Curriculum for Animation Major

3D-modeling in my first year in college? Yes, please.

Animation Curriculum

Champlain’s BFA is designed to teach students about current methods and usage of digital media and animation, as well as cultivate storytelling mindsets and collaboration skills between students. Classes introduce students to a number of different animation applications, including game art, film animation, creative tools, and more.

Students won’t just be taught about animation; they’ll learn how the animations they create fit into larger projects like tv shows and movies. With a strong foundation in animation mechanics, and classes on theory, screenwriting, animation history, and more, students will have the background knowledge needed to seamlessly apply their work to any situation and land competitive jobs.

Learning Outcomes for Animation

First Year
Fall Semester
- FLM 110 Filmmaking, Introduction to
- GAA 175 Introduction to Animation
- MTH XXX Math Elective
- COR 101 Navigating Higher Education
- COR 102 First Year Inquiry: Reading, Writing, &
Spring Semester
Second Year
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Third Year
Fall Semester
- XXX Program Elective
- XXX Program Elective
- XXX General Elective
- COR 301 Core Foundations: Connecting Place and Identity
- COR 302 Field Methods
Spring Semester
- ANM 310 Animation Studio II
- XXX Program Elective
- XXX General Elective
- COR 303 Core Foundations: Connecting Past and Present
- COR 304 Digital Methods
Fourth Year
Fall Semester
- CCC 410 College Capstone
- SCI XXX Lab Science
- XXX Program Elective
- XXX General Elective
Spring Semester
- ANM 400 Animation Portfolio
- ANM 410 Animation Studio III
- XXX Program Elective
- XXX General Elective

In this course students are introduced to the language of film. Through a combination of lectures, screenings, readings, discussions, and film exercises, students will investigate the fundamentals of screenwriting, producing, directing, composition, sound design, and editing. Students will be exposed to documentary, narrative feature, short and web series, and experimental films from around the world representing different perspectives and experiences. They will explore the evolving landscape of production and the social impact of filmmaking.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

This course is an introduction to the fundamental principles of animation and the aesthetics of motion. Students will learn to apply these principles to create beginner level 2D and 3D animations.

Prerequisites	Game Art, Animation, Game Design or Creative Media students or by permission of Game Art Program Director.
Credits	3

Why go to college? What does it mean to be educated? In this course you'll begin to answer these questions. We'll explore the academic expectations of higher education, college as a diverse community, and the significance of education around the world. By examining how these issues are negotiated and implemented at Champlain and elsewhere, you'll gain perspective on your own education and a deeper understanding of the ways that the college experience can be both liberating and transformative.

Prerequisites	Take Cor-102 concurrently.
Credits	3

Inquiry is about learning how to ask the right kinds of questions, and figuring out how to answer those questions through discussion and reflection. This course introduces you to the types of inquiry necessary to succeed at Champlain and beyond. You will explore the intersections of reading, writing, and thinking by focusing on a specific topic or theme. You will approach that focus through the interrogation of relevant texts and analysis that draws upon multiple analytical frameworks. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-one

Prerequisites	Take COR-101 concurrently.
Credits	3

Introduces essential art and design topics including the elements of design, color theory, and composition. These principles are introduced through the creation of 2D digital art using industry standard software.

Prerequisites	Game Art, Animation or Creative Media students only or by permission of Game Art Program Director
Credits	3

Learn to draw the human figure through the study of form, volume, structure and anatomy in order to clearly visualize position and proportion of anatomical landmarks. Students will use traditional drawing techniques to understand the concepts of proportion, foreshortening, lighting and composition to realistically render the human form.

Prerequisites	Game Art, Animation and Creative Media students only or by permission of Game Art Program Director.
Credits	3

This course is an introduction to the foundation principles of 3D modeling and texturing for games. Students will learn to create optimized and aesthetically successful textured 3D models that work within the constraints of graphics production for real-time 3D game engines.

Prerequisites	Game Art, Animation, Game Design, Game Programming, Creative Media students only or by permission of Game Art Program Director.
Credits	3

What makes an argument good or bad? What counts as evidence in our post-truth world? How can you understand and assess the truth value of a claim when you're not an expert? In this course you'll learn rhetorical strategies about how to examine arguments and types of evidence in different disciplines and fields of study. To help learn these strategies, you will do close readings of texts from a variety of disciplines in the liberal arts and sciences, popular culture, and social media.

Prerequisites	Take COR-104 concurrently.
Credits	3

This course introduces you to interdisciplinary inquiry using applied, project-based, and/or experiential methods. Regardless of the specific course focus, you'll have opportunities for making and doing interdisciplinary knowledge creation through a variety of approaches and activities. You will collaborate with other students, iterate on ideas, and work to develop a project. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-one

Prerequisites	Take Cor-103 concurrently.
Credits	3

This is a survey course of Western and Non-Western animation in which students will research the evolution of animation and its role in storytelling and communication, through the lenses of art, technology, business and culture. Students will be exposed to and critically engage with animations created by a diverse group of animators, and will consider the conceptual, social, economic and cultural influences in the development of animation.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

In the Creative Portfolio Tools course, students explore and develop a variety of portfolio tools to assist in a successful launch of their careers in the creative industry. These include websites, presenting portfolio, creating a personal image, business cards, cover letters and resumes, developing reels and other video based promotions, and using social media and networking. The course is modular and self paced, allowing students to work on materials specific to their area of employment, and their needs for gaining internships and/or employment.

Prerequisites
Credits	1

This course provides an introduction to screenwriting. In seminar and writing workshop style, students will read and discuss short and feature-length screenplays, including their own works-in-progress, as well as compare scripts to their final films. Students will learn basic structures of screenplays, character development, conflict, dialogue writing, industry standards for script formatting and ways to ignite their creative spark. Students will complete one short film script.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

This course explores the principles of animation with a focus on smooth and engaging 2D animation. Students will use industry standard software while exploring the 2D Animation production process from concept to finished shot.

Prerequisites	GAA 175 Introduction to Animation, or GDV 203 Form and Motion, or by permission of the Animation Program Director
Credits	3

This course introduces students to the concepts and techniques used to create efficient control rigs for animating 3D characters. By the end of the course students will be able to apply the rigging techniques learned to a variety of character types, including humans, monsters and mechanical objects for film and game animation.

Prerequisites	GAA 135 or GAA 175, or by permission of the Animation Program Director
Credits	3

Science holds an elevated place in society. The knowledge and meaning that science makes are seen as having a particular and special value. This course explores knowledge and meaning making in order to allow a thoughtful analysis of, and then engagement with, science as a way of knowing, and then engages with the methods and theories of the sciences themselves, to understand the analytical, creative, and generative possibilities of science.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

While each section of COR 202 addresses a different problem, issue, or topic, they all focus on interdisciplinary research. You will collect, analyze, and assess information from different disciplines in order to recognize patterns, contextualize arguments and synthesize ideas while collaborating on a project. Emphasis will be placed on helping you translate and apply what you learn about interdisciplinary research to other professional contexts. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-two

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

In Animation Studio I, students work together in small teams to conceptualize, plan and create an animated short film. While working collaboratively, students will experience the professional roles associated with the various stages of the production process. In the early stages of pre-production, each team will decide whether to work in 2D or 3D and will assess the needs of the production accordingly.

Prerequisites	GAA 175 and ANM 200 or ANM 255
Credits	3

This course is a survey of Western and Non-Western art, architecture, and other forms of visual expression. Students will examine and critically engage with artifacts, and will consider the formal, conceptual, spiritual, social, political, economic, and cultural influences in the development of art.

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Lighting a 3D scene involves more than setting parameters to simulate real world lighting. Lighting should be designed to achieve visual goals, set the mood for the scene and guide the viewer's attention. In this course students will learn the theory and practice of lighting 3D scenes for pre-rendered animation.

Prerequisites	GAA-135
Credits	3

Culture impacts everything we do, experience, and learn, but what is culture? Where does it come from, how does it form, and why does it have such a wide and deep impact on people's lives? This course explores culture as a system of meaning and meaning-making in order to allow for a more thoughtful analysis of, and then engagement with, cultural texts and media using different methodological approaches.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

In this course, you will go in depth about a theoretical perspective that asks you to interrogate systems of power and power relationships. You will learn about the history of that perspective, including how it too was shaped by multiple contexts and compares with other viewpoints. You will use that perspective to analyze a specific topic, collection of texts, or cultural phenomena. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-two

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104.
Credits	3

Where we are shapes how we understand ourselves and each other. In this course, we will dig into the relationship between place and identity. We will learn how to think spatially, recognizing how one's identity is situated within and constructed through movement through different spaces--be they natural and built environments, rural and urban, or actual and virtual. COR 301 will help us understand the complex meanings of identity in a world defined by movement and change.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

Field methods are a collection of practices used in the sciences, arts, and humanities to understand phenomena in situ or as it is happening in a specific time and place. In this course, we will apply one or more field methods to research a topic, theme, or question that varies by section. We will learn practices associated with research in the field including but not limited to participant observation, data collection, and experimentation in order to navigate an uncontrolled environment. We will also examine the power dynamics between the researcher, informant, and subject matter to help us understand how, if not practiced ethically, field methods can create or reinforce biases rather than helping us learn with and make sense of the world around us. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-three

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

Prerequisites
Credits	3

By learning from the past, we can make sense of the present and prepare for the future. In this course, we will learn how the 21st century has been and continues to be shaped by past social practices, ethical frameworks, power relations, and discourses. COR 303 is a course about how we know what we know about the past, and the ways different narratives about the past shape the present. Making connections between past and present will help us better understand how to live and make decisions in a globalized world defined by constant change.

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

Digital methods are widely used forms of inquiry that employ technological tools to interrogate research questions important to the humanities and sciences (including the social sciences). Some examples include digital archiving, data mining, and story mapping. In this course, we will use one or more digital methods or tools to research a topic, theme or question that varies by section, with the express purpose of critiquing and reflecting on its application. This includes an examination of the values, flaws, and impacts of the methods or tools we are using, paying particular attention to their ethical implications and power dynamics. For detailed descriptions of the individual sections of this course, cut and paste the following link into your browser: bit.ly/core-year-three

Prerequisites	Take COR-101, COR-102, COR-103, COR-104, COR-201, COR-202, COR-203, COR-204
Credits	3

The college capstone is an opportunity for students to pursue a self-directed experience in their professional program that intentionally integrates their liberal learning in the Core curriculum with their program learning. In addition to the substantive professional-based hands-on project in this class, the capstone will include a professional ethics component and a self-evaluation/self-reflection component.

Prerequisites	Must complete COR-310, COR-320, and two sections of COR-330 All Game majors (EGPR.BS, GDES.BS, GART.BS must also complete EGD-320 with a minimum grade of C.
Credits	5

Prerequisites
Credits	3

Prerequisites
Credits	3

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