For those of our readers considering starting a career in animation by picking one of the many, many, many animation schools popping up around the country—consider this advice from our expert panel (made-up of executives, studio owners, decade-long freelance success stories, etc) about which schools they look to when hiring new interns and employees.
What Does Animation Mean?
Animation has been around since the early 1900s when it was used to create classic animated films such as Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906, considered the first example of animation) and The Haunted Hotel (1907). Traditional animation is the process of simulating movement by displaying a series of frames or pictures. In addition to traditional animation, other common types of animation include stop motion (clay animation, puppet animation) and computer animation (2D, 3D). Less common types of animation include sand animation, erasure animation, and pinscreen animation.
What Does Cartooning Mean?
Cartooning is the process of creating images that tell a story or represent a person, place or thing. Cartoonists may draw, paint, or digitally create images for use in the animation industry, in publishing, gaming, advertising, web design, and graphic design. Cartoonist may also create images to use for job training materials, in the medical field, in engineering, science, education, technology, and even in the criminal justice field.
An introductory note from the editor:
We started publishing US based regional and national lists in 2012 in response to myriad emails from aspiring animators seeking advice regarding the "best" schools in the US. The US-centric lists have been well-received, so much so that we now receive frequent requests to publish rankings of international animation schools. ACR staff writer and social media manager Tom Fronczak managed and authored this year's Top 100 International Animation Schools rankings. In preparing this year’s list, we considered hundreds of animation schools across the globe. Our end-goal is to give students access to ample information so they can make an informed decision about the school they choose to attend and the program they pursue.
Our 2015 rankings of the top animation school programs on the East Coast. We define the East Coast as Virginia, Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
For an explanation of ranking criteria, click here.
1. Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, Rhode Island
Established in 1877, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is home to 2,449 students enrolled in around 38 undergraduate degree programs and concentrations, and 22 graduate degree programs. Besides a large number of program offerings in the areas of Art and Design, Architecture, and Education, RISD has a large Film/Animation/Video Department (FAV). The Department offers a variety of programs for aspiring animators and filmmakers. Program options for animators include a BFA in Film/Animation/Video (BFA FAV).
