Campus
Duration
6 Semesters (3 Years)
Credential Awarded
Ontario College Advanced Diploma

Program and course delivery

This program is offered in Seneca's hybrid delivery format. Some coursework is online and some must be completed in person. Students will need to come on campus to complete in-person learning requirements.

About the Program

In this innovative three-year advanced diploma program, you will immerse yourself in a creative environment to attain skills and knowledge in both traditional and digital animation. As you learn to draw storyboards, design scenes and animate characters, you will practice applying theories of motion, timing, storytelling and digital technology to produce high-quality animations and designs.

Our hands-on curriculum emphasizes the cross-disciplinary training necessary to succeed in today’s collaborative animation industry — a cutting-edge approach we call the Seneca Animation Model. Among the first of its kind, this ground-breaking structure focuses on developing your potential through intertwining specialization streams. You will graduate with well-rounded experience, making you a sought-after candidate in the industry in a time of exciting change.

In your first year, you will develop the foundational skills necessary to succeed in a variety of animation disciplines. This includes key abilities such as animation, design, film language, life drawing and structural drawing for animation.

In your second and third year, you will focus your studies in one of four streams:

  • 2D animation
  • 3D animation
  • game art and animation
  • visual development

You will have the opportunity to work with students in other streams throughout your studies, culminating in a third-year capstone project that brings in team members for a truly cross-disciplinary experience. As one of the most in-demand animation programs in Canada, this new curriculum design will equip you with the skills required for the collaborative work that lies ahead in the modern animation industry.

Skills

Throughout this program, you will develop a variety of skills relevant to producing animation for the web, television, games or film, such as:

  • understanding and demonstration of strong, effective design and colour choices for production art
  • thorough knowledge of storytelling as an art form
  • clear understanding of animation principles and mechanics
  • consideration and thoughtfulness for the principles of composition and design
  • ability to directly connect life drawing with design, composition, animation and story
  • consideration of the importance of environment and location from the standpoint of design, composition and colour

Your Career

Graduates of this program typically find employment by:

  • 2D and 3D television animation studios
  • animated feature film studios
  • gaming studios
  • virtual production producers
  • pre-production and concept art studios
  • visual effects studios
  • advertising agencies

Affiliations/Associations

  • Toronto Animation Arts Festival International (TAAFI)
  • Ottawa International Animation Festival
  • LightBox Expo
  • Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics & Interactive Techniques
  • Computer Animation Studios of Ontario (CASO)
  • Toon Boom Center of Excellence program

Scholarship Opportunity

The Ontario eSports Scholarship is funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities to support eligible students enrolled in programs related to the video-gaming industry.

Full-time domestic students enrolled in the Gaming Stream of the Animation program (ANIG) in the 2023/24 academic year may be eligible to receive a scholarship of up to $5,000. Recipients must demonstrate financial need with a minimum of a 3.0 grade point average.

Information on how to apply can be found on the How to Apply for Awards page.