Home Courses Creative Industries BA (Hons) 3D Animation and VFX
3D animation student working on a 3D dinosaur model

Learn to create stunning 3D animation and VFX projects

UCAS LogoUCAS Logo
W615
3 years Full Time
Bognor Regis Campus

14th

for teaching quality

Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021

2nd

in the UK for 'teaching on my course' for Computer Games and Animation

National Student Survey 2023

5th

for overall satisfaction for Games and Animation

National Student Survey 2022

Join us at one of our Open Days!

Saturday 22 June  |  Saturday 12 October  |  Friday 1 November  |  Saturday 23 November

Saturday 22 June

Saturday 12 October

Friday 1 November

Saturday 23 November

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Overview

Develop specialist knowledge in digital animation and visual effects practice

Develop high-level technical skills

Our BA (Hons) 3D Animation and VFX course provides you with high-level technical skills and enhanced specialist knowledge to fully prepare you for a successful and rewarding career in the industry.

Learn to use industry-standard software

Throughout your degree you will learn the software and systems that are widely used throughout the animation and VFX industry.

Use software including:

  • Maya
  • Nuke
  • Unreal Engine

See our student showcase reels

Join our collaborative community

Throughout your degree, you will collaborate with students across the Department of Creative Industries to gain an exceptional understanding of production practices and technology application, enhancing your vital employability skills.

Learn from our expert and award-winning staff

You will learn from a team of dedicated, high-qualified professional practitioners and current industry figures, including award-winning directors, producers, actors, writers, editors and composers from across animation, film, TV, and games.

Feel prepared for your future career

This course prepares you for a successful and fulfilling career in animation and VFX.

You will develop your portfolio to meet current industry requirements, have opportunities to tour studios, connect with established industry professionals, and develop a strong awareness of the needs of the industry as you develop your creative and technical skills.

Establish your professional network

The department regularly runs field trips to international film festivals, professional film shoots and industry conventions.

In addition, you will have opportunities with professional associates and on staff projects to develop your early career profile on IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) before you graduate.

On this course you will:

  • Learn the key technical skills of 3D animation and VFX practice.
  • Use industry software such as Maya, Nuke and Unreal Engine.
  • Learn from lecturers and guest speakers with extensive industry experience, including award winners.
  • Collaborate with students and experts from across the Department of Creative Industries.
  • Learn in the state-of-the-art £35m Tech Park.

National Student Survey 2023

'Teaching on my course'
2nd
in the UK for Computer Games and Animation
Learning opportunities
3rd
in the UK for Computer Games and Animation
Overall average positivity
5th
in the UK for Computer Games and Animation

Partnerships

As a part of the Department of Creative Industries you will benefit from our industry partnerships with companies including HyperX, DXRacer, Twitch, ARRI, and AVID, and be able to access to industry standard software such as Nuke, Maya, and Houdini.

The Course

Learn the core components of 3D animation and visual effects

Year One

During your first year, you will begin to focus on the development of your animation skills, as you discover the fundamental workflows and design principles that underpin 3D Animation and VFX work.

In addition, you will discover the software you will use throughout your degree and in your career and experience a range of topics you may choose to specialise in later in the course

Year Two

In your second year, you will develop the technical and creative skills needed across the film and animation industry, as well as begin to develop your specialist interests.

You could branch out and focus on technical topics including modelling, rigging, character animation, and compositing, or expand your horizons and learn about cameras, lenses, lights, composition, and cinematography.

Year Three

In your final year, you will develop advanced skills as you engage in ongoing exercise-based practice, guided by regular group review sessions.

You will complete a major project individually or as part of a group and hone your employability skills, working closely with staff to refine your portfolio and ensure it represents you effectively while meeting current industry needs.

This list is indicative and subject to future change.

Select a year

Animation & VFX Foundation

This provides an opportunity for you to familiarise yourself with the world of animation and visual effects and their many applications across the entertainment industries.

You will explore boundaries of the many disciplines within the field of animation and visual effects and their specific place in production workflows.

Through practical workshops you will be introduced to industry standard software with which you will engage for the duration of your studies.

A series of briefs will provide introductory level exercises designed to establish sound work practices upon which you will build over subsequent years.

Art and Visual Design: An Introduction

This module will introduce you to the basics of art theory, giving you the opportunity to create artistic work that demonstrates an application of these concepts.

You will investigate the foundations of art production through a series of projects that establish a fundamental understanding of visual communication.

Character Animation Fundamentals

The emphasis of the module is on creative and technical processes and their practical application as you investigate the production of 3D animation and engage with a broad range of concepts and workflows related the production of 3D character animation.

During this module there will be an emphasis on developing professional work practices, primarily becoming familiar with an iterative work/review process, planning animation, and working cleanly and efficiently as a part of a digital production pipeline.

Character Asset Creation

This module utilizes a mixture of exercises and briefs to investigate the production of 3D assets and engage with a broad range of concepts and workflows related the production of 3D character creation.

Live Action & CG Compositing

The module explores the creative and technical processes behind live action & CG compositing through a mixture of exercise and briefs.

You will initially engage with a broad range of concepts and workflows related to the integration of live action and digital assets, before you move on to investigate fundamental compositing techniques using industry standard software.

Throughout the module, you will develop your professional work practices as you become familiar with review processes and learn to work cleanly and efficiently as part of a digital production pipeline.

Animation Skills Development

This module will introduce new techniques and allow you to collate a body of work that will illustrate your mastering of these workflows.

Through the iterative nature of regular reviews and group critique sessions you will steadily refine your skills and workflow practice.

Areas of study will include character acting performances, lip-sync animation, and a general refinement of work practices to achieve a higher calibre of animation production.

You will explore distinctive styles of animation ranging from an exaggerated “cartoony” aesthetic to performances of a less stylised, photorealistic nature, more grounded in the real world.

Asset Creation Skills Development

This module runs across two semesters and is an ongoing opportunity for you to continue your development as a CG artist.

Through the iterative nature of regular reviews and group critique sessions you will steadily refine your skills and workflow practice.

Areas of study will include a focus on Connectivity within Maya and explore dynamics and simulation workflows.

You will generally refine your work practices to achieve a higher calibre of asset creation.

Filmmaking Practice and Previz

Previsualisation (or Previz) is the industry standard approach to planning and testing creative ideas in preparation for larger scale audiovisual projects and the ‘pitching’ of ideas.

On this module, you will learn established film making techniques and will ultimately develop a short script to a finished previsualised sequence.

As part of this process, you will explore the fundamental core visual concepts and planning techniques that make up the previz process for a creative visual project.

The application of professional previz software will enable you to present your work in a commercial context.

VFX Production

This module will run across two semesters and gives you an opportunity to work in groups to deliver a visual artefact that encompasses several disciplines of the VFX pipeline.

You will rely on core skills established in previous modules to complete work to a predetermined time schedule, adhering to daily deadlines and receiving and addressing notes on your work in a time frame fitting a professional production studio.

Working With Motion Capture

This module develops your knowledge of a typical film and multimedia motion capture pipeline, from setting up cameras and the performance process, through to editing and transferring data to industry standard animation packages.

You will be encouraged to research the evolution of motion capture in the VFX industry and how animators and VFX artists interact with this data.

Advanced Animation Skills Development

A series of briefs will introduce you to advanced techniques and, if applicable, allow you to focus your studies into a particular style or application of animation, while continuing to refine your portfolio of work.

Additionally, to perfecting fundamental animation skills, you will deepen your knowledge of specialised tasks within the animation workflow.

Through the model of regular iteration and review, as established in Levels 4 and 5, you will be honing their craft and looking to achieve a level of quality and finish to your work that is in line with professional standards.

Industry, Engagement and Film Festivals

This module offers you the opportunity to learn about the dynamic and rapidly changing ways in which films are consumed in the public arena.

Festivals are a key element of the filmmaking market place, where films are sold by independent producers and bought by distributors. But they also offer audiences the opportunity to experience a rich variety of cinema, such as animation, shorts and documentaries.

This module will encourage you to engage with the world of the film festival, the networking opportunities they offer and apply analysis to both audio-visual content and Festival management.

Final Major Project – 3D Animation & VFX

This dissertation level project allows you to build on the practical skills and subject knowledge developed throughout your studies.

It gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your acquired creative and technical knowledge of either 3D Animation, Visual Effects or a combination of both. You are expected to undertake sustained practice/s, developing understanding, application and critical processes of practice within the discipline through an extended range of experience.

Crucially, you are expected to work professionally to produce a range of visual artefacts with high standards of content, presentation, and development.

Creative Portfolio

You will be expected to enhance their career prospects by producing creative artefacts that align your skills with their commercial and professional objectives.

The module aims to develop transferable skills in balancing creative and strategic career objectives.

Advanced VFX Skills Development 

A series of briefs will introduce advanced techniques and, if applicable, allow you to focus your studies into a particular discipline within the VFX workflow, while continuing to refine your portfolio of work.

Additionally, to perfecting core VFX skills, you will deepen your knowledge of specialised tasks within the VFX workflow.

Through the model of regular iteration and review, as established in Levels 4 and 5, you will be honing your craft and looking to achieve a level of quality and finish to your work that is in line with professional standards.

Title and Credit Sequences

This module examines the history and development surrounding the creative production and design of Title Sequences for film, TV and games output.

Titles sequences have evolved from a cinematic perspective from simple introductory title cards in the early years of film through to elaborate graphic and animated cinematic events in their own right across the entertainment industry.

You will explore the changes that have evolved and consider the creative importance of the Title Sequence in wider content creation, and examine the career prospects that arise from this area of the creative industries in relation to 3D Animation and VFX.

Animation and VFX for Games

This module provides an opportunity for you to familiarise yourself with the world of animation and visual effects in the context of contemporary computer games design.

You will explore the boundaries of the many disciplines within the field of animation and visual effects and their specific place in production workflows.

Through practical workshops, you will be introduced to industry standard software, with which you will engage for the duration of your studies as they develop original games concepts.

Teaching and Assessment

Feel the support of our experienced and expert staff

Teaching

Your teaching will mainly take the form of scheduled classes such as workshops, lecture, and seminars, as well as spend some time studying independently outside.

In addition, you will use an iterative workflow throughout your studies that focuses on reworking and revisiting an idea to improve it. This workflow is used in industry and will help to prepare you for your career after your graduate.

As well as working independently you will have some projects and seminars in groups where you will develop your communication and teamwork skills and create work with other students.

Meet programme coordinator Max Tyrie

Max Tyrie

Subject Leader: 3D Animation and VFX

Max Tyrie is a two-time BAFTA winning animator, with over 20 years’ experience in the VFX industry.

He has spent the last several years working for Sony Pictures Imageworks at their Los Angeles and Vancouver studios where he has supervised animation teams on more than 25 major motion pictures.

Some of his credits include:

  • The Amazing Spiderman 1 & 2
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Alice Through the Looking Glass
  • Fury
  • Walking with Dinosaurs

Assessments

You will be assessed through a range of assignments, including:

  • Creative projects
  • Video essays
  • Creative portfolios
  • Presentations
  • Reflective writing
  • Skills observation
  • Continuous assessment

Experience

Discover industry standard software and equipment

Discover our £35 million Tech Park

Our Bognor Regis Campus boasts the £35m Tech Park and brings together science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics courses on one state-of-the-art site.

  • Idea Labs
  • Animation Labs
  • 300sqm film studio
  • Dedicated green screen studio
  • Professional standard postproduction facilities and recording studios.

Study Abroad

Explore the opportunity to study part of your course abroad

As a student at the University of Chichester, you can explore opportunities to study abroad during your studies as you enrich and broaden your educational experiences.

Students who have undertaken this in the past have found it to be an amazing experience to broaden their horizons, a great opportunity to meet new people, undertake further travelling and to immerse themselves within a new culture.

You will be fully supported throughout the process to help find the right destination institution for you and your course. We can take you through everything that you will need to consider, from visas to financial support, to help ensure that you can get the best out of your time studying abroad.

Careers

Prepare for your career in 3D animation or VFX

Within a month of graduation, over 75% of our first graduating cohort have landed jobs at major London studios including The Moving Picture Company (Blade Runner 2049, The Jungle Book) and NVIZ (Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Witcher).

Our BA (Hons) 3D Animation & VFX programme can open the door to careers in:

  • Animation
  • VFX
  • Film
  • Television
  • Design
  • Advertising
  • Games
  • Engineering
  • Teaching

Further Study

You could decide to continue your studies to postgraduate level.

Postgraduate study options available at Chichester include:

  • PGCE and Masters
  • MA Screen Acting
  • MA Composition for Film, TV and Games
  • PhD Research

University of Chichester alumni who have completed a full undergraduate degree at the University will receive a 15% discount on their postgraduate fees.

Course Costs

Course Fees 2024/25

UK fee
£9,250
International fee
£15,840

For further details about fees, please see our Tuition Fees page.

For further details about international scholarships, please see our Scholarships page.

To find out about any additional costs on this course, please see our Additional Costs page.

Entry Requirements

Typical offers (individual offers may vary):

UCAS
104-112
tariff points from A levels or combination with AS / EPQ / BTEC/ Cambridge Technical.
A Levels
BBC-BCC
BTEC/Cambridge Technical
DMM-MMM
Access to HE Diploma
Pass
IB
28 points
IELTS
6.0 overall
with no element lower than 5.5.

Application Process:

We would like to create an opportunity for you to introduce your creative ideas to us. For this reason a portfolio of subject-related work is required for entry to this course. Your portfolio should clearly demonstrate to us your creativity and passion for the world of animation, VFX and design in general. Below are some ideas to help you put your portfolio together. These are just suggestions. You are also welcome to get creative and show us other subject-related work which you believe we would like to see.

  • Observational drawing
  • Storyboard sketches or any sequential panel work
  • Evidence of engagement with compositing or animation software (2D or 3D)
  • Photography
  • Sketchbook contents (concept design, life drawing, doodles)
  • Any playable media (animations, VFX comps, motion graphics, short films)

 

Your portfolio will be requested by the admissions team via email after you have submitted your Ucas application. It should be submitted digitally. Please host your work on a personal website (i.e. WordPress/Blogger/etc). Any videos should be embedded on this site and a link to your website should be provided. We would expect to see 15 – 20 examples of work. Any playable media should be combined into a single “showreel” of not more than 5 minutes and be hosted on a personal website or other hosting platform.

FAQs

Frequently asked questions

How do I apply?

Click the ‘Apply now’ button to go to relevant UCAS page.

What are UCAS tariff points?

Many qualifications have a UCAS Tariff value. The score depends on the qualification, and the grade you achieved.

How do I know what my UCAS tariff points are?

Head to the UCAS Tariff Points web page where you can find a tariff points calculator that can tell you how much your qualification and grades are worth.

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