DO I NEED A DEGREE IN ANIMATION HELp career!!!!!! RELATED!

bald_dude · Post by **bald_dude** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 4:28 pm

ok i have found a dreaMp career !

i want to become an animator !

i have done my gce Alevels and right now am doing engineering in COmPUTERs and system degigning crap ( am failing failed in first year! opted for a drop out joined again in second year unfortunately failed again repeating secondyear AGAIN and have to give the first year papers ! !I AM the worst student!!!!! in the entire department!

) and i know i cant do it!
its no use!

but i think i have found a light at the end of the tunnel !

i want to travel to usa uk or canada or any other good country for a degree in animation!

can u help me out i am right now in a country called pakistan! (baldly hit by south asian earthquake! recently but i am in karachi right now! and am away from the quake hit belt)

i was surfing the ucas website for going to uk and came to an abrupt conclusion
that all the universities everyWHERE (for animation) require
that i should have an aRTs and design subject in Alevels! (and i dont have it!

)

now what should i do?

and no there are no studies or field related to animation in PAKISTAN!

another question suppose if i do end up becoming a good animator(on my own) can i get a job in usa uk or canada or with absolutely no qualification! or degree in animation

just my killer demo reel?

sorry about my english !

plz help me out!
am worried so much i get nightmares everynight seeing myself falling of the cliff! (a sign of upcomming dark future (read somewhere))

RIGHT NOW I AM A TOTAL LOSS OF INVESTMENT!
BUT I AM DETERMINNED THAT I REALLY CAN ANIMATE

HELP ME

bupaje · Post by **bupaje** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 5:24 pm

I am just starting at Brooks College http://www.brookscollege.edu/animation.asp Not sure what 'Alevels' are but only thing you need is to have graduated High School and an interest in art.

Regul8R · Post by **Regul8R** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 11:28 pm

Put together a portfolio of your work. Include lots of different stuff, Works in progree, concept sketchs etc. Contact the uni you want to go to. Arrange to send your portfolio (on cd/Dvd) to them.

mr. blaaa · Post by **mr. blaaa** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 2:36 pm

Regul8R wrote:Put together a portfolio of your work. Include lots of different stuff, Works in progree, concept sketchs etc. Contact the uni you want to go to. Arrange to send your portfolio (on cd/Dvd) to them.

Yeah, thats the ordinary procedure.

But you could also rob a bank and take a hostage and then tell the police you want to become an animator, maybe they can push things forward

cribble · Post by **cribble** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 3:04 pm

I'm doing a music course (BTEC National Diploma in Music Practice), but i have gone to open days at a few uni's now (Bath Spa, TVU, Westminister, Plymouth) and they said that its cool to come onto the course as long as i seem focussed, have a "current" portfolio and have the UCAS points.

How long have you been out of education for? how many A levels and what grades? because this can all rack up your UCAS point or you ability to stroll onto a course.

Also, I think you shouldn't go on just an "Animation" course, but something more wider than just animating. I'm finding that a Design for Digital Media, or Interactive Design/media offer the same skills (and more) and you have more of chance of getting a job because of the skills you've learnt, also having those skills can help you mix the skills together to create something original.

I'm currently playing the UCAS system so if you need a hand, PM me or email me and i'll try and help as much as i can.

bald_dude · Post by **bald_dude** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 5:35 pm

i am still in education !
doing engineering! wasted 2 years and still wasting my time.

i did my a LEVeLS in 2003
with the following grades!!!

i got an A IN METHAMATICS! 97%!

a d in physics
a d in chemistry
AND AN E in general paper( english)

"cribble" i searched the entire ucas site all animation degree programmes require that i should have the arts and design subject in A levels (CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG)

and i dont have it!

and they also require a c in english!

........

mr. blaaa · Post by **mr. blaaa** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 2:53 am

bald_dude wrote:...i searched the entire ucas site all animation degree programmes require that i should have the arts and design subject in A levels (CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG)

and i dont have it!

and they also require a c in english! ........

So, if cribble doesnt find a way out of your disaster, i guess you have two possibilities:
1) the "self-made-man"-method
2) the "fook-y'all"-method (several corpses may follow)

(Sorry if i sound sarcastic or something like that. I just want to throw in something to make y'all smile

)

cribble · Post by **cribble** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 7:42 pm

Sorry, i've been busy.

i don't think ucas points will save you here. Enter as a mature student.

Ignore the "Art and design" required business. All you need is an upto-date portfolio. Get creative and make some art. Paint a picture, draw some drawings, even your scrap works will count. Also you might need to show to them that you can create original scripts, just write down some story ideas... don't need top storyboard, fully script it. Just an A4 page of a story idea with some details of scene and camera shots and stuff.

If you're really, really stuck or can't get in to uni, go back to college do graphics, art and design, media (spits) - those type of subjects and rake up some UCAS points... and make sure you do well in them as your future counts on it. And don't see it as a waste of 2 years, you haven't wasted anything, you're gaining experience, you're developing you're own style... and, hey, you might even be in the industry by then - people might of picked up on your work and said "that kids got balls... huge fooking balls the size of george w bush" and you'll be swimming with the squids.

If you haven't got the right gcse grade, retake them (if you're going back to college, you're forced to retake them if your maths and/or english is below c).

You don't require any art and design qualifications.

and please, go to open days and talk to these people... tell them the situation and ask what you should do... it helps so much.

jahnocli · Post by **jahnocli** » Thu Oct 27, 2005 11:50 pm

Bottom line -- in the end, it's not about your qualifications, it's whether you can do the business. You could have a PhD in animation, but if your work is not good, you won't have a future in the industry.

So the important thing is -- work on your ideas, practice drawing, find out what you can about sound etc., and it'll all start coming together if you are any good and believe in yourself. You might find in the end that you are too busy working on animations to study for a degree...

My two pennies...

J

mr. blaaa · Post by **mr. blaaa** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:55 pm

jahnocli wrote:Bottom line -- in the end, it's not about your qualifications, it's whether you can do the business. You could have a PhD in animation, but if your work is not good, you won't have a future in the industry.

So the important thing is -- work on your ideas, practice drawing, find out what you can about sound etc., and it'll all start coming together if you are any good and believe in yourself. You might find in the end that you are too busy working on animations to study for a degree...

My two pennies...

J

Worth much more than two pennies. Wise words my friend.

Green Walls · Post by **Green Walls** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:15 pm

I agree with jahnocli. You really need to begin with the basics (drawing, painting, figure drawing, etc), you can always learn the software later. Also, the animation field is pretty broad. Do you want to work in 3d, 2d, games, or on the web (flash/moho). I got a degree in Graphic Design, but I am now doing mostly flash animation work right now. My education was worth it, but I didn't like taking classes that didn't have anything to do with my area of study...wasting time and money. My schooling did help me generate a portfolio and get internships; however, it really all comes down to your talent, portfolio and your experience. Hang in there, and work as hard as you can.