3D Animation

We maintain close connections with our animation industry partners and studios. Throughout your program, you’ll have info sessions with animation industry guests and you will be exposed to many real-world projects, and become familiar with the animation production pipeline. This early familiarity means that upon graduation, you’ll be more than ready to join the team at any animation studio around the world!  

After graduation, you can count on continued support from our Education and Student Services team who will share animation job opportunities with you and provide connections and resources to help you find a placement you love!  

We have excellent graduation employment stats from our 3D Animation graduates, so a Degree is not necessary for employment in this industry. You can enjoy the benefits of our small class sizes, mentorship, and focused education to get you working sooner! However, if you wish to carry on your education in pursuit of a Degree, we have established pathways from our program with the University of Gloucestershire in Scotland, and BCIT! 

We love this question! While there may be some benefits to being a “jack-of-all-trades” as an animator, we firmly believe that the best route to lasting career success as an animator is specialization. When you stretch yourself to learn both 2D and 3D animation simultaneously, you may find yourself in future work situations where you feel out of your depth or comfort zone. At CAT, we’ve chosen to deliver 2D and 3D animation separately. We feel the differences between 2D and 3D are too great for students to get to the level of comprehension and mastery required by animation studios in the industry, even for entry-level positions.  

So yes, you will have to decide on 2D or 3D animation before applying to CAT and our Advisors can assist with this decision. And don’t worry, if you decide to start in 2D, but feel drawn to 3D during your program, you can always transition to 3D and vice versa. No matter your path, we’re here to make this work for you. Book an appointment with an Animation Program Advisor, they can answer more in-depth questions and even arrange for a campus tour! 

A day in the life of a 3D Animation student at CAT is varied and as a student, you may find yourself in a few different classrooms around campus. Schedules vary from Quarter to Quarter, so this is just an example of what you could expect.  

If you drive, you’ll park your car in our student-designated parking lot and make your way across the Landmark Plaza to our campus! If you’ve opted to walk, bike or take the bus, you’ll find lots of great scenery on the short walk from the bike lock-up or transit stop to campus. You have a drawing class in the drawing room for your first block, Life Drawing, so you quickly check your backpack to make sure you brought your favourite sketching pencils. You’re really looking forward to this class; your teacher mentioned you’d be having a live model in class today! Next up is a class in the animation studio room! You love this room – filled with cool art on the ceiling and drawing tablets for every student. On the way to class, you remember you need to sign out a tablet pen from the Equipment Cage. So, you quickly stop by, say hi to the Campus Service Assistance Team, grab your pen and dash off to class. This class is Digital Painting and today you’re going to be learning how to make your own custom brushes in Photoshop! 

After the second class, you have a free block, so you grab a spot in the Student Lounge and work on some digital painting for an upcoming assignment. Lunchtime! You take a break and hit up one of the many great eateries in the Landmark Plaza area. Mmmmm….pizza is on the menu today.  

After fuelling up, you head back to the main campus building for a Professional Development class. Today you’re going to be diving into Personality Dimensions and starting on a self-portrait assignment. You’ll also be discussing how to find the balance between being a creative individual and securing success for yourself professionally, a topic we take great pride in at CAT. #nostarvingartistshere.  

Time for your last class of the day; 3D Animation, so you head to class to get yourself set up. Today, you’re continuing work on a set assignment and today you’ll be working on creating realistic lighting in your scene. After class, you feel like you’ve earned some downtime, so you decide to meet up with some friends to play some Magic The Gathering at a coffee shop downtown. Let’s do this again tomorrow, shall we? New day, new classes, new opportunities.