Advanced 2D animation course taught by industry mentors

Strengthen your 2D animation skills and get comprehensive career training that will prepare you for the industry. Gain speed and precision using industry tools, build critical job skills, and develop an impressive portfolio to show employers.

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Why study 2D animation at Bletchley Institute, powered by CG Spectrum:

• Learn advanced skills studios are hiring for
• Become proficient in industry software Toon Boom
• Get additional career support and guidance
• Small group classes

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Focusing on cut-out style character animation, your experienced 2D mentor will guide you through fun and challenging exercises, help you refine your modern and traditional animation techniques, and provide insightful feedback to help you progress faster as an artist.

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Curriculum

An industry-approved curriculum to help launch your career as a 2D animator.

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Cut-Out Animation 1 - 12 weeks

Building on the 2D animation knowledge you gained in the 2D Animation Foundations, you'll add cutout animation to your skillset, learning techniques using Toon Boom Harmony’s peg and node animation system, then moving onto complex physical animations, rigging and animating bipeds and quadrupeds. With your mentor's guidance, you'll analyze strong cutout scenes and apply lessons to your own work.

By the end of this course, you will have a strong understanding of advanced cutout-style animation techniques and confidence in rigging and animating characters and creatures.

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What You'll Learn:

• Create cutout style animation
• Rig and animate bipeds & quadrupeds
• Use advanced Toon Boom tools
• Master poses, timing & spacing

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Weekly Breakdown:

1. Cutout Animation History and Analysis
2. Rigging a Bouncing Ball with the Harmony Peg and Node System
3. Rigging an Arm for a Finger Point Animation
4. Finger Point Animation
5. Biped Rigging: Creating the Character Component Drawings
6. Biped Rigging: Peg Hierarchy and Deformers
7. Biped Rigging: Apply the Node Effects and Template the Rig
8. Walk with a Rigged Biped Character
9. Character Prop Pickup: Two Approaches
10. Run and Jump with the Rigged Biped Character: Key Poses
11. Run and Jump with the Rigged Biped Character: Breakdown Poses and Spacing
12. Cutout Animation Work Week

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Cut-Out Animation 2 - 12 weeks

Push your skills further than you thought possible in course 2. You'll jump into a variety of projects including single and two-character dialogue acting scenes using the cutout animation technique. You'll be introduced to Harmony’s FX and compositing tools, and use them to add these elements to your dialogue scenes.

By the end of this course, you will have a better understanding of how, when and why you should add FX to your animations, and have hands-on practice using Harmony's compositing and FX tools.

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What You'll Learn:

• Apply advanced movement techniques
• Maximize Harmony compositing and FX tools
• Use acting for feature/episodic animation
• Add FX to enhance your animations

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Weekly Breakdown:

1. Quadruped Rigging 01: Create Character Component Drawing Elements
2. Quadruped Rigging 02: Peg Hierarchy, Effects Node Structure, and Deformers
3. Quadruped Walk to Run 01: Key Poses
4. Quadruped Walk to Run 02: Breakdown Poses
5. Biped Walk to Sit 01: Key Blocking Poses
6. Biped Walk to Sit 02: Breakdowns and Spacing
7. Single Character Dialogue Animation 01: Planning, Setting Key Poses
8. Single Character Dialogue Animation 02: Breakdowns
9. Two-Character Dialog Animation 01: Thumbnail Planning and Reference
10. Two-Character Dialog Animation 02: Storytelling and Key Extreme Poses
11. Two-Character Dialog Animation 03: Breakdowns, Spacing and Mouth Shapes
12. Finalizing the Two-Character Dialog Scene: Camera and Compositing

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Mentored Studio: 2D Animation - 12 weeks

This final course is about getting you job-ready! Using the technique of your choice (tradigital, cutout, or both), you will be mentored in the planning and production of a short animation demo reel, which includes design and animation of multiple characters, creation of background elements, and addition of camera movement, FX, and compositing.

Students in this course receive additional 1-on-1 career support, portfolio reviews, and industry insights from a Career Development Manager.

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What You'll Learn:

• Polish your portfolio to impress employers
• Be more confident with negotiation
• Network & self-promote effectively
• Tap into the hidden job market

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Weekly Breakdown:

1. Career Pathways
2. Industry Overview
3. Portfolio Upgrade
4. Networking and Online Presence
5. Resume and Cover Letter
6. Job Hunting
7. Freelance Work
8. Interviews and Pitching
9. Personal Projects and Challenges
10. Working in a Studio
11. Contracts and Negotiations
12. Personal Roadblocks

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Career Pathway

The 9-month Specialization Course is the second half of our Career Track, preparing you for your first day in the industry. Your future awaits!

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Tuition

Flexible small group class are the best way to learn from top industry mentors in a fun, collaborative environment, while still getting plenty of personalized feedback.

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Upfront - Save 20%

$9,999

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Pay as You Go - Save 10%

$12,078

9 monthly payments of $11,249

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Financed Tuition

$12,499

Monthly payments as low as $258*