Animation

Animation is the art of creating the illusion of movement through sequences of images, and it has become one of the most culturally significant and commercially dynamic creative disciplines of our time. From feature films and television series to video games, advertising, online content, and interactive media, animated work reaches audiences of enormous size and diversity, and the technical and creative demands of the field have never been greater. Animation draws on drawing and visual storytelling, character design, timing, and the principles of movement, as well as the rapidly developing digital tools that now define professional practice in the industry.

Norwich University of the Arts is a specialist art and design institution with a focused commitment to creative education, and its four-year animation programme reflects the depth that specialist study makes possible. You will develop core animation principles alongside an expanding range of technical skills, working across different techniques and formats to build a versatile creative practice. Character animation, narrative construction, digital production pipelines, and the communication of ideas through moving image are all central to your development.

The four-year structure gives you additional time and space to mature as an animator and to develop a portfolio of creative work that reflects your own voice and approach.

Graduates work in the animation industry in studios producing feature films, television programmes, commercials, and digital content. Roles include character animator, visual development artist, background artist, rigging specialist, storyboard artist, and director, with a career progression that often reflects growing creative autonomy and responsibility. The games industry employs animators alongside developers and designers, and motion graphics for broadcasting, advertising, and online media create further opportunities.

Some graduates work as freelance animators or build their own studios and projects, and postgraduate study in animation or moving image is an option for those who wish to develop their practice further.