you like it THEN decide if you want to invest
Here’s to your success!