BA (Hons) Animation & Games
Globally the animation industry is estimated to be worth £170 billion, with the gaming industry predicted to be worth £140 billion by 2021.
Whether your interest is in film, television, video games, online content, VFX, motion graphics or VR, we’ll help you enter the market with the knowledge and skills necessary for a leading role in the industry.
In our state-of-the-art multimedia studio environment, you can explore the full range of the drawing, modelling, editing, rendering, and scripting techniques, giving you an unrivalled opportunity to take a multi-faceted view of the animation and games world.
Working within the creative incubator of our arts university, you’ll not only gain knowledge of the latest software used in the creative industry and develop collaborative skills across disciplines, but you’ll also be encouraged to develop as an emerging artist-designer with your own unique creative voice. You’ll have the opportunity to work alongside students from our award-winning Film & Screen Arts course and Film Studies, as well as collaborating with Animation and Games peers in interdisciplinary projects.
Our animation and games studio facilities are fully equipped with industry-standard hardware and software such as Unreal Engine, Substance Painter, Toon Boom, 3D Studio Max, Maya, Marmoset Toolbag, Z-Brush and Adobe Master Suite. You’ll have your own high-spec, cloud-render enabled workstation with drawing monitors, as well as access to VR devices, cintiqs, a stop-motion studio, green screen studio and a state-of-the-art 3D printing and scanning studio.
Some of the core specialisms you’ll study include pre-production concept art for the entertainment industry, 2D and 3D world-building, drawing, environment art, environmental and particle textures, gameplay, level design, 2D and 3D character design, stop-motion animation, 2D and 3D animation, and special effects.
Nathan Hardy
Our course team is made up of professional animators, filmmakers and researchers who will assist you in building your own professional network. We have excellent industry links in the UK and internationally, developed through annual visits to both the FMX and International Trick film festivals in Stuttgart, Germany. In recent years our students have had work screened at Encounters (the UK’s leading short film and animation festival), visited Aardman Animation studios in Bristol, and contributed to high-profile European-funded animation initiatives, such as the Euranim video mapping project with workshops in Belgium.
The university’s annual Summer Show also provides an excellent opportunity for students from this course to engage directly with industry before launching their own careers.
In the 2023 National Student Survey, 100% of BA (Hons) Animation & Games students agreed that, “it was easy to contact the teaching staff when they needed to” and “it was easy to access subject specific resources when they needed them”.
100% of BA (Hons) Animation & Games students also responded positively to the newest NSS questions, “During your studies, how free did you feel to express your ideas, opinions and beliefs?” demonstrating how hard we work to create a campus culture where all students thrive in an inclusive and supportive environment.
94% of students agreed that “the marking and the assessment on their course has been fair”, “they received their assessment feedback on time” and “they had the right opportunities to give feedback on their course”, with 91% of students also responding positively in the theme of questions regarding “Academic support”.
All students at Arts University Plymouth can access specialist support via our Student Support Team. Our trained advisers offer information and guidance on student finance and funding, disability support, counselling and more.
Click here to read more about the support we offer.
- Email: admissions@aup.ac.uk
- Instagram: @animation_gameart_aup
