Animation

Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of animation at the heart of Manchester’s MediaCity. This industry-focused course combines creative practice with hands-on experience using cutting-edge technologies, enabling you to develop professional skills across 2D, 3D and stop-motion animation.

Designed to nurture creativity and technical excellence, the course is taught by an experienced team of lecturers with strong industry links. You will follow a structured pathway into digital animation practice, exploring key areas including pre-production, narrative and visual storytelling, motion graphics, games, and immersive technologies.

Based at MediaCity, one of the UK’s leading hubs for the creative industries, you will benefit from close proximity to major broadcasters, studios and digital media companies. As animation continues to be one of the fastest-growing sectors within the UK’s creative industries, this course prepares you to become an adaptable, highly skilled and industry-ready creative professional.

This course is designed to enhance your creativity and technical proficiency through a structured pathway in digital animation practice. From day one, you’ll gain hands-on experience, starting with traditional techniques and the fundamentals of drawing, animation principles, and the laws of motion. As you progress, you’ll learn to navigate industry-standard software, workflows, and pipelines, equipping you with the skills demanded by top animation studios. Throughout this program, you’ll master the art of visual storytelling and develop technical expertise in a specialised area of animation, whether in 2D, 3D, or stop-motion.

With dedicated portfolio-building and career-focused modules, the course supports you in shaping your professional identity and preparing for employment in the creative industries. Whether your ambition lies in film, television, games or digital media, you will graduate with the skills, guidance and confidence needed to kickstart your career.

Year 1 - Animation 101 - Introduction to Creative Play - Animation Context - Animation 102 - Storytelling: Script to Screen - Art of Animation Year 2 - Performance and Character - Specialist Animation Studies - Engagement Challenge - Motion Design for Visual Communication - Creative Collaboration - Production Pipelines and Workflows Year 3 - Negotiated Project - Phase One - Research Project - Negotiated Project - Phase Two - Professional Portfolio and Employability

There will be different types of assessment methods used, but the majority will be project based assessment work.