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Animation Students Experience Career Opportunities Beyond Cartooning and Gaming

May 20, 2009

When Tom Kirk, a third-year Animation student at Loyalist College, entered the program he admits to only visualizing the cool 3D cartoons and pictures he would be creating. Then his professor, Geoff Davidson, suggested that Tom explore a placement opportunity with Dr. Sanjay Sharma at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston. Tom was introduced to a whole new world in animation — medical renderings.

Tom and his classmate, Alex Kaludis, developed 3D animations of eye surgery procedures, primarily from live action and existing animation videos of eye surgeries. Based on the fact that viewers find animated surgery procedures less intimidating to watch than live video coverage, Tom and Alex created material to be spliced together in live action videos — to be streamed in patient waiting rooms from a computer to a television.

Loyalist Animation graduates are prepared to enter the new media industry in a wide-range of ways — video gaming, 2D and 3D computer animation, and scientific, architectural and industrial visualization that makes the on-screen environment as realistic as possible. They can use their skills as web designers, graphic artists and as illustrators. Some students come to the program with an artistic flair. Others have a technical background. The first year gives them the opportunity to strengthen their skills in both of these areas. During the second and third years, students specialize in character animation, 2D and 3D animation, gaming, special effects and web design. Then, they tailor the program to their specific area of interest through independent production courses in their final year.

During their third year Tom and Alex started their own business, Kirk and Kaludis Web Design and Graphics. Wanting to focus on their studies they limited their business projects to one client, CG Residential Design in Ottawa. They created a fully furnished 3D rendering from a set of blueprints. Now that they have completed their final semester their first item of business is a web design and development contract with a McDonalds Restaurant in this region.

In addition to the program’s animation classes, Tom discussed how important the business skills were that he learned from his instructor Jay Bolus. “He showed us the ropes of contract building, the correct way to communicate with clients and how to protect ourselves as new business owners. He was also very helpful with my web development skills.

“All of the faculty members in the Animation program have had a huge impact on my life. I entered the program as an individual with a big imagination but was horrible in the art perspective of things. I’m graduating as someone who can create 3D art by simply looking at a picture or as visualized in my mind. It really is an amazing program.”

To learn more about the Loyalist Animation program, click here – Animation.

 

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