Courses for 3D Animation - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane

Animation //

We're creating the future, one frame at a time...

Bringing a character to life involves more than just technical ability. With that in mind, Animation at JMC has been developed in association with studio professionals from Pixar and Animal Logic, to help you tell your story from concept development to finished animation.

Learn to design and develop characters and worlds – from concept to finished art – and create arresting graphical motion and believable characters. Introducing you to the art and practice of animation, this course allows you to specialise in your passion, be it story and art direction, 2D + 3D hybrid animation, technical art or a combination of them all.

We’ll make sure you are up to speed on all the latest developments demanded by the industry, you'll have a chance to intern, network and study abroad along the way. Graduate with a top-notch portfolio, a show reel, and knowledge of who’s who where it counts, to launch you into the industry.

TECH //

During this course you will be able to access HTC Vive and Occulus Go for VR, Green-screen studios, Wacom Intuos Pro and Cintiq tablets, Ball and Socket stop-motion rigs, Redshift 3D, Pixar RenderMan & Arnold for lighting and rendering, Quixel Suite for texture painting and look development, ZBrush, 3D-Coat, and Mudbox for asset creation, Blackmagic Fusion, Mocha and After Effects for compositing, Adobe CC suite for artwork creation, video editing and motion design, Range of professional character rigs for animation studies, Autodesk Maya and Motionbuilder for animation and motion editing, Shotgun Studio for project management, Over 2 terrabytes of online storage and office 365 subscription, Unity Pro & Visual Studio, including range of assets and extensions for game development, Lightboxes + line testers, Dragonframe stop-motion software, 18-camera leading precision motion-capture suites and MotionBuilder and Mixing and recording studios for soundscapes.

a leading industry internship

program scheduled as part of the timetable at companies

such as Viskatoons, Liquid Animation, Cutting Edge Studios

and Alt VFX a leading industry internship

program scheduled as part of the timetable at companies

such as Viskatoons, Liquid Animation, Cutting Edge Studios

and Alt VFX a leading industry internship

program scheduled as part of the timetable at companies

such as Viskatoons, Liquid Animation, Cutting Edge Studios

and Alt VFX a leading industry internship

program scheduled as part of the timetable at companies

such as Viskatoons, Liquid Animation, Cutting Edge Studios

and Alt VFX a leading industry internship

program scheduled as part of the timetable at companies

such as Viskatoons, Liquid Animation, Cutting Edge Studios

and Alt VFX

Follow our JMC Academy Animation & Game Design Instagram Page!

course guide //

Bachelor of Creative Arts (3D Animation)
[CRICOS 075776J]
Diploma of Creative Arts (3D Animation)
[CRICOS 058464M]

Specialise in what you are passionate about with a Bachelor degree focusing on story and art direction, 2D, 3D and hybrid animation, technical art or a combination of them all. Immerse yourself in an exciting journey from concept development to finished animation in multiple styles. Take advantage of JMC’s impressive animation, motion-capture, virtual-reality, recording and green-screen studios to bring your project to life, and master tech skills like rigging and compositing.

In only 2 years you can graduate with a Bachelor degree thanks to our accelerated full-time course. Part-time study is also available to domestic students. International students many choose to complete the course in 3 years [CRICOS 058460D] rather than the accelerated 2 year option.

Production Art I

This unit seeks to provide some of the fundamental skills needed to help visualise ideas and to translate them into representations in 2D and 3D. The unit does not assume any level of existing skill, but instead starts from the most basic elements of design and drawing, with the belief that any able person can learn to draw competently. Imaginative interpretation, the representation of narrative moments and visual conceptualising of story and story elements form the primary thrust of the unit. Exercises will be directed toward an art direction project and the visualisation of character and story.

Creative Process

The aim of this subject is to build an awareness of a reliable and thorough creative process. It aims to instil commitment, individual and group, to that process, and to provide working tools for the origination and development of creative projects.

You will work in small groups, through three distinct stages, towards a Prototype Proposal that deals with the challenge of approaching a creative career. This research exploration will include your backgrounds, interests, aspirations and expectations, then explore the links, similarities and differences between the group members. Creative outcomes will include both individual and group generated content as the result of a design-thinking based structure or information framework that links the research findings. The final outcome of the three stages is a Prototype Proposal that will contain evidence of the creative process applied to the development of a proposed design project. This proposal could be an animated film, a game, a digital interactive work, web site or similar.

You will undertake three creative stages that will introduce and explore you as a young designer today and your pathway into a future career. Each part of this unit will be approached employing a design-thinking methodology. Each phase of the process will be explored employing the following processes and themes: 1. Discover: “What do we like to make?” (sustaining our practice, aspirations and expectations) 2. Ideate: “How do we get our work ‘out there’” (potential strategies, methods for exposure) 3. Prototype: “Strategy, Platforms, Process” (a proposal on how to make it all happen)

The three stages of this project always remains at a development stage and are never taken into actual production, allowing you to focus on the process rather than on the polish of a finished outcome. This also allows them to work with ideas that may not be practical to actually execute, encouraging them to be more ambitious, investigative and inventive.

Introduction to 3D

This first year course teaches the practical operation of a 3D graphics program used throughout the degree. Technical skills are conveyed through set video exercises to be completed independently of the class and two creative assignments developed under the direction of your lecturer.

Traditional Animation

Traditional animation is defined as predominately “in-camera” where the computer is secondary to the process of animating. You will be introduced to conventions and common principles that have developed in animation’s rich hundred year history. You will explore traditional frame-by-frame techniques including cut-out, stop-motion, and drawn animation underpinning and developing an understanding of principles of movement and the animation process. Game characters and 3D animation are simply digital analogues of these fundamental techniques.

Production Art II (Elective)

Builds on Production Art I to take the design and concepting process to a much more detailed and exhaustive level. You will create an in-depth art direction workbook for an animation or game concept, and learn to refine and present art and design concepts in industry standard formats. This unit is an elective choice.

Animation I analyses and applies key principles of animation within 3D software. Technical workflow and mechanics are illustrated through lectures and ongoing practical exercises building foundation knowledge and skills. You must take this unit and/or 3DAN 209.

All productions require worlds to inhabit. The first specialist modelling unit focusses on the creation of props, sets and environments using standard tools inside Autodesk Maya to bring your ideas to life.

Modelling I continues topics introduced within Trimester 1 3D unit. General topics expanding on materials, textures, lighting and rendering are undertaken in relation to the presentation of models and sets examined within the course. You must take this unit and/or 3DAN 208.

This unit builds on the design principles and animation technique that you have been introduced to in 3DAN 201 Production Art I, 3DAN 203 Traditional Animation and VIS 204 Creative Process. Basic design principles will be re-visited in the context of motion and timeline, and further concepts, including colour, light, motion, depth and time, will be introduced and explored.

You will also be introduced to some of the origins, history and current practice of motion graphics and hybrid digital 2D and 2.5D animation through screenings and analysis of recent and current work, both purely graphic, and character and narrative based.

You will be introduced to technique and workflow in After Effects and its integration with other graphic packages including Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash. These techniques will be applied across a series of exercises addressing basic technique, communication challenges, and the creative possibilities of the medium. This unit is an elective choice.

Design Elective (Elective)

You will have the option of taking one of several units offered in the Design (Visual Communication) course. This may include such areas as Design Software competency or User Experience Design.

Visual Storytelling I

This unit introduces you to the conception and development of screen stories, with an emphasis on short form animation. As the written story takes shape, you will also learn to design and construct visual narrative structures in the form of sequential still images for a comic and storyboard. The unit strengthens your writing and drawing skills, which are both fundamental to the professional practice toolkit, while introducing key principles of continuity, visual story elements, expressive composition and layout, and cinematic values. The ongoing staged project will also focus you on project planning and developing material to deadlines. It will give you an excellent opportunity to explore their own creativity and see it realised in a short story told in pictures. The project is developed further in Visual Storytelling II.

3D Animation II

Students focus on full expressive animation using Maya. Advanced acting, reference creation, and working with dialogue will be covered.

3D Modelling II

This subject aims primarily at developing and encouraging students to use digital sculpture to further their understanding of the figure, explore three dimensional ideas and be able to comfortably realise characters for future productions.

Assessments focus on students developing their own sculpted and textured character with staggered submission stages relating to different aspects of the workflow. Students must take this unit and/or 3DAN 304.

Animation Lab (Elective)

Picks up from Motion Design and takes hybrid digital 2D, 2.5D, illustration and art-based animation into a more narrative and expressive area. The unit encourages the inventive exploration of a wide range of image-making approaches and their application to expressively communicating a story or emotional scenario, musical piece or other creative figurative sequence.

Rigging (Elective)

This unit covers how to set up a skeleton and rig for a character mesh, how to skin the mesh and weight it properly, how to add controls to the rig, user interface options, blend shapes, and testing of rigs. The unit provides the technical knowledge for creating a fully controllable character for use in animation or game productions.

Visual Storytelling II

Continues the development begun in Visual Storytelling I. The story outlines and script begun in the previous unit will be refined and polished into a final draft screenplay. The concurrent visual development will take the storyboard you have created and bring it into the medium of the digital editing timeline using Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects to create an Animatic. This is a semi-animated time-based mockup of the finished work.

Finally the 2D process will be translated into the 3D environment with the creation of a Pre-vis story reel in Maya. Throughout this process you are encouraged to critically assess the story structure, timing and staging, and gain insight into the way in which these translations impact the visual story.

3D Animation III

This unit continues to develop core principles while also introducing acting and dialogue theory and practice. The assessments are no longer generic, encouraging you to animate their own ideas, characters and stories, adding personality and style in the process.

Motion Capture (Elective)

Motion capture systems are an increasingly important tool in the creation of film and game animation, but to produce high quality work requires knowledge and skill. This unit will introduce you to the technology and techniques for designing, setting-up, capturing and working with motion capture data.

You will examine examples of motion capture work good and bad, and analyse where and how it is most effective. They will work with actors or other performers in the studio, to direct performance and motion for capture. You will learn how to set up and use the equipment and how to acquire and manage the data produced.

Most importantly, you will spend a substantial part of the unit developing an understanding of how the data is utilised, and the place of the animator’s skillset in refining, cleaning up and completing the action captured. You will begin to acquire these skills through the practical work undertaken in the unit.

Screen Literacy I

Screen Literacy I provides you with an immersive study of the history of animation as an art form and media type. It involves critical examination of animations as historical trends, film analysis breakdowns of animations, and a mix of theoretical and practical knowledge around the fundamental creative and technical skills of film theory. You are introduced to film structure, cinematography, editing, design and mise-en-scène.

Compositing (Elective)

The manipulation of film integrating additional live action and fabricated elements is pervasive across all 21st century western media. Compositing is the process of combining visual elements into cohesive pieces and is an integral role or department in any post production facility. This unit introduces compositing through enjoyable hands on class exercises preparing students to create their own small visual effects projects in the latter stages of the unit. The unit employs After Effects, Fusion and a range of supplementary software and techniques.

This unit brings together students from Animation, Game Development and Digital Design (and potentially other courses) to work on creative projects that seek to look outside the mainstream production areas normally focussed on. You will develop, plan and execute innovative projects that may involve elements such as location-based gaming, interactivity, projection mapping, web and device-based storytelling, transmedia and other forms that flow from the intersection of animation, game technologies and interactive digital design.

Major Project Part A

In this unit, you will commence the development and pre-production of a short animation film project. Idea development, pitching and the formation of production teams leads on to the preparation of logistical planning, story development, and design and art direction work. By the end of the trimester, you will have fully developed story and art, plus a detailed production schedule, and will be embarking on the creation of assets for the film. This is a double credit value unit.

Screen Literacy II

Screen Literacy II continues the immersive study of the history of animation as an art form and media type, covering later periods and styles. It further builds on the theoretical and practical skills of film as commenced in Screen Literacy I. You apply your understanding of animation history, film theory and practice, and film analysis, to a sophisticated critical study of a major animation work.

Major Project Part B

The production teams bring their projects from Part A into full production mode. With creative and technical support they will carry through the finalising of assets, animation, refinement, output, editing and finishing, to produce a short animated film. The unit is structured like a professional project with regular production meetings, where the logistical and personnel management aspects of the project are an important component. Finished films will have the opportunity to compete in JMC’s Martini Awards, as well as festivals and competitions further afield, and will form an important part of the participants’ showreels for future job-seeking. This is a triple credit value unit

Professional Development

This subject is aimed at giving you the tools and skills needed to seek employment upon completion of the program. Preparation of showreels and portfolios, letter writing and interview skills, and the promotion of oneself as a unique “brand” in a creative industry all form part of the content. You will have the opportunity to test your presentation skills in both mock and real environments. You will draw on the work completed during the course as well as charting a direction for the future, and preparing a set of materials to take with them into their job-seeking. You may, as a part of this unit, have the opportunity to connect with industry representatives at site visits, “speed-dating’ interviews, and other events.

Get hands-on with the design and development of characters and worlds – from concept to finished art – and create arresting graphical motion and believable character performances with a Diploma of Creative Arts (3D Animation). Master drawing and visualisation techniques, learn traditional techniques and cutting-edge motion design and master the core skillset and tools required for 3D modeling and animation.

Associate Degree Exit Point: Students who have successfully completed 4 trimesters of the Bachelor programme may successfully graduate with an Associate Degree qualification.

Production Art I

This unit seeks to provide some of the fundamental skills needed to help visualise ideas and to translate them into representations in 2D and 3D. The unit does not assume any level of existing skill, but instead starts from the most basic elements of design and drawing, with the belief that any able person can learn to draw competently. Imaginative interpretation, the representation of narrative moments and visual conceptualising of story and story elements form the primary thrust of the unit. Exercises will be directed toward an art direction project and the visualisation of character and story.

Creative Process

The aim of this subject is to build an awareness of a reliable and thorough creative process. It aims to instil commitment, individual and group, to that process, and to provide working tools for the origination and development of creative projects.

You will work in small groups, through three distinct stages, towards a Prototype Proposal that deals with the challenge of approaching a creative career. This research exploration will include your backgrounds, interests, aspirations and expectations, then explore the links, similarities and differences between the group members. Creative outcomes will include both individual and group generated content as the result of a design-thinking based structure or information framework that links the research findings. The final outcome of the three stages is a Prototype Proposal that will contain evidence of the creative process applied to the development of a proposed design project. This proposal could be an animated film, a game, a digital interactive work, web site or similar.

You will undertake three creative stages that will introduce and explore you as a young designer today and your pathway into a future career. Each part of this unit will be approached employing a design-thinking methodology. Each phase of the process will be explored employing the following processes and themes: 1. Discover: “What do we like to make?” (sustaining our practice, aspirations and expectations) 2. Ideate: “How do we get our work ‘out there’” (potential strategies, methods for exposure) 3. Prototype: “Strategy, Platforms, Process” (a proposal on how to make it all happen)

The three stages of this project always remains at a development stage and are never taken into actual production, allowing you to focus on the process rather than on the polish of a finished outcome. This also allows them to work with ideas that may not be practical to actually execute, encouraging them to be more ambitious, investigative and inventive.

Introduction to 3D

This first year course teaches the practical operation of a 3D graphics program used throughout the degree. Technical skills are conveyed through set video exercises to be completed independently of the class and two creative assignments developed under the direction of your lecturer.

Traditional Animation

Traditional animation is defined as predominately “in-camera” where the computer is secondary to the process of animating. You will be introduced to conventions and common principles that have developed in animation’s rich hundred year history. You will explore traditional frame-by-frame techniques including cut-out, stop-motion, and drawn animation underpinning and developing an understanding of principles of movement and the animation process. Game characters and 3D animation are simply digital analogues of these fundamental techniques.

Production Art II (Elective)

Builds on Production Art I to take the design and concepting process to a much more detailed and exhaustive level. You will create an in-depth art direction workbook for an animation or game concept, and learn to refine and present art and design concepts in industry standard formats. This unit is an elective choice.

Animation I analyses and applies key principles of animation within 3D software. Technical workflow and mechanics are illustrated through lectures and ongoing practical exercises building foundation knowledge and skills. You must take this unit and/or 3DAN 209.

All productions require worlds to inhabit. The first specialist modelling unit focusses on the creation of props, sets and environments using standard tools inside Autodesk Maya to bring your ideas to life.

Modelling I continues topics introduced within Trimester 1 3D unit. General topics expanding on materials, textures, lighting and rendering are undertaken in relation to the presentation of models and sets examined within the course. You must take this unit and/or 3DAN 208.

This unit builds on the design principles and animation technique that you have been introduced to in 3DAN 201 Production Art I, 3DAN 203 Traditional Animation and VIS 204 Creative Process. Basic design principles will be re-visited in the context of motion and timeline, and further concepts, including colour, light, motion, depth and time, will be introduced and explored.

You will also be introduced to some of the origins, history and current practice of motion graphics and hybrid digital 2D and 2.5D animation through screenings and analysis of recent and current work, both purely graphic, and character and narrative based.

You will be introduced to technique and workflow in After Effects and its integration with other graphic packages including Photoshop, Illustrator and Flash. These techniques will be applied across a series of exercises addressing basic technique, communication challenges, and the creative possibilities of the medium. This unit is an elective choice.

Design Elective (Elective)

You will have the option of taking one of several units offered in the Design (Visual Communication) course. This may include such areas as Design Software competency or User Experience Design.

Careers in the Industry //

JMC’s Animation graduates currently work in a wide range of creative positions in game design, film + TV, web animation and advertising, in major studios like Animal Logic and design houses like ZSpace.

Animation is an essential ingredient in the collaborative, innovative and future-forward global entertainment industry, which is why some of the most in demand players are animators and visual-effects specialists.

Specific roles may include

3D or 2D Animator
Producer
Director
Concept Artist
Storyboard Artist
Modeller
Texture Artist
Rigger
Illustrator

Render Wrangler
Visual Effects Artist
Matte Painter
Effects Animator
Compositor
Digital Lighting
Designer
Motion Designer

spotlight //

Having the audio and film guys to work with me on my projects taught me a lot about the whole process. I put this into action as one of the animators on the ‘Happy Feet’ films.
Damien Schneider , Freelance Animation Artist, Animation Alumni

My favourite aspect of the degree was engaging with industry professionals. Picking the brains of the JMC lecturers who have broad and relevant experience.
Thomas Fisher , ‎3D Generalist, Animator and Motion Graphics Artist at Tom Fisher 3D, Animation Alumni

JMC gave me the opportunity to meet like minded people and grow as a creative. The lecturers are fantastic! Their passion for the industry was infectious making me strive for my best
Rachael Tannous , Artist Recruitment & Coordination, Iloura Sydney, Animation Alumni

I found the small class sizes at JMC were very helpful for me. It was easier to get help from my lecturer and I got to better know and connect with my classmates.
Erika Wu, Animator at Studio Moshi, Animation Alumni

My internship at Cutting Edge came about through a JMC lecturer. Turns out what they tell you about networking is a thing!
Daniel Springall, 3D Character Rigger , Animation Alumni

Faqs //

I'm not good at drawing - can I still apply for the Animation course?

Yes. We take your inherent abilities and creativity, whatever level they may be at, and help you develop them as thoroughly as the passion you have for working on them.

Do I need to bring in a portfolio to apply for Animation, and if so, what should I put in it?

A portfolio essentially relates to samples of your work. If you have nice finished artwork, that’s fantastic, but not essential. What we’re looking for is that you have a drive to create things and are passionate about the field, so show us that in your portfolio. Things like sketches or drawings, notes, ideas and characters you’ve invented are all great.

How can I increase my chances of finding employment upon graduation?

Building your network with like-minded people and meeting people in the industry is really important. We encourage you to attend industry talks and events (many of which are held on campus) and introduce yourself to people. Amazing opportunities often arise through those connections so be open to new experiences. Create your own opportunities as well. If there’s nothing else happening, keep working. Work on your own projects and set yourself tasks to enhance and refine your skills so you not only have great content to add to your showreel, but when an opportunity does come up, you’re ready to seize it.

What projects will I create during the Animation course that I can show future employers?

During your course you will be advised to build your portfolio with relevant samples of your finished work. A final Degree project which you will develop and 'executive produce' will ensure you have an animated 3D film to add to your show reel.