Foundation Degree Animation and Visual Effects

Amersham & Wycombe College – a leading provider of vocational courses and training in Buckinghamshire

Students of all ages and backgrounds study with us each year; whether you are a young person soon to leave school or an adult looking to retrain or enhance your job prospects by gaining new skills, then we have something for you.

1 year BA ‘top up’ animation courses at university, careers as freelancers or employment in visual effects studios and specialist animation houses. Most of the skills taught are also used in the games design industry and students can progress in this direction.

"The net result of this course, if completed and passed successfully, would be a strong valuable skill set of interest to most VFX and Game production companies." - Lee Medcalf, Independent Industry Reviewer

In 2014 we are offering a newly updated course that is designed to prepare students for working in industry or to move on to a top up year at university.

Year 1
U1: Life Drawing for Digital Sculpting
You will develop your understanding of anatomy
and musculature through a series of life drawing classes and be expected to demonstrate your skills using Z-Brush. You will produce a portfolio of life drawings and a number of digitally sculpted characters / objects.

U2: Digital Compositing for Film & Animation:
The work of the 3D department is usually finished by the 2D Compositing Department. Here you will learn how to rebuild and finish 3D renders. You will also learn common tasks such as rotoscoping, green screen removal and match moving. Using NUKE you will produce a series of finished shots for your portfolio

U3: The Core Skills of 3D
You will learn 3D modelling, texturing, lighting and rendering techniques in Maya. You will produce a series of renders for your portfolio, some of
which will have the finishing touches applied in NUKE.

U4: The Core Skills of Animation
You will learn the basic skills of expressive animation
using Maya. This will including the 12 Principles of Animation and techniques for planning an animation. Using pre-built assets you will produce some short sequences for your portfolio.

Year 2
U5: Animated VFX project: Working in groups you will focus on a VFX style shot or a short animation. This pulls together skills from all the other modules. Your choice of project should reflect the direction you have chosen in your year 1 industry research.

U6: Rigging for Animation: You will have encountered rigs in year 1 as they are a necessary part of animation. In this half unit you will develop and formalise those skills, creating a rig that meets the needs of an animation brief.

U7: Colour correction - Learn colour skills for use in Animated VFX project and other portfolio work. In this half unit you will learn how to colour correct, colour match and grade your work creating additional pieces for your portfolio.

U8: Concept Design for Environments. You will extend your skills in NUKE to generate believable and even photo-real environments that can be used as backdrops for animation and film.

U9: Visual Effects for Animation and Film: You will learn to use particles and dynamics to create effects such as water, smoke and destruction. You will also learn that some effects are more efficiently and effectively created in 2D software such as NUKE.