1. Demonstrate foundational knowledge, concepts, and skills within animation Knowledge & Understanding

2. Apply technical and creative methods to produce a coherent portfolio of work for animation Application & Problem Solving

3. Use digital tools relevant to animation to support creative production. Digital Literacy

4. Reflect on your technical, creative, and professional development to enable your future development. Reflection Personal Development & Entrepreneurship

Assessment 1: Portfolio

You will curate a portfolio showreel sequence that best presents the highlights of your animation practice ensuring you have represented 2D, 3D and Stop Motion approaches and have addressed all core principles.
Assessment 2: Reflection You will produce a reflective commentary that explains and reflects on:
- What you made for your portfolio
- How you approached the different techniques
- What you learned about animation principles and production processes
- What you found challenging
- What you would improve in future work

Your reflection should include:
- Images from workshops and practical activities (in and outside of class)
- Written or verbal annotations
- Clear evidence of your ideas, process and learning

Option 1: Written reflection with supporting visuals – word count 1200
Option 2: Audio recording with image folder – 5-6 mins
Option 3: Video reflection with supporting visuals – 5-6 mins

Formative Assessment:

Midway formative feedback will be embedded within practical sessions, providing structured opportunities for feedback on work-in-progress to support student development and progression.

You will be able to recognise, analyse, understand and apply animation principles and foundational animation production processes related to 2D, 3D and Stop motion practice. This introduction to industry standard methods, formats, apparatus and software tools (haptic and digital) will include for example:
- Life Drawing & Sculpture for Animation using traditional methods including Cell (Paper) Animation Drawing with Lightboxes.
- Animation Principles, exploration, analysis, and Practice in 2D, 3D & Stop Motion
- Introduction to safe studio-based Creative Camera and Lighting practice
- 2D Digital, 3D Digital and Stop motion Software competencies using a range of Industry standard and accessible software.
- Analysis and application of timing for animation
- using Dope/X-sheets.
- Introduction to Live Action Video (LAV).

Ever wondered how animated characters come to life across 2D, 3D, and stop motion? In this module, you’ll explore the core principles and production processes that underpin animation practice. You’ll develop skills in drawing, sculpture, timing, movement, camera, lighting, and digital workflows, while working with industry-standard tools and software. Through hands-on experimentation and analysis, you’ll learn how ideas move from concept to screen. This module builds essential creative and technical foundations that support your progression across the course and towards professional animation practice.

Sessions will include lectures, demonstrations, workshop activities, peer review discussions and small group working practice.

Practical activities set in scheduled sessions will be presented as launching points for independent study and practice with appropriate facilities, apparatus and software ready for learners to access throughout the week.

Included in the module timetable will be periodic journal presentation and review opportunities when students will be encouraged (not mandated) to present their work-in-progress (WIP) and share their successes and challenges for a mutual exchange of ideas support and knowledge.

Chong, A. (2008) Basics animation 02: Digital animation. Lausanne: AVA Publishing.

Wells, P. (2008) Basics animation 03: Drawing for animation. Lausanne: AVA Publishing.

Whitaker, H. (2021) Timing for animation. 40th anniversary edn. Milton Park, Oxon: CRC Press.

Williams, R. (2001) The animator’s survival kit: A manual of methods, principles and formulas for classical, computer, games, stop motion and internet animators. London: Faber & Faber.

Where older texts are included, they are retained as foundational texts within the discipline, remaining relevant where no more recent equivalent texts are available.

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