LASALLE College of the Arts

MYTH number one: You only work on the computer in animation class.

Students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Animation Art at the LASALLE College of the Arts actually learn how to act and make puppets in animation.

What has acting got to do with animation?

LASALLE's Animation Art lecturer Chris Shaw explained: "In animation, you have to know how facial expressions change and hands move when a character's mood changes. Learning acting is the best way to learn this."

Myth number two: Drawing is the only thing you do in an animation art class.

In reality, these students are also expected to write extensively.

They have to produce essays, dissertations and analyses on various subjects, like sculpture, the local and foreign arts scene, and the media.

These myths were just two of the many Mr Shaw dispelled about the three-year degree programme.

Mr Shaw, 42, said first-year students spend time discovering what animation art is through writing, research and delving into its history.

In the second year, students pick either traditional animation or three-dimensional animation to specialise in.

In traditional animation, students learn two-dimensional animation and stop-motion animation.

Stop-motion animation is where an object is moved by small amounts between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames are played as a continuous sequence.

In three-dimensional animation, students learn technical skills like delving into the computer graphics and three-dimensional modeling software Maya.

All students will attend acting, drawing and programming classes in the second year.

In the third year, students are expected to write a 5,000-word dissertation on a chosen topic.

Why write in a course that sets out to train students to become animators?

Mr Shaw said: "If students can't formulate ideas and if they can't do research, both of which are essential in writing a good essay, how will they learn to research and develop informed opinions on good designs and concepts"

He recalled an interesting project where students were tasked to create a computer animation model of a city. They also had to think of a particular theme for the city.

He said: "One student captured the spirit of the project when he built the model of a city from a cat's point of view.

"For one, he omitted elevators from within buildings. Instead, there were many platforms on the outside of buildings so cats could jump from one platform to another."

Creative risks

Mr Shaw said the kind of mindset he is trying to instil in students will result in their abilities to push the boundaries and take creative risks.

He said: "Frankly, we could take the easy way out and tell students, 'Look, here is the software, model a city'. But they wouldn't learn a whole lot.
"They need to be able to develop and market their own products. The students need to be versatile, both in the content they develop and their technical approaches."

He added that he encourages students to spend a lot of time developing and widening their "mental database". That is, students should check out a host of exhibitions, be they sculpture or modern art.
"It's important to have a whole database of ideas and images to pick from, when you are tasked with a project," said Mr Shaw.
"For example, if a client wants you to do a dog commercial and wants something out of the ordinary, you'll need a bank of ideas to borrow from."

He added that at the end of three years, not all students will become animators.

He said: "They might discover that they do not have what it takes to be one. But that is okay as the industry demands people with a host of other skills.

"You might discover that you are a scriptwriter or a set designer or a light designer at the end of the course."