# Thinking about going to school for animation



## Cthulhu And Coffee (Mar 8, 2012)

I don't know if this was the best place to post this. This might be "too emotional" for this forum. I've wanted to go to school to get better at making comics and animation for a long time. The problem is I live at home, and I know I won't be allowed to live here if I pursue them because my mother isn't supportive of it. I've been working a full time job for the last year and I can afford to move out. The problem is I don't think I can work full time and go to school at the same time. I'm really new to this (I've gone to school and it hasn't worked out. I had difficulty seeing the point of Gen. Ed classes which could easily be because I didn't see my life going anywhere. But art/cartoons and telling stories through my characters is something I've been passionate about since I was a kid. I would really appreciate some insight.)

I'm well aware there isn't much demand for those going into this field. That's not why I'm interested in it.

Thanks so much.


----------



## Blue Soul (Mar 14, 2015)

@Salad Days You won't know if you can fly or not until you try to flap your wings.


----------



## Cthulhu And Coffee (Mar 8, 2012)

True, but if we're talking metaphors, birds see how flying works out for other birds and I imagine they can learn from them somewhat, hence why I've come here.

Seriously, I appreciate it but I'm not here for that. I'm trying to get solid advice on how I can go to school and not starve to death at the same time.


----------



## lizw47 (Jan 12, 2015)

Hi there, my name is Liz 

I love the idea of going to school for animation. If that is what you are passionate about, then you should definitely pursue it. If you love something, then it is going to keep you happy the rest of your life and the money will come with it.

If you need help searching for schools with this major, I can certainly help you!

A few things you mentioned in your post…

You said you went to college and didn’t really do well because of the introductory classes. I want to mention that any career path you take, these are the types of classes you are going to have to take, because they will help you with your job. An animator has to know math, because drawing things to proportion, scale, is important. Science is also very important in animation, because you will be working with a lot of technology and need to know to use it to create your drawings. I have friends who went to school for animation and similar degrees, and they were required to take English, math, science, etc. 

One thing that might help you decide if animation is the right field for you is to volunteer or intern with an animation studio or some other type of place involved in illustration or graphic work. That way you can see if this is something that is right for you. It would stink to enroll in an animation college and get your degree, only to find out after graduating that you actually don’t even like animation.

I work as a college counselor and help students decide what college they want to go to, and also run a college advice blog, if you want some advice, send me a message!


----------



## Intricate Mystic (Apr 3, 2010)

I just participated in end of semester reviews for eight animation students studying painting as a study abroad experience. They're from a top ranked university. They will be graduating with a bachelor's degree. If you don't have a 4 year college degree in the field you'll never be able to compete. Yes, general ed courses can be uninspiring but it's something that you just have to slog through until you get to the actual courses relevant to your major....everyone else does it. If you can't handle that then you're already differentiating yourself from everyone else, and not in a good way. If you actually want to find work in animation you need to first get a degree from a good school to even think about beating the competition out there.


----------

