Animation Foundation

The Animation Foundation program provides a solid foundation in animation history and visual storytelling as well as hands-on exposure to digital animation pre-production and production processes. Students will gain a fundamental understanding of industry-standard software applications.

 

Program Learning Outcomes:

 

Create original content that demonstrates an understanding of 2D and 3D animation principals using standard industry tools and methodologies.

 

Make informed choices in pursuing entry-level employment or advanced study in areas of animation development or production.

Based on the most recent data regarding enrollments and success rates, we project approximately 100-120 completions annually.

The Animation Foundation program develops basic skills for visual storytelling and 2D/3D animation. Students will receive hands-on exposure to the tools and methods used to create digital animation in order to help them create original content and make informed choices about advanced areas of study and/or career possibilities in the entertainment industry.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
ANIM 1	Storytelling	3	S1
ANIM 2	2D Animation Fundamentals	3	S1
ANIM 3	3D Animation Fundamentals	3	S1
ANIM 4	Digital Story boarding	3	S1
ANIM 5	History of Animation	3	S1 or Intersession

The course sequence for the Animation Foundation Certificate of Achievement may be completed concurrently or in any order. These courses are required for the Animation A.S. Degree.

The existing Animation program consists of a Certificate of Achievement and A.S. Degree in Animation. The current Animation CoA is composed of 34 units of core courses and 7 areas of concentration offered as 16 unit department certificates. The combined total of 50 units of coursework makes it nearly impossible for students to complete the Animation program in two years. This is a particular hardship for the increasing number of students who are interested in transferring to four-year programs. Because of the lengthy sequence of courses, students often bypass the introductory courses or complete them out of sequence, enrolling instead in advanced courses without the necessary skills. After completing our recent six-year program review and participating in the first round of Guided Pathways workshops, we have concluded that major revisions are necessary to ensure that all students in the Animation program can meet their educational and career goals in a timely manner. We propose, therefore, to restructure the existing Animation program. The Animation Certificate of Achievement will be renamed Animation Foundation, and the required units will be reduced from 34 to 15 to ensure that students can easily complete the introductory courses. The existing areas of concentration will be reduced from 7 to 4, and converted from department certificates to stackable Certificates of Achievement in 2D Animation, 3D Animation, 3D Production, and Visual Development. Students who complete the Animation Foundation CoA and at least one concentration CoA will be eligible for the Animation A.S Degree. Courses that are removed from the Animation Foundation sequence will become required for one of the areas of concentration or will be program electives. We believe by streamlining the Animation program into these stackable certificates, we can significantly increase student completions and more easily facilitate articulation to four-year schools while maintaining alignment with the needs of industry.

Cerritos College, Digital Arts: Computer Animation Cypress College, Animation 2D Computer Graphics East Los Angeles College, Animation (Level 1) El Camino College, Digital Arts: Computer Animation Fullerton, Computer Animation/Multi Media Glendale Community College, Classical Animation Mt. San Antonio College, Animation Rio Hondo, Animation

We estimate 120 unique annual enrollments based on a cap of 30 students per section.