Focused on getting you job-ready, the Advanced 3D Animation Course helps you get your skills to industry-standard. By learning from industry experts who have worked at top animation studios, you'll gain valuable industry insights, build critical job skills, and graduate with a polished portfolio to show employers.
Why study 3D animation at CG Spectrum:
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Get your skills to a higher standard with our advanced career training. You’ll master complex character and creature techniques and learn how to create compelling scenes that captivate your audience. Meet your mentor online for weekly classes, get personalized video critiques of your work, and develop a polished demo reel - your passport to the industry!
Certificate
9 months
20 hrs weekly
Advanced
3D Animation Course or portfolio submission
Weekly online classes, feedback and support
Autodesk Maya and animation rigs
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 industry experts who have worked on major films and games
Plan your studies around your work and family commitments
Build relevant and practical job skills that studios are looking for
Pursue your passion and start working sooner with flexible payments
Learn how to get two characters interacting in a fun and realistic way. Discover how to analyze dialogue, shoot reference video and set up scenes using professional workflows. Watch your animation come alive as you apply your new knowledge of shot composition, cinematography, layering, acting beats and body mechanics to your scene.
Expand your versatility as an artist with creature animation. From quadruped walks, runs and jumps, to animating winged creatures, you’ll gain a solid understanding of creature animation, and have a great time breathing life into your creatures.
This final term is dedicated to getting you job-ready! With your mentor’s guidance, you’ll polish your best pieces for your portfolio and learn how to develop your competitive edge, market yourself, and make the best possible impression in front of employers.
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. All 3D animation classes are taught by industry mentors with years of experience working at major animation studios on blockbuster films and best-selling video games.
Mark has held lead positions at Rainmaker, Sony and Weta Digital working on films like Avatar, The Adventures of Tintin, and Night at the Museum.
Read full bioDept. Head of 3D Animation
Known for Avatar
Spectra has been animating for almost a decade at Playstation, Digital Domain and Ubisoft on projects such as Far Cry 6, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and Advantageous.
Read full bioMentor of 3D Animation
Known for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
With 20+ years in the industry, Michael has worked on countless feature films for just about every major studio around the world including DNEG, Cinesite, MPC, Weta Digital, Pixomondo and Lucasfilm.
Read full bioMentor of 3D Animation
Known for Pacific Rim Uprising
Mentor of 3D Animation
Known for Ted
Delano's credits include Ready Player One, The Walking Dead, Deadpool and Independence Day: Resurgence from his time at top studios Zoic, Digital Domain and Mill Film.
Read full bioMentor of 3D Animation
Known for Deadpool
Mentor of 3D Animation
Known for Spider-man 3: Homecoming
Ambre has worked as an animator in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA, and Canada on projects like LEGO Avengers, Happy Feet Two, Avatar and Where the Wild Things Are.
Read full bioMentor of 3D Animation
Known for Avatar
Mentor of 3D Animation
Known for Planet Blue: Journey to Eco
Nick's held lead positions at major game studios Relic Entertainment and Phoenix Labs. Credits include Dauntless, Dawn of War 3 and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City.
Read full bioMentor of 3D Animation
Known for Dauntless
Jacob is an award-winning director, writer, and animator who now works at Walt Disney Imagineering. Credits include Red Dead Redemption, God of War III, Batman: Arkham Origins, The Jungle Book, and The Flash.
Read full bioMentor of 3D Animation
Known for Batman: Arkham Origins
Roland has worked his way across the globe at major studios like Weta Digital, where he worked on two Planet of The Apes movies, The Hobbit Trilogy, and Avengers: Infinity War.
Read full bioMentor of 3D Animation
Known for Avengers: Infinity War
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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(9 x payments)
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(3 x payments)
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Learn more about the prerequisites for this course and the animation careers you could explore in the future. For general questions about studying at CG Spectrum, visit the main FAQ page or contact us.
What are the prerequisites for this Advanced 3D Animation course?
Aside from basic computer skills and a computer that meets the minimum specifications (see next question), this course requires the successful completion of the Foundations of 3D 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:
Students can sign up for an educational license for Maya.
Hardware:
You will need a dedicated graphics card and a computer that meets the minimum requirements for Autodesk Maya.
On completion of the Advanced 3D Animation Course you will have greater confidence in your abilities and a portfolio to show employers.
You will also have personalized career services with our Career Development Manager which can help when applying for junior 3D animator jobs such as:
Discover more about these 3D animator jobs, tips, and salary expectations on our careers page:
This Advanced 3D Animation Course offers students who are serious about pursuing a career in animation a chance to go deeper into the world of animation art, studying acting more intensely and working on Creature FX Animation.
It’s an opportunity for students to potentially increase their value as an employee by adding to their skillsets or refining what skills they already possess.
While CG Spectrum's advanced students have a high job success rate, we cannot offer guaranteed employment as the film and game industry is competitive and there is no way of knowing what the market will demand when it comes to animation.
The students who experience the greatest success are those who take responsibility for their career, put in the hard work to get their skills up to industry standard, leverage their mentor's invaluable expertise, and take advantage of every opportunity to excel.
Taking an advanced 3D animation class not only keeps students–as potential future employees of studios–focused while they grow as artists and build their portfolio, it also increases their scope socially as they make more contacts with more time and work, a key component in securing a job.
To help students find employment, we have a range of career services and a dedicated Career Development Manager who regularly hosts exclusive career-focused webinars, Q&As, artist interviews and workshops for CG Spectrum students and alumni, and is available to answer career-related questions.
Students in the 9-month programs receive additional 1-on-1 career support, CV/portfolio reviews and help with application/interview preparation.
If you have any questions about our career services as they relate to your personal career goals, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
As with any venture, it will be what you make of it! The best animators are constantly growing, evolving and learning new skillsets.
An advanced 3D animation class is an excellent way to sharpen one’s skills, open doors to exciting new methods and practices, work intensely on “bigger” projects and continue to grow as an artist and member of the animation community.
The benefit of doing the Advanced 3D Animation Course at CG Spectrum, is receiving mentorship from another industry professional who can share their workflows and techniques with you. If you choose the 1-on-1 private mentorship option, there is also some flexibility to customize the program to meet your particular needs and career goals.
You can also get additional career support from the Career Development Manager if you are looking to take the next step in your career, whether that be a promotion or you're interested in switching your specialization.
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.
I learned more in 9 months than other students do in 2 years.
The level of education I have received is unlike any other school I've come across. What separates CG Spectrum from other schools is that the mentors are not only talented professionals in their own right, but they also care about your success as an artist both in school and after you graduate. CG Spectrum is incredible, I cannot recommend it enough.
Getting access to industry mentors is huge.
There's a world of information out there, but nothing compared to talking to someone in the know. CG Spectrum was one of those places. I really liked the 1-on-1 format. It was the first time I had an experienced animator open my scene file. It was what I needed to get over some technical hurdles.
One of the best decisions I've ever made for my career.
I've learned and grown so much throughout this program and I loved the resources in the CG Spectrum community, such as finding new job opportunities and meeting other students and mentors. I took advantage of everything CG Spectrum had to offer and as a result, I landed my dream job at my dream company (Dreamworks). Thank you CG Spectrum!
I can’t praise CG Spectrum enough for the quality of teaching and dedication to their students.
Mark [Pullyblank] was the best mentor I’ve ever had. He really took the time to help design the course around what it is that I wanted to get out of it. I’ve studied other animation courses in the past, but none even come close to the depth and speed of development as CG Spectrum.
So much more than I expected.
CG Spectrum is a very fun and relaxed online community where other students and mentors communicate in a refreshingly open way. The Mentors really make these courses a unique experience; they share anecdotes and advice that will stay with me for many years.
I couldn't be happier that I started my 3D art journey here.
I progressed in just 9 months from being a complete beginner to creating work I am actually proud of showing. My mentors showed interest in my progress and I received honesty and kindness in their critique that pushed me to become better. Even after graduating, they are still there if I need help. One of my favorite aspects is the community, full of like-minded people willing to see your work and share feedback. You get access to that community for life!
So much more than I expected.
CG Spectrum is a very fun and relaxed online community where other students and mentors communicate in a refreshingly open way. The Mentors really make these courses a unique experience; they share anecdotes and advice that will stay with me for many years.