This advanced 2D animation course prepares you for an exciting career in 2D animation. You'll learn from industry experts who have worked at top studios, gain valuable industry insights, build critical job skills, and develop a polished portfolio to show employers.
Why study 2D animation at CG Spectrum:
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Now that you have the basics of animation covered, time to step it up! Focusing on cut-out style character animation, your mentor will guide you through fun and challenging exercises, share both modern and traditional animation techniques, and offer insightful feedback to help you progress faster as an artist.
CG Spectrum mentors have years of real world experience working at studios like Walt Disney Animation, DreamWorks, SPA Studios, Bardel Entertainment and others.
With their support, you'll learn to create polished animated scenes frame by frame, discover techniques that save time and frustration, and graduate with a portfolio to impress employers with.
Classes are held online, so they’re available to you wherever you are in the world. Get your career off to a great start at CG Spectrum online animation school.
Certificate
9 months
20 hrs weekly
Advanced
2D Animation Course or portfolio submission
Weekly online classes, feedback and support
Toon Boom Harmony
Jul 10, 2023
Whether straight out of high school, changing careers, or upgrading skills, our specialized expert-led animation programs help you build practical job skills that serve throughout your career
Learn from mentors who have worked on top films and games
Plan your studies around work and family commitments
Build practical, relevant job skills that studios are looking for
Options to help you pursue your passion and start working sooner
Building on the 2D animation essentials gained in the 2D Animation Course, you'll add cutout animation to your skillset, learning techniques using Toon Boom Harmony’s peg and node animation system, then moving onto complex physical animations, rigging and animating bipeds and quadrupeds. With your mentor's guidance, you'll analyze strong cutout scenes and apply lessons to your own work.
By the end of this term, you will have strong understanding of advanced cutout style animation techniques, and confidence in rigging and animating characters and creatures.
Push your skills further than you thought possible in term 2. You'll jump into a variety of projects including single and two-character dialogue acting scenes using the cutout animation technique. You'll be introduced to Harmony’s FX and compositing tools, and use them to add these elements to your dialogue scenes.
By the end of this term, you will have a better understanding of how, when and why you should add FX to your animations, and have hands-on practice using Harmony's compositing and FX tools.
This final term is about getting you job-ready! Using the technique of your choice (tradigital, cutout, or both), you will be mentored in the planning and production of a short animation demo reel, which includes design and animation of multiple characters, creation of background elements, and addition of camera movement, FX, and compositing.
Students in this course receive additional 1-on-1 career support, portfolio reviews, and industry insights from CG Spectrum's Career Development Manager.
Dive right into the full study pathway and be industry ready in 18 months.
To be the best, it helps to learn from the best. Our 2D classes are led by industry veterans with years of experience working on film, game and cartoon animation.
While at Disney and DreamWorks Scott animated classics like Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame and Road to El Dorado. He later won an Oscar for best special effects for Life of Pi.
Read full bioManager of Animation
Known for Hercules
Mentor of 2D Animation
Known for Wild Kratts
Alfredo is a 2D animator and storyboard artist who has worked on feature films like Klaus (Lead Animator on Jesper), Song of the Sea, The Secret of Kells, and several TV shows.
Read full bioMentor of 2D Animation
Known for Klaus
Marcel has animated for film, TV and video games since 2003 at studios across Canada and France including Bardel and Gameloft. He was also a Toon Boom instructor at studios and schools around the world.
Read full bioMentor of 2D Animation
Known for Go West: A Lucky Luke Adventure
Mentor of 2D Animation
Known for Space Dandy
Montréal-based Hubert Lapointe has worked as an animator and animation supervisor on hit shows like Rick & Morty and The Ollie and Moon Show, and as a software instructor for ToonBoom.
Read full bioMentor of 2D Animation
Known for Rick and Morty
Based in Tokyo, Misu has worked as a storyboard artist for Pokemon Sun & Moon, Vinland Saga, Overlord II and Bleach Brave Souls.
Read full bioMentor of 2D Animation
Known for Pokemon Sun & Moon
Todd is a thirty year veteran of the Hollywood 2D animation industry with extensive experience on features, TV, commercials, and theme park installations.
Read full bioMentor of 2D Animation
Known for Prince of Egypt
The most affordable way to learn from top industry mentors in a fun, collaborative environment, while still getting plenty of personalized feedback.
Progress faster and enjoy more flexiblity with private mentorship. Ideal for busy schedules, career-changers, or artists upgrading skills or changing specialties.
(9 x payments)
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(1 x payment)
(9 x payments)
Save 10%
(3 x payments)
Save 25%
(1 x payment)
Aside from basic computer skills and a computer that meets the minimum specifications (see next question), this course requires the successful completion of the 2D Animation Course or portfolio submission demonstrating professional experience and an accompanying reel/resume. Your portfolio submission should include:
1) A demonstrated understanding of the 12 Principles of Animation. 3-5 pieces that showcase work that provides evidence of an understanding of the basic animation 'rules.'
2) A demonstrated understanding of general aesthetics and design. Evidence you have an understanding of how to compose images and present actions clearly and in an artistically pleasing way.
3) Examples of completion of basic animation exercises covered in beginner courses. Show proof of abilities to create a basic bouncing ball, flour sack, walk/run cycle, weight and timing, make basic acting choices and be able to turn key poses into fully-realized, fluid animation work.
4) The ability to show some sense of entertainment value in your work. More than just a basic understanding, your work should showcase some flair and a sense of confidence in your general understanding of timing, motion and performance in basic animation exercises.
5) A body of work (1-3 pieces at least) that show a range of skills you currently possess. There should be enough examples in your body of work for us to make an assessment of where you are currently at and where you might be going.
If you are unsure if your skills are sufficient, send us your portfolio and we'll arrange a review by the department head and a possible student interview, depending on circumstances.
Software:
A student licence of Toon Boom will be provided for the length of the course.
Hardware:
You will need a computer that meets the minimum system requirements for Toon Boom, and a graphics tablet (see 2D animation software and equipment).
On completion of the Advanced 2D Animation Course you will have greater confidence in bringing your animated characters and creatures to life, and have a demo reel full of animation projects to show employers.
Unlike some other animation schools, you will also have access to personalized career services with our Career Development Manager which can help when applying for junior 2D animator jobs such as:
Whether you want to work on animated video games or feature films, you'll find an animation career a fulfilling and exciting one where no two days are the same. Discover more about these 2D animation jobs, tips, salary expectations and tips to meet the minimum job requirements for this industry on our careers page:
With a focus on portfolio preparation, we help students build their competitive edge with high quality work that gets noticed. See what they are creating.
It's been extremely helpful for my portfolio and my confidence as an artist!
I've learned so much about not only animation, but the thought process an artist goes through when creating a piece.
If you’re looking to enhance your specialist skills to industry level, CG Spectrum is the place to be.
CG Spectrum has been an invaluable learning experience. Having never done an online course, I didn’t expect to receive the level of personalised learning and quality teaching that I have experienced so far. The amount of 1-on-1 is second to none. The techniques I have been taught have not only improved my animation skills by leaps and bounds, they have also taught me to be a better storyteller. Aside from the skills learned, I have also gained a great amount of insight into the industry which will definitely aid in my career as an animator.
I landed a job immediately after finishing the course.
When I started CG Spectrum's animation program, I wasn't sure what to expect. Now, I can surely tell that choosing CG Spectrum was the best decision I've ever made. My mentors were incredibly knowledgeable, dedicated and supportive.