Animation

Animation 393 incorporates both 2D and 3D animation techniques and processes that span the entire animation production workflow. We have developed our Curriculum and Course Learning Outcomes to align with the Ministry Vocational Learning Outcomes for an Advanced Diploma in Animation. 

Mohawk’s previous Animation 373 Program had a strong 3D based curriculum We are building on that strength and expanding the teaching into 2D Animation, using ToonBoom Harmony and Storyboard Pro for the hand drawn digital animation software and Maya as the primary 3D animation software.

We have rebuilt our visual storytelling and storyboarding stream to focus on short film development and production preparation for a 2nd Year Group Film and a 3rd Year Capstone project.

Being an Animation Program, we concentrate student learning on ALL aspects of animation production preparation including story development, concept art and design, environment design, character and prop design, asset creation, modelling and surfacing, production and editing processes and of course animation as the core discipline.

All our faculty teach from their years of industry experience. Within each Course stream, that starts with core skills and talent concepts and progress through lessons and assignments that give students growing knowledge and experience in all areas of animation concept development, design, and production.

The Learning Outcomes page has a list of the Ministry Vocational Learning Outcomes we use to develop our Advanced Diploma - Vocational Learning Outcomes. Each of these outcomes have a secondary list of Course Learning Outcomes that we include in our individual Course Learning Plans and Assignments.

View the Animation (Ontario College Diploma) Program Standard PDF

Animation 393’s portfolio requirement is a tool for us to determine if your interest in animation education is sincere. We aren’t looking for expertise; we are looking for potential. But we are setting a bar for entry into education for an Advanced Diploma in Animation. We want to know that applicants have engaged in drawing and the visual arts before encountering the complexity of the animation creation process. 

Unlike some College portfolio selection systems, we aren’t grading hundreds of portfolios and choosing the top 3% of Applicants. But we are looking for prior engagement, experience and interest in the applicants’ own creative expression and some personal or educational experience in the visual arts. We look for an applicant’s ability to “draw what they see” with an eye for visual accuracy, including simple objects, spaces and humans or animals. We look for a sense of creativity and visual problem solving in how applicants utilize drawing in their exploration and expressions in the visual arts.

You can still apply, even up to September. After High School students receive their required English Credits at the end of June and complete their portfolio, there will be more applications coming in. We will fill the student numbers on a first-come-first served basis.

All items are required for a complete and accepted application, including an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (or equivalent) The Animation Portfolio and an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion commitment statement.

There are some other options for Mature Students.

• You can use digital drawing for the drawing assignments, but smooth paper and pencil is more comfortable for some.
• Personal artwork in digital media or good quality scans of any physical media artwork.

We're looking for your ability to draw what you see. Line drawing is the priority, but shading is acceptable too.

There’s not much written work but lots of conversations, especially in the 2nd year, a Group Film where communication is essential.

Look at the Program of Studies tab on the website. You'll see all the courses over the 3 years.

• We have Story Classes that require some writing, but in that course, we focus on visual storytelling with images
• There are General Education Electives every Semester that are most likely language/writing based.

• We are teaching both 2D and 3D animation, Design, Life Drawing and storyboarding.
• Drawing and visual literacy is essential for all our courses

• Almost all our assignments are project based, with larger projects usually delivered in Assignment stages
• The 2nd Year Group Film and 3rd Year Capstone are larger projects, also delivered in Assignment stages

• I'm not familiar with them but check out any courses available OR just simply practice drawing what you see around you: people animals, hard objects, spaces
• Betty Edwards: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain has some good exercises for beginners.
• Nicolaides: The Natural Way to Draw has exercises if you have access to a Life Drawing class.

There is a Tech Requirements tab on the left side of the Mohawk College Animation 393 Program Page. This list is something you can put together over the summer, so you have it all in place for September. 

Software purchases will be facilitated within the first week of classes, so faculty can help you with the software uploads

Go to the Mohawk College Website and check the Animation 393 Program for the most recent cost requirements. In the menu list to the Left there's a tab called Tuition and Fees and one called Tech Requirements for added costs.

• Once you have Applied you will be sent a confirmation and an Acceptance Once you have accepted an offer, there's nothing else you need to do, the process will unfold from there.
• Animation Portfolio Form

The Program is a 3-year Advanced Diploma, so it will still most likely take you 3 years as most of our courses have the previous Semester courses as prerequisites. In special cases, students can enroll with a reduced course load but take longer to complete the Diploma. A student has up to 6 years to complete courses for their Diploma.

Some Course may be eligible for Prior Learning Credits, depending on credit equivalencies from other Post Secondary Education Institutions.

We have a credit transfer process whereby, once a student is enrolled in all the Program Courses, we look at the Institution itself and their Program focus, the Course Outlines, the Student's individual Course Credits and make a comparative analysis of Course equivalencies to our Program Courses. Courses that qualify for Credit Transfers are decided individually.

We are working to partner with Institutions that offer degrees in Animation. There are initial connections with a few Universities in Ireland, and we are continuing to further develop those connections and other Canadian possibilities for a pathway to an Animation Degree.

At this point we don't have any formal co-op arrangements with Industry.

There are a few reasons for that.

Currently we don't have any Industry/student connections or work placements for a few reasons. We are currently focusing on the student's core learning and Capstone Project. The previous Program focused on industry connections a little too early, compromising some core learning aspects. We're ensuring the Animation 393 Program of Studies outcomes are achieved before we start reaching out to Industry. If Industry comes to us, we'll determine if we can connect students with them on an individual and specific skills basis.

The primary reason is that we are in our 3rd year of a new Program of Studies, offering the final 2 Capstone Semesters in the Fall and Winter of this coming academic term. Our focus is on creating the Capstone Curriculum and Course outlines out of our previous Semesters 5 and 6.

Staying focused on what we want our Program outcomes to be means less time spent creating Industry connections with potential Industry outcomes that may not align with what we want our Program outcomes to be. Industry has their own priorities that may not align with ours.

The second reason is that the industry is only starting to recover from a few years of challenges, the Hollywood Writer's and Actor's strikes, the defunding of PBS which much of Canada's TV industry was supporting and California Tax Credits which has effectively kept more productions in LA.
Co-ops are a little lower in a Company's priorities, and many experienced professionals are still finding it hard to get work.

Another reason is that here are perhaps a dozen animation Colleges in Ontario, meaning there are many more students looking for co-op opportunities than there are companies who can support them.

Things are starting to change gradually and perhaps in a few years; there will be more co-op possibilities.

Hopefully as the Program settles, we can make meaningful Industry connections that align with and enhance what we want to do with the Program.

Our current goal with the Program is to help develop independent filmmakers who can conceptualize, design and create their own productions but also have the skills to connect with other independent or professional productions. We want students with the skills to create films, not simply focus on securing them a spot in the industry pipeline.