Mission Statement

The Entertainment Design - Animation Track prepares graduates who will embody animation principles, storytelling, communication, 2D/3D skills, teamwork, and pipeline mastery, joining a community of inspiring storytellers, innovators, and visionaries, dedicated to transforming the world through the magic of animation.

Principles of Animation

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of animation.

Principles of Storytelling

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate fluency in the principles of effective storytelling through the medium of animation.

Communication Skills

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to clearly convey creative concepts with an ability to adapt based on target audience.

2D Skills

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate strong drawing and painting skills.

3D Skills

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate a mastery of skills as a generalist or specialist of disciplines within the 3D animation process.

Teamwork

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary teams, contributing to their success.

Animation Pipeline Mastery

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to exhibit a comprehensive understanding of the entire animation pipeline from pre-production to production to post-production acquired through hands-on experience.

Mission Statement

The Entertainment Design - Concept Track prepares students to be the next generation of entertainment designers by teaching creative and technological skills needed to bring stories to life, creating conceptual worlds, memorable animated characters, and immersive gaming experiences.

Thinking Process & Conceptual Methodology

Graduates will be able to:

• Understand and demonstrate proficiency in story creation, interpretation, production design methodologies and presentation, and balance real-world constraints with imaginative needs.

Storytelling

Graduates will be able to:

• Be fluent in narrative structures (films and written material), non-narrative structures (games or VR experiences), and other information/language structures in relating content, understanding audiences, and world-building, while being able to both interpret and expand one’s own stories, and those of others.

Communication Skills

Graduates will be able to:

• Achieve mastery of both traditional and digital media that is relevant to the student’s chosen track as well as clearly and professionally express themselves visually, verbally, and interpersonally.

2D Proficiency

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate fluency in identifying and applying the principles of design with 2D artwork as well as mastery in the use of pipelines to create the artwork.

3D Proficiency

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate fluency in identifying and applying the principles of design with 2D artwork as well as mastery in the use of pipelines to create the artwork.

Painting Understanding

Graduates will be able to:

• Develop traditional painting mastery as well as digital painting mastery. Observe and absorb real-world realities to influence conceptual creation and master the powerful use of lighting, composition, and color for storytelling.

Lighting Understanding

Graduates will be able to:

• Master the powerful use of lighting for storytelling and to direct the viewers' focus.

Design Knowledge & Critical Thinking

Graduates will be able to:

• Recognize challenges and have a systematic approach to exploring multiple solutions. Find solutions that are repeatable, adjustable, and professionally deployable. Confidently create personalized problem-solving processes to be able to solve clients’ visual storytelling challenges.

Professional Awareness

Graduates will be able to:

• Understand and implement practical employment skills/knowledge. Develop curiosity as life-long learners by identifying core strengths to build upon while also challenging themselves outside their comfort zone. Interact thoughtfully with people and cultures to cultivate originality and responsibility. Learn to navigate peer-to-peer, client, and team dynamics with collaboration and competence. Understand the pipelines of production in their respective fields of entertainment design.

Mission Statement

The Entertainment Design – Game Design Track prepares students to be the next generation of game designers by teaching creative and technological skills needed to bring stories to life, creating immersive gaming experiences.

Thinking Process & Conceptual Methodology

Graduates will be able to:

• Integrate and utilize in-depth understanding of story creation, game mechanics, and presentation
• Understand methodologies to create a game based on the initial idea/story/IP
• Have the capacity and methods to invent truly original games
• Develop their own design language
• Show iterative process of ideation to final design
• Easily and skillfully move from micro to macro, and macro to micro

Storytelling

Graduates will be able to:

• Recognize and evaluate the narrative and engagement flows of a game
• Create and convey their own game concepts
/stories/worlds
• Interpret/support/expand/communicate existing (others') game concepts
• Apply consistent scope of design within world-building (environment, characters, levels, etc.)

Communication Skills

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate mastery of relevant interactive media
• Flow smoothly between art and programming design languages & expression
• Clearly express concepts in presentations, in own portfolio, and in pitching
• Utilize effective interpersonal skills

Game Development Skills

Graduates will be able to:

• Acquire and synthesize the technical skills necessary for competency in prototyping and game design
• Understand the skills required in the production of art and audio
• Demonstrate fluency in the various phases of the production process of a game
• Demonstrate fluency in the production pipeline and game development workflow

Game Production Skills

Graduates will be able to:

• Demonstrate fluency in identifying and applying the principles of design for interactive experiences
• Understand and use efficiently new technologies
• Identify their audience and assess their concepts from the user’s perspective
• Balance the game in order to optimize the player’s experience
• Balance and sort the constraints between the familiar (industry standards and references) and the innovative
• Identify and understand the business aspects of a game and their effect on its design

Design Knowledge & Critical Thinking

Graduates will be able to:

• Recognize challenges and have a systematic approach to possible multiple solutions
• Find solutions that are repeatable, adjustable, and professionally deployable
• Confidently create their own problem-solving processes
• Understand and solve others' game design problems
• Internalize the concept "the past informs the present which makes the future" to inform design choices
• Make both past and future inferences for credible formation of cohesive world-building and game design

Professional Awareness

Graduates will be able to:

• Identify core strengths and build upon them, while also challenging themselves in lesser-developed areas
• Internalize identity as a designer and innovator
• Interact thoughtfully with people and cultures, whether familiar or unfamiliar
• Cultivate uniqueness of mind and scope of experience
• Appreciate their responsibility for keeping the quality of their work high and staying current in their field
• Navigate peer-to-peer, client, and team dynamics with collaboration and competence
• Develop a growth mindset as a life-long learner
• Understand and engage with issues that directly influence the profession
• Understand and implement practical employment skills/knowledge