I’ve wanted to be an animator since I was in grade 4. But I got distracted when I entered university, completed a Bachelor in Fine Arts, and moved on to a career in the hotel industry. It wasn’t until I ran into an old high school friend, who also used to share the same dream of becoming an animator “one day”, that I realized I had long forgotten my own childhood goal when he told me his “one day” had recently just become a reality. My excitement for him renewed my aspiration to become an animator myself.
The Search
Soon after, I began visiting all the animation schools in the Lower Mainland to find they were not quite right for me, whether it be their school culture, the tuition prices, or the types of students these institutions attracted. My friend, alongside another animator friend both highly recommended I go to a school called Capilano College. I was surprised that I had never heard of this school before, but my friends insisted it was where many of the best graduates came from and now held respected and prominent positions in the industry. Fortunately, Capilano’s Commercial Animation Open House was happening during this time and as soon as I visited the school, I felt a rush of desire to be there.
From the Open House, the students were very friendly, helpful and open, but more importantly, downright humble.
The Reasons
Apart from acting on a gut feeling, Capilano has many tangible reasons why I found it to be the best choice for me. From the Open House, the students were very friendly, helpful and open, but more importantly, downright humble. Humble enough to feel that the program was accessible, that my questions were heard and held importance and the people, especially Don Perro, the program coordinator who brought the program into existence 15 years ago, genuinely wanted me to have a career in animation.
The showcase of works created by the alumni was solid and impressive. Because the program is government subsidized, the tuition is incredibly affordable. It is evident that the faculty is not out to get all your money and push you through the pipeline. To be transparent, from 2005-2007 my tuition (with school fees) each semester averaged $1600. This would equate to approximately $6400 for four semesters (16 months). During this time, I was comparing this against private institutions which would have cost $25-$35,000 for 8-12 months. To further emphasize this point, Capilano only accepts 24 students each year out of the 100-200 applicants that they receive each spring. Without exorbitant fees nor an open door letting anyone who can afford to pay get in, one must depend on talent and a little bit of luck to get in. This is the best, but indeed the toughest obstacle to getting accepted into Capilano.
The Battle Plan
In brief, I had 6 and a half weeks before the application portfolio was due. This is not an ideal length of time to prepare a portfolio, considering many spend months perfecting one. Thus, I spent everyday attending 3 hours of life drawing after work, and on weekends I drew at the airport, sat in pet stores, dog parks, horse stables, dance studios and sport fields. Capilano provides a clear outline of what is to be included in the portfolio, with life drawing being highly emphasized and cartoons being of least importance. My room was therefore littered with every type of life drawing, perspective and anatomy book available at the library. My guidance came from the drop-in life drawing sessions at Capilano College and Basic Inquiry, where students and industry professionals freely gave their tips and advice to which I am still incredibly grateful for. I was also told a valuable point to remember – a lot of students don’t get in because they do not follow the application outline’s instructions. After the deadline, it took 2 weeks to discover that I was one of the 24 chosen for 2005 and being aware that many students try two or three times before getting into the program, I was and still am deeply humbled.
There is nothing in my years of university that compare to the intensity and commitment this program demands.
The Program: First Year
Unknowingly, my 6 weeks relearning how to draw again prepared me for the intensity that the Commercial Animation program entails. There is nothing in my years of university that compare to the intensity and commitment this program demands. As intense as I make this program sound, because it is a two year program, Capilano is very good at the pace in building a solid foundation in the first year to prepare for the quality that is desired in the second year.
From the beginning, the teachers from the industry are there to make you industry prepared. First semester consists of learning the basic principles of animation through stages of exercises and assignments with a floursack, biped, a full character and a dialogue piece. Other foundational courses include Life Drawing, Character Design, History of Animation, and Communications for Animation which teaches the art of storytelling and script writing. This is also the time the class begins to feel like a team and egos diminish as everyone’s pride gets quickly destroyed by the caliber of talent that surrounds them.
Second semester continues with the principles of Animation, introducing more complex situations such as special effects, a quadruped and a two character dialogue scene. Directing for Animation teaches students how to make and direct their own film, which incorporates the storyboarding process. Alongside Character Design, and Life Drawing, two new courses of Anatomy for Animation and Layout Design are introduced. Anatomy was very helpful in supplementing our animation abilities and as mentioned in another posting, students now average 9 hours+ of life drawing a week and everyone’s drawing abilities improve exponentially at this time.
This is also the time when all nighters start, where students are sleeping under their desks while others josh around to help each other stay awake. As intense and laborious as the first year was, this was the time that our class grew closer together and pushed each other to reach new heights. As much as we learned valuable principles in class, I cannot emphasize enough that the time we spent after class and throughout the nights were the times we learned the most through helping each other see our mistakes, critiquing, inspiring and fighting to bring the best out of each other. One cannot learn all there is to learn in such a short time alone, and one can always benefit from classmates giving you suggestions, a new pair of eyes and a source of encouragement or inspiration. This also includes the valuable second year class, who shares the same space as the first year class and will become your industry link when one moves on to second year.
Second Year
After a summer off, third semester begins with challenging animation assignments involving acting and physics such as lifting weights, slipping and sliding, and balancing on a ball. I remember this to be the most frustrating time because ambitions grew bigger while skills were slower to attain and everyone seemed to have improved a lot over the summer. Life Drawing continues with emphasis on advanced skills such as drawing from memory, to not copying what one sees but using it as a guide to capture its essence. Other courses include Storyboard Design, Layout, and Computer Animation which taught basic 3D animation as well as Digital Painting. Because Character Design is not taught in second year, we organized our own Character Design club which invited previous graduates to come in and talk about design and review our work.
Fourth Semester continues with Animation exercises and a Major Projects class, which helps one determine their area of specialization for the upcoming Gradshow in April. Life Drawing also continues and a Color Theory class is taught to help polish our final pieces. This is also the time when you can go for an optional one week internship with a local studio of your choice and get some insight into what an industry job is like.
For the most part, this semester is focused on pieces for your final demo reel and portfolio, as well as participating in organizing the Gradshow and the Gradbook. Although it may sound obvious, it is important for you to have something to present at the show – keep your ambitions reasonable and know that it is about showing high quality and definitely not quantity.
For myself, I concentrated on Animation so I took the time to learn Flash and created a short animation with 6 scenes to compliment my 2D hand drawn animation. My classmates who majored in design made a few model packs, and those who wanted to major in backgrounds created layouts and so on. But this being a Commercial Animation program, everyone had animation to showcase, whether it was from the assignments we did in third semester or the extra animations made in Major Projects.
Gradshow
Gradshow happens at the end of April and consists of two days. The first night is Industry night where animation industry professionals see our work and hopefully recruit us. The second day is for the public where friends and family are welcome to see our hard work. The industry in 2007 was still strong and my class caught the last upturn before it slowed down to where it is now in 2009. I was fortunate to be hired on Industry night and one of my classmates had already been hired before Gradshow. The majority of my classmates were all hired within a week after Gradshow with a few exceptions, but all have now worked or is still working in the animation industry.
For me, Capilano was the best choice overall in program, students, teachers, tuition fee, facility and experience.
Final Words
For me, Capilano was the best choice overall in program, students, teachers, tuition fee, facility and experience. I know the teachers genuinely do care about their students, even though we differed at times. I have archives of emails I reviewed to make sure I wrote this posting in truth. Teachers replied to my questions in the middle of the night and many went out of their way to help outside of class time. I took a risk to change careers and without finding a school that made me feel comfortable taking the plunge, I wouldn’t have done it. Capilano has given me a solid foundation to enter the field of animation. The memories and friends I have made from these two years will no doubt be some of the closest friends I’ve made and to work with them makes the industry a close knit community I feel happy to belong to.
Although the industry is tough right now, the veterans claim the industry cycles and an upturn will come again soon. As for myself, I have been in the industry for two years and am now a lead animator. I predominately have done Flash animation for TV and have been on shows such as George of the Jungle, Fetch with Ruff Ruffman, Peanuts, Sideshow Christmas, Between the Lions, alongside a few other shows in development and as freelance. I have also just begun to teach.
I hope this helps! For further information about the program visit www.gradshow.com to find a link to the Gallery and info to their Open House!
You can view my current demo reel at http://vimeo.com/4852816
or visit my sketchblog and find links to my classmates at yumsdesigns.blogspot.com
Take care and thank you kindly for reading. :)
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
Jared B
Bill Chung
Sean Gillen
Donna Leong
Ronaldo pipeen
Manuel
Yumiko
Amanda Ng
Clint H.
Kaz
Great advice! Your factors for choosing Cap U make a lot of sense…both practically and financially.
Definitely worth the read, everyone!