Computer Animation Degrees: The Possibilities are Explosive

Art and science meet in the microchips that power computer animation. As chips keep getting more powerful, the people who drive them keep getting more talented. The result is that as possibilities for computer animation explode, so do career opportunities for people with computer animation degrees.

Take video games, for instance. They're now played by sixty percent of all Americans older than the age of 6, or about 145 million people. Teams of computer animators spend a year or two of their lives sweating out the creation of a title. If it becomes the next big game, it can gross more money worldwide than a major movie hit.

Big Screen Possibilities

Meanwhile, feature films such as "The Incredibles" and "Spider-Man 2" create amazing impact from computer-generated effects.

These are just two high visibility areas for 3d animation. Other areas include television, desktop and web publishing, and interactive digital media. Overall, there's never been a greater demand for good graduates from 3d animation schools.

What Does 3d Animation Training Cover?

Mathematics and physics are key in your 3d program. Coursework might include implicit curves and surfaces, theory and applications of quaternions, differential geometry, computational geometry, wavelets, graph theory, advanced numerical analysis, finite elements and more. 3d animation training might also focus on topics such as advanced animation and modeling algorithms (interpolation, rigid body, deformable object, inverse kinematics, natural phenomena facial, motion blending and capture, etc.), advanced rendering techniques (level of details, implicit surfaces, pipeline optimization, advanced intersection and collision detection, etc.), artificial intelligence, game engine design, physically-based modeling algorithms, ray tracing, and radiosity. On the cutting edge of research you might explore virtual reality, illumination and shading algorithms, animation techniques, surface representation and rendering, volume visualization and morphing algorithms, geometry, and modeling. In 3d animation training, you'll work hard. But in few other fields is it as much fun to watch the fruits of your labor.

Sources for statistics:
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/grad/cggt/cggt-overview.shtml